He gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of country, gospel and rhythm and blues.
Born in Rogers, Texas, in 1935 and raised in Baytown, TX, Tex's career started after he was signed to King Records in 1955 following four wins at the Apollo Theater. Between that year and 1964, however, Tex struggled to find hits and by the time he finally recorded his first hit, "Hold What You've Got", in 1964, he had recorded thirty prior singles that were deemed failures on the charts. Tex went on to have three million-selling hits, "Hold What You've Got" (1965), "Skinny Legs and All" (1967) and "I Gotcha" (1972).
Joe Tex with the raspy voice & charm of a southern preacher and the linguistic skills of a true street hustler made a string of funky chart topping hits and occasional raps with moral themes. His peak as a hitmaker occured in the mid & late 60's, but extended into the 70's disco era.
His breakthrough 1965 song "Hold What You've Got" topped both the Pop and R&B charts. In 1966 he released "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It", which was the first major pop record associated with the Vietnam War. His style was usually more light hearted fare, like "S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (The Letter Song)" and his biggest hit "Skinny Legs And All".
His last major record was 1972's funky jam "I Gotcha", a #1 song. It was after this release that he converted to Islam. After the death of Elijah Mohamed in 1975, Joe Tex received the blessing and approval of the Nation of Islam to begin recording and performing again. His career resurgence came as the disco years were in full swing. His late career comeback song was "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)".
The Love You Save
Joe Tex Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I've been afraid
I've been hit in the head
And left for dead
I've abused
And I've been accused
I been refused a piece of bread
But I ain't never
Seen so many love affairs
Go wrong as I do today
I want you to stop
And find out what's wrong
Get it right
Or just leave love alone
Because the love you save today
Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
Listing to me
I've been pushed around
I've been lost and found
I've been given til sundown
To get out of town
I've been taken outside
And I've been brutalized
And I've had to always be the one to smile and apologize
But I ain't never
In my life before
Seen so many love affairs
Go wrong as I do today
So stop
And find out what's wrong
Get it right
Or please leave love alone
Because the love you save today
Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
One interpretation of the lyrics to Joe Tex's song The Love You Save is that the singer is warning people about the dangers of not properly valuing and respecting love. Throughout the lyrics, he recounts various negative experiences he has had in his life, including being misled, abused, accused, refused, pushed around, lost and found, given ultimatums, taken outside and brutalized. Despite all of these experiences, he says he has never seen as many love affairs go wrong as he has observed in the world today.
The singer seems to be calling on listeners to take a step back and reflect on what might be causing the problems in their relationships and to try to fix them. He suggests that people need to "stop and find out what's wrong" and "get it right" before continuing with their relationships. He also warns that if people don't take the time to do this, they risk ending up in similarly negative situations as those he has described.
Overall, the lyrics to The Love You Save can be seen as a plea for people to take love seriously and to put in the necessary work to make their relationships succeed.
Line by Line Meaning
People, I've been misled
I have been deceived by others
And I've been afraid
I have experienced fear
I've been hit in the head
I have been physically assaulted
And left for dead
I have been abandoned in a serious condition
I've abused
I have treated others poorly
And I've been accused
I have been blamed for something
I been refused a piece of bread
I have been denied basic needs
But I ain't never In my life before Seen so many love affairs Go wrong as I do today
I have never witnessed so many failed relationships as I do now
I want you to stop And find out what's wrong Get it right Or just leave love alone
I urge you to examine your relationship issues and resolve them or avoid them altogether
Because the love you save today Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
The efforts you put into fixing love today might end up benefiting you in the future
Listing to me I've been pushed around I've been lost and found I've been given til sundown To get out of town I've been taken outside And I've been brutalized And I've had to always be the one to smile and apologize
I have experienced mistreatment, been forced to leave, and physically assaulted but I have always had to be the one to make amends
But I ain't never In my life before Seen so many love affairs Go wrong as I do today
I have never witnessed so many failed relationships as I do now
So stop And find out what's wrong Get it right Or please leave love alone
Therefore, it is important to address relationship issues or avoid them altogether
Because the love you save today Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
The efforts you put into fixing love today might end up benefiting you in the future
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOE TEX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sauquoit13456
On this day in 1966 {April 24th} "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)"* by Joe Tex peaked at #2 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Top Selling R&B Singles chart, for the week it was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "Get Ready" by The Temptations...
"The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)" reached #56 on Billboard's Top 100 chart...
Between 1964 and 1978 the Rogers, Texas native had thirty four records on the Hot Soul Singles chart, twelve made the Top 10 with four reaching #1, "Hold What You've Got" for two weeks in January of 1965, "I Want To (Do Everything For You)" for three weeks in October of 1965, "A Sweet Woman Like You" for one week in January of 1966, and "I Gotcha" for one week in March of 1972...
Sadly, Joe Tex, born Joseph Arrington Jr., passed away at the young age of 47 on August 13th, 1982 {heart attack}...
May he R.I.P.
* "The Love You Save" was Joe Tex's first of two of his records to peak at #2, his other #2 record was "Skinny Legs and All" for two weeks in December of 1967...
And from the 'For What's It Worth' department, the remainder of the Top Selling R&B Singles' Top 10 on April 24th, 1966:
At #3. "634 -5789" by Wilson Pickett
#4. "She Blew A Good Thing" by the Poets
#5. "Satisfaction" by Otis Redding
#6. "Ain't That A Groove" by James Brown & the Famous Flames
#7. "Searching For My Love" by Bobby Moore
#8. "When A Man Loves A Women" by Percy Sledge
#9. "This Old Heart of Mind" by the Isley Brothers
#10. "Sharing You" by Mitty Collier
@petro68if
People, I've been misled
And I've been afraid
I've been hit in the head
And left for dead
I've abused
And I've been accused
Been refused a piece of bread
But I ain't never
In my life before
Seen so many love affairs
Go wrong as I do today
I want you to STOP
And find out what's wrong
Get it right
Or just leave love alone
Because the love you save today
Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
I've been pushed around
I've been lost and found
I've been given til sundown
To get out of town
I've been taken outside
And I've been brutalized
And I've had to always be the one to smile and apologize
But I ain't never
In my life before
Seen so many love affairs
Go wrong as I do today
I want you to STOP
And find out what's wrong
Get it right
Or just leave love alone
Because the love you save today
Maybe will-l-l-l be your own
@MrSirDrew
Lyrics
I'm talking to all the lovers in the house tonight
Now listen, you know I want you to find out what's wrong
And get it right, or you should leave love alone
Because the love you save, it might be your own
People, I've been misled and I've been afraid
I've been hit in the head, ohh, and left for dead
I've been abused, woah and I've been accused
Been refused a piece of bread
But I ain't never in my life before
Seen so many love affairs go wrong as I do today
I want you to stop, find out what's wrong
Get it right or leave love alone
Because the love you save today
May very well be your own
I've been pushed around, oh yeah, and I've been lost and found
Given the sundown to get out of town
I've been taken outside, oh and I've been brutalized
I had to always be the one to smile and apologize
But I ain't never in my life before
Seen so many love affairs go wrong as I do today
I want you to stop, find out what's wrong
Get it right or leave love alone
Because the love you save today
Might very well be your own
@adrh47
It must be 50 years since I last heard this song - and it sounds as good now as I recall it sounding back in 1967: a real gem.
@EdisonSaul
I’ve looked for this song for 3 whole years… Can’t believe I finally found it
@ogilviemail
Death Proof brought me here. Great song.
@saleemmuhammad6470
Brother Joe Tex, one of the greatest innovators of all-time music and showmanship. Came to Greensboro, NC with a guitar, a pair cowboy boots and a dream that he made come true. He is only recognized and loved by those who love
@FloydAandatxxteeteexx
Joe you made this song back then you should see the condition of the world today you would probably need to make a remake of this song thanks for posting this beautiful song that people just do not pay attention to no more. So sad😞
@Noomz-of-Earl
Beautifully moving, empathic and intelligent song, which I think is Joe Tex's best. It was the first one I ever got by him, no thanks to Chicago's two 50,000-watt Top 40 AM stations, WLS (890) and WCFL (1000), which didn't play it. This was a #2 national soul hit but only reached #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to the racial playlist quotas of many major Top 40 stations in the US in the '60s (and beyond). Other than the leading Motown acts, black artists could not expect to get consistent airplay on Top 40 radio.
@valendanewell5901
JOE PUT IT DOWN ON THIS SONG...He went way beyond my emotions, actually went straight to my SOUL on this song..I'M FEELING THIS..YASSSSS
@DeeNice681
Joe Tex was one of Michael Jacksons's favorite singers!
@stephenshaw4281
Music that you can really feel.
@bittersweetcand9437
"..And I've had to always be the one to smile and apologize. .."