Ken Boothe's (born 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica) is known as "Mr Rocksteady" for hi… Read Full Bio ↴Ken Boothe's (born 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica) is known as "Mr Rocksteady" for his prominence during the musical period 1966-1974 and was a major idol for the to-be members of UB40. Boothe started by recording a version of Sandie Shaw's "Puppet on a String" in 1967. Later the same year, Boothe and Alton Ellis had a successful U.K. tour with the group The Soul Vendors. Under new direction from record producer Lloyd Chalmers, the song "Everything I Own" surprisingly was Number One in the UK in 1974. The song, written by David Gates, was given a sympathetic light reggae feel and found instant favour in the West Indies and in the U.K.

Boothe seemed, at the time, to have the makings of an international, long-lasting, hit maker, certainly when compared to most of the other latter-day reggae acts. His smoother style gave him a wider appeal, rather like UB40 and Aswad. Boothe's choice of songs also showed the breadth of his musical taste. But for all that, he only managed one more hit in the UK Chart, "Crying over You", which made Number 11.

In more recent times, Boothe has also recorded for Bunny Lee, Phil Pratt, King Jammy, Pete Weston, Jack Ruby, Hugh "Red Man" James, Castro Brown, and Tappa Zukie. Plus in 1995, he teamed up with Shaggy, for a new styled version of his old track, "The Train Is Coming", which appeared on the soundtrack of the film, Money Train.

A double-disc overview of Boothe's Trojan years, Crying over You, was released by the label in 2001.

Boothe's official Web site is at www.kenboothemusic.com

Love Don't Love Nobody
Ken Boothe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sometimes a girl
Will come and go
You reach for love
But life wont let ya know
That in the end
You'll still be loving her
But then shes gone
You're all alone

Sign of pain
Is on my face, well
My heart beat stops
But I wont take the blame, no no
I gave her all the love I had within
My love was strong
Something went wrong, no! no!

It takes a fool to learn
Yes sir
That love don't love nobody
Love love love love love love
It takes a fool to learn
Yes it does, girl
That love don't love no one
That love don't love no one
It takes a fool to learn
Stop to think about it, well
That love don't love nobody
Oh! Oh no!
It takes a fool to learn
When you're down and out, shout about it
That love don't love no more
Tell the world, oh babe
No more

Oh, babe
It takes a fool to learn
Gotta be more careful about myself
That love don't love nobody
It takes a fool to learn
Whoa baby, took me a long time to learn, to learn, well

That love don't love no one
It takes a fool to learn
I was a fool, you were a fool
That love don't love nobody

Now we got love, we need love
It takes a fool to learn

Overall Meaning

Ken Boothe's song Love Don't Love Nobody explores the theme of unrequited love and the pain it can cause. The lyrics suggest that sometimes a person can fall in love with someone who doesn't share the same feelings, leaving them feeling alone and rejected. Despite this, the person continues to love the object of their affection, unable to let go of their feelings. The singer admits to giving all the love he had within himself to this person, but something went wrong, and now he's left to deal with the aftermath.

The chorus serves as a sort of warning to those who may be in the same situation, with lines like "It takes a fool to learn, yes sir, that love don't love nobody." Here, the singer is saying that those who continue to love someone who doesn't love them back are fools, as they will never receive the love they desire. The repetition of the word "love" reinforces how important this emotion is, yet how it can also cause pain and heartache.

Overall, Love Don't Love Nobody is a powerful and emotional song that explores the harsh reality of unrequited love. It speaks to anyone who has ever experienced the pain of loving someone who doesn't love them back, and serves as a warning to those who may be heading down the same path.

Line by Line Meaning

Sometimes a girl
At times, a girl may enter into your life

Will come and go
She may leave just as quickly as she arrived

You reach for love
You search for love

But life wont let ya know
But sometimes life doesn't allow you to find it

That in the end
Even so

You'll still be loving her
You'll still have feelings for her

But then shes gone
But, unfortunately, she's left

You're all alone
You're left to deal with your emotions alone

Sign of pain
I'm displaying visible signs of pain

Is on my face, well
It's evident in my facial expression

My heart beat stops
I feel like my heart has stopped beating

But I wont take the blame, no no
But I won't accept responsibility for what's happened

I gave her all the love I had within
I gave my all to her

My love was strong
I had strong feelings for her

Something went wrong, no! no!
But something went awry, much to my dismay

It takes a fool to learn
Only a foolish person wouldn't know that

Yes sir
Indeed

That love don't love nobody
Love can't love anyone

Love love love love love love
Repeated for emphasis

Yes it does, girl
Yes it's true, girl

That love don't love no one
Love can't love anyone

It takes a fool to learn
Only a foolish person wouldn't know that

Stop to think about it, well
Stop and really consider it, well

That love don't love nobody
Love can't love anyone

Oh! Oh no!
Exclamation of realization

It takes a fool to learn
Only a foolish person wouldn't know that

When you're down and out, shout about it
When you're at your lowest point, express yourself out loud

That love don't love no more
Love doesn't love anymore

Tell the world, oh babe
Announce it to the world, oh babe

No more
It's over

Oh, babe
Oh, my love

It takes a fool to learn
Only a foolish person wouldn't know that

Gotta be more careful about myself
I need to be more cautious with my heart

That love don't love nobody
Love can't love anyone

Whoa baby, took me a long time to learn, to learn, well
Wow, it took me a long time to comprehend this, you know

That love don't love no one
Love can't love anyone

I was a fool, you were a fool
We were both foolish

That love don't love nobody
Love can't love anyone

Now we got love, we need love
And now that we have love, we need to cherish it

It takes a fool to learn
Only a foolish person wouldn't know that

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOSEPH BANKS JEFFERSON, CHARLES B. SIMMONS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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