King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a singer at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street. Following a stint in the army, Floyd went to California, where he joined up with record producer Harold Battiste. His debut album, A Man In Love, featuring songs co-written with Dr. John, failed to make an impact on the charts. Floyd returned to New Orleans in 1969 and worked for the Post Office.
He first recorded a single (Walkin' and Talkin') for LA based Art Laboe's Original Sound label in 1965. Floyd had written with fellow New Orleans refugee Dr. John while in L.A, and in 1967 recorded a pop oriented album on the Mercury subsidiary Pulsar called "King Floyd: A Man in Love". He was recording with Wardell Quezergue in Jackson MS for Malaco Record's in-house label Chimneyville, when his song "Groove Me" became a huge hit in late 1970.
In 1970, Wardell Quezergue, an arranger of R&B scores, persuaded Floyd to record "Groove Me" with Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi. Jean Knight recorded her hit, "Mr. Big Stuff," in the same sessions. At first, "Groove Me" was a B-side to another Floyd song, "What Our Love Needs." New Orleans radio DJ's started playing "Groove Me" and the song became a local hit. Atlantic Records picked up national distribution of "Groove Me," which topped the United States R&B chart and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] & went to #41 in Britain. This disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in December 1970. Floyd quit his job at the post office to perform a U.S. tour. His follow-up single, "Baby Let Me Kiss You" climbed up to number 29 on the Billboard Top 40 charts in 1971.
Ironically both Stax and Atlantic Records had been offered the song to release but turned it down, (they also refused Jean Knight's smash hit "Mr. Big Stuff", cut at the same sessions). Floyd's follow up song was "Baby Let Me Kiss You", early in 1971. Atlantic inevitably realized it's mistake and gave Chimneyville a distribution deal and issued an LP, "King Floyd", on their Cotillion label. Side One's second track was "Let Us Be", written by Larry Hamilton. That summer, the song (shortened by about a minute from the album version) was released on Floyd's third Chimneyville 45 with the funky "Got To Have Your Lovin'" (by Joe Broussard and Michael Adams), which garnered brief airplay and top ten R&B chart action. Another single off his self titled album went gold in 1973 called "Woman Don't Go Away", rediscovered three years after it's release. The Mighty Majors ("You Can Never Go Back") was his backup band on the road for a spell. He released another album in 1973 called "Think About It", and his last Malaco affiliated album of this period was 1975's "Well Done". His next effort surfaced on the Dial label "Can You Dig It?" but the disco era was not kind to the southern soulman. King Floyd faced hard times, and other than a co-songwriter credit on Shaggy's "Boombastic," in 1995, he did not get another release out until 2000's "Ol Skool Funk" back on Malaco, his final recording. However, his song "Don't Leave Me Lonely" was prominently sampled by the Wu-Tang Clan for the song "For Heaven's Sake" off their album Wu-Tang Forever. He died on March 6, 2006.
Don't Leave Me Lonely
King Floyd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please don’t leave me lonely, baby
Cause without you I will die
Cause slowly, slowly, I feel your love is fading
When my heart can’t take
Not another heartbreak
Oh baby for heaven sakes
So please, don’t you leave me lonely baby
Please don’t leave me lonely baby
Cause without you I will die
Your touch, your touch, somehow it's not the same
The thrill you used to give me is gone
When I hold you in my arms
Oh baby, what is wrong now
Oh baby can’t you see, I'm for you and you're for me
So please, don’t you leave me lonely baby
Please don’t leave me lonely baby
You now I will die
Please don’t leave me lonely baby
AAAHHHHH!
Don’t, don’t leave me lonely honey
Girl I love you
Can’t you see I need you baby
No, no, no, AAAAAHHHHH!
Come on come on
Give me baby
I am just no good without you honey
Don't stop now baby
Please don't stop it now honey
AAAAHHHHH!
In King Floyd's song "Don't Leave Me Lonely," he pleads with his lover not to leave him, explaining that he will die without her. He sings about the fading love in their relationship, which makes him feel as if he cannot handle any more heartbreaks. Floyd is desperate for his lover's touch to feel the same thrill he felt before, but it seems to have vanished. He begs her not to leave him alone and expresses his love and need for her.
The lyrics are emotionally charged, as Floyd's vocals are raw, and he expresses his feelings with passion. He highlights the inherent fear of abandonment and the immense pain that comes with unrequited love. In the end, he cannot imagine living without his lover, and the thought alone is unbearable. This song is reflective of Floyd's desire to keep his love alive and his willingness to do anything to keep his lover by his side.
Line by Line Meaning
Please don’t you leave me lonely, baby
I need you in my life and can't imagine being alone without you.
Please don’t leave me lonely, baby
I am begging you to stay with me and not go away.
Cause without you I will die
It feels like I won't be able to go on if you're not by my side.
Cause slowly, slowly, I feel your love is fading
I am sensing that your feelings for me are diminishing over time.
When my heart can’t take
It hurts too much for me to bear.
Not another heartbreak
I am afraid of going through another painful breakup.
Oh baby for heaven sakes
Please don't do this to me, it's too much to handle.
Oh baby can’t you see, I'm for you and you're for me
We belong together and I am hoping you can see that too.
Your touch, your touch, somehow it's not the same
I am noticing a change in the way you touch me.
The thrill you used to give me is gone
I am missing the excitement and passion that used to be a part of our relationship.
When I hold you in my arms
Even though we are physically together, it doesn't feel the same emotionally.
Oh baby, what is wrong now
I am questioning what has changed and why things are not the way they used to be.
You now I will die
I am emphasizing how much you mean to me and how much I need you in my life.
Don’t, don’t leave me lonely honey
I am pleading with you not to abandon me and leave me alone.
Girl I love you
I am expressing my deep feelings of love towards you.
Can’t you see I need you baby
I am hoping you can understand how much you mean to me and how much I rely on you.
No, no, no, AAAAAHHHHH!
I am crying out in desperation and fear of losing you.
Come on come on
I am urging you to stay and not leave.
Give me baby
I am asking you to give me another chance to make things work between us.
I am just no good without you honey
I am admitting that I am lost without you and need you to feel complete.
Don't stop now baby
I am pleading with you not to give up on us and our relationship.
Please don't stop it now honey
I am imploring you not to end our relationship and to keep fighting for us.
AAAAHHHHH!
I am expressing my pain, fear and desperation in wanting to keep you in my life.
Contributed by Dylan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.