Labi Siffre (born June 25, 1945) is an English poet, songwriter, and singer… Read Full Bio ↴Labi Siffre (born June 25, 1945) is an English poet, songwriter, and singer. Born the fourth of five children to a Barbadian/Belgian mother and a Nigerian father and raised in Bayswater and Hampstead, London, he was educated at a Catholic monastery school, St Benedict's School in Ealing. His musical influences included Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Jimmy Reed, Wes Montgomery, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Reed, and Mel Tormé. In July 1964, he met his partner Peter Lloyd, and the two officially became partners under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 when the Act entered into force in December 2005.

Siffre released his first six albums of songs between 1970 and 1975, and a further three albums between 1988 and 1998. During this period he had several solo hits, including "It Must Be Love" (No. 14, 1971) (later covered by and a No. 4 hit for Madness, for which Siffre himself appeared in the video); "Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying" (No. 11, 1972); and "Watch Me" (No. 29, 1972). In 1978 two of his songs, "Solid Love" (performed by Siffre) and "We Got It Bad" (co-written and performed by Bob James) reached the UK finals of the BBC's A Song for Europe. His 1987 hit "(Something Inside) So Strong", which reached No. 4, was an anti-Apartheid anthem that won the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically", and has since been used in Amnesty International campaigns, a television advertisement and Alice Walker's film against female genital mutilation: Warrior Marks.

In 1997, Siffre's play "DeathWrite" was staged at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff and later televised.

His song "I Got The..." was sampled in rapper Eminem's hit single "My Name Is," Siffre, who is openly gay, said in an interview that he turned down the offer to approve the song at first until the original sexist and homophobic lyrics were removed: "Dissing the victims of bigotry – women as bitches, homosexuals as faggots – is lazy writing. Diss the bigots not their victims." Siffre eventually allowed its usage when he was sent a censored "clean" version, not realizing that he was also allowing the riffs use on the alternative "dirty" versions with the original lyrics.

In 1984 Siffre began writing poetry and has since released three books of poetry: "Blood on the Page" 1995 and "Monument" 1997. His poetry addresses a variety of themes, from theology and childhood to sociology, love, hate, language, critical thinking, and communication. In 2006, he released a new album, The Last Songs.

I Got The ..
Labi Siffre Lyrics

I got the blues but I don't mind
All I have to do is get to you
And then I feel just fine

I'm on a downer, but not all the way
When I'm feelin' low you do your thing just so
And then I feel OK

You're so good, the way you give
So good, you're the best there is

I got the blues, got it oh so bad
When I think of me its hard to be
A person quite so sad

You got the answer and it makes me glad
When I'm feelin' small you give me rock n' roll
And then I'm feelin' bad

You're so good, the way you give
So good, you're the best there is

Just a lonely soul
Slowly dyin'
I was smilin' hard
But I was lyin'
Then you sailed along
With you're sweet dream
When you stole my heart
I was livid

Mornin' come, sun don't shine
I'll get by without you
I was lost, but now I'm found
Tell me love it was you

Mornin' come, sun don't shine
I'll get by without you
I was lost, but now I'm found
Tell me love it was you

Just a lonely soul (mornin' come, sun don't shine)
Slowly dyin' (I'll get by without you)
I was smilin' hard (I was lost, but now I'm found)
But I was lyin' (tell me love it was you)
Then you sailed along (mornin' come, sun don't shine)
With you're sweet dream (I'll get by without you)
When you stole my heart (I was lost, but now I'm found)
I was livid (tell me love it was you)

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Labi Siffre

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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