Loleatta Holloway (November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singe… Read Full Bio ↴Loleatta Holloway (November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer, mainly known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation", both of which have been sampled extensively.

She began gospel singing with her mother in the Holloway Community Singers and she has also recorded with Albertina Walker in The Caravans gospel group. Holloway was also a cast member of the Chicago troupe of Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope.

Holloway found moderate disco success when she placed eighteen songs on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including four Number ones, and was featured on Dan Hartman's disco classic, "Vertigo / Relight My Fire". In the early 1980s, she had another dance hit with "Crash Goes Love", before she had her first Number one in the UK with "Ride On Time" by Black Box, which featured vocal samples from her own Salsoul recording, "Love Sensation". This happened again in 1991 when Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featured her vocals in the chart topping cover version of the song "Good Vibrations". Although both songs were notorious for initial copyright infringements (see: white label), they did help elevate Holloway to legendary status in the dance music/disco community.

A more recent dance chart entry was "Relight My Fire" (credited to Martin featuring Loleatta Holloway), which hit #5 in 2003.

Her latest hit "Love Sensation '06" peaked at #22 in the Dutch Top 40[1] and reached #37 on the UK Singles Chart as well as #49 in Australia.

Holloway died on March 21, 2011 from heart failure. She was 64 years old. She is survived by her four children.

Stand Up
Loleatta Holloway Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Why don′t you come around, my way(way) my way my way(way) my way(way)
Why don't you come around?

Uh, Uh, Uh, why don′t you come around (way, way, way) why don't you come around

Walking down Williams through Mart and Blays(mart and blays)
Call it Big Steps where I used to play(used to play)
The girls in the park gotta lot to say(lot to say)

Them girls over here threw they life away(life away)
Cause they got babies and they just now head(just now head)
They double numbers they mamas promoting this here
The boys on the court playing basketball(basketball)
They baby fathers they rather be boys and that's all

Blays Rd. Stand up! (uh)
Pre K Stand Up! (uh)
East Coast Stand Up! (uh)
You should
Come around my way

I′m from a place in Harlem
Where the streets they look like Africa
And the trees are in better condition than the homes so abandoned
P S 197
Where I study my academic stare run
And the books so worn and torn I can′t think
How they tried to cripple me
Understood the lost side of me
Thank god I had a good teacher on the side of me
Showed me the right thangs to do
Overcame these obstacles
Haters stand up for the things that we've been through ooh

Blays Rd. Stand up! (uh)
Pre K Stand Up! (uh)
East Coast Stand Up! (uh)
You should
Come around my way

Here we got these buildings called projects but they ain′t three stories
They fill about ten on the block april flow go up by twenty
Stories I tell be true story kids cut school and watch Maury
Like if they ain't intelect in what′s affecting my life I can't respect them
But that′s just they way of the ghetto
People who come from where I'm from get it
But we still gotta make a difference
Stand up tall so the world can get it
Teach kids pride insted of "Outside"
Show another side and they show gon' rise
Stop letting responsibilty fall
I can tell you ain′t been aroung my way at all

Why don′t you come around(way)
So you can see what my(way)
Eyes been seeing why(way)
Why don't you come around
Where we need directions(way)
Respect in every lesson(way)
Way, why don′t you come around

My way(way) my way my way(way) my way(way)

Blays Rd. Stand up! (uh)
Pre K Stand Up! (uh)
East Coast Stand Up! (uh)
You should come around my way
You should come around

Uh, Uh, Uh
Uh, Uh, Uh

Overall Meaning

Loleatta Holloway's song Stand Up was released in 2007 and explores the challenges faced by people living in the urban ghetto. The song is an appeal to people to come and see what life is like in the ghetto and to understand the struggles that people face in these areas. The lyrics use vivid imagery to describe the streets of Harlem, where the trees are in better condition than the homes, and the buildings are overcrowded, and children cut school to watch Maury. The first verse draws attention to the struggles of teenage mothers, who have had to grow up too fast and sacrifice their youth to raise their children.

The chorus, "Why don't you come around my way?" is a plea for people to come and see the reality of life in these areas, to understand the issues that people face, and to offer help and support. The second verse acknowledges the problems with the education system, where students are not given the resources they need to succeed, and how the ghetto perpetuates a cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

Towards the end of the song, Holloway appeals to people to stand up and make a difference. She encourages people to teach children pride instead of "outside," which is a reference to the allure of the streets, and to show another side of life where they can rise beyond their circumstances. Overall, Holloway's Stand Up is a powerful track that sheds light on the challenges that low-income communities face.

Line by Line Meaning

Why don’t you come around, my way(way) my way my way(way) my way(way)
Asking someone to come to the singer's neighborhood

Walking down Williams through Mart and Blays(mart and blays)
Narrator is walking towards Mart and Blays

Call it Big Steps where I used to play(used to play)
Narrator tells that he/she used to play at Big Steps

The girls in the park gotta lot to say(lot to say)
The girls are having conversations and expressing their opinions in the park

Them girls over here threw they life away(life away)
Girls have thrown their life away

Cause they got babies and they just now head(just now head)
The girls have had babies and are still trying to figure out their lives

They double numbers they mamas promoting this here
The generation is growing fast and the mothers are promoting the growing generation

The boys on the court playing basketball(basketball)
There are boys on the court playing basketball

They baby fathers they rather be boys and that's all
The boys are happy to be fathers at a young age and just want to be boys

Blays Rd. Stand up! (uh)
Encouraging the people from Blays Rd. to stand up and take action

Pre K Stand Up! (uh)
Encouraging Pre-K kids to stand up and take action

East Coast Stand Up! (uh)
Encouraging people from the East Coast to stand up and take action

I′m from a place in Harlem
Narrator is from Harlem

Where the streets they look like Africa
Harlem streets resemble an African city

And the trees are in better condition than the homes so abandoned
The trees in Harlem are well kept, unlike the abandoned homes

P S 197
The name of the school narrator attended

Where I study my academic stare run
Narrator studied and focused on academics

And the books so worn and torn I can′t think
The condition of the school books is poor and the singer can't concentrate

How they tried to cripple me
The singer feels like the school system tried to keep him/her down

Understood the lost side of me
Narrator understands the struggle he/she has gone through

Thank god I had a good teacher on the side of me
Narrator is thankful to have had a good teacher

Showed me the right thangs to do
The teacher showed the artist the right things to do

Overcame these obstacles
Narrator overcame the obstacles put in his/her way

Haters stand up for the things that we've been through ooh
Encouraging the haters to stand up and take action against the injustices they've faced

Here we got these buildings called projects but they ain′t three stories
The projects only have ten stories on each block

They fill about ten on the block april flow go up by twenty
Buildings in the projects go up to twenty floors

Stories I tell be true story kids cut school and watch Maury
Narrator is sharing reality of people cutting school to watch Maury

Like if they ain't intelect in what′s affecting my life I can't respect them
The artist can't respect someone who doesn't care about the reality of their life

But that′s just they way of the ghetto
That's just the way of life in the ghetto

People who come from where I'm from get it
People who come from the same place as the singer understand

But we still gotta make a difference
People still have to make a change in their community

Stand up tall so the world can get it
Stand up and make a change so the world can see and understand

Teach kids pride insted of "Outside"
Teach pride to kids instead of focusing on what's outside

Show another side and they show gon' rise
Trying to encourage people to show a different side and rise up

Stop letting responsibilty fall
Stop letting responsibility fall on individuals who can't handle it

I can tell you ain′t been aroung my way at all
The artist knows if someone hasn't been around their neighborhood

Where we need directions(way)
Narrator is sharing how people need direction in the neighborhood

Respect in every lesson(way)
Respect needs to be taught in every lesson

My way(way) my way my way(way) my way(way)
Emphasizing the need to come around the singer's way

Uh, Uh, Uh
Sound effect

Writer(s): August Darnell, Dewey A. Bullock, Kevin Nance, Latanza Waters, Thomas Browder, Victor Romeo

Contributed by Connor N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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