MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in Rolling Stone magazine and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut album was released. They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Their initial run was short-lived, though. In 1972, just three years after their debut record, the band came to an end. Often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of that era, their three albums are regarded by many as classics.
Tyner died of a heart attack in late 1991 at the age of 46. Smith also died of a heart attack, in 1994 at the age of 45. The remaining three members of the band reformed in 2003 with The Dictators' singer Handsome Dick Manitoba as its new vocalist, and this reformed line-up occasionally performed live over the next nine years until Davis died of liver failure in February 2012 at the age of 68.
In 2022, Kramer announced that a tour would take place that spring, and that a new MC5 studio album with producer Bob Ezrin would also be released later that year with original MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson playing on two tracks. In 2023, Kramer announced that the album would be released in the spring of 2024. Kramer died in February 2024, leaving Thompson as the only surviving original member of the band.
Baby Please Don"t Go
MC5 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you so
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
I get you way'd out here and let you walk alone
Turn your lamp down low
Turn your lamp down low
Turn your lamp down low
I beg you all night long baby please don't go
You brought me way down here
You brought me way down here
You brought me way down here
'Bout to Rolling Forks you treat me like a dog
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go back the New Orleans
I beg you all night long
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
I get you way'd out here and let you walk alone
You know your man down gone
You know your man down gone
You know your man down gone
To the country farm with all the shackles on
The song "Baby Please Don't Go" is about a man begging his lover not to leave him and to stay with him instead of going down to New Orleans. He repeats this plea several times throughout the song, emphasizing how much he loves her and how much he needs her. He even goes as far as to say that he would rather be alone than be her dog or be treated like a dog by her. He also asks her to turn her lamp down low and begs her all night long not to go.
The lyrics seem to have a bluesy feel to them, with the use of repetition and the simple guitar riff in the background. The song was originally written by Big Joe Williams in the 1930s and has since been covered by many artists, including AC/DC and Aerosmith. The MC5 version is known for its hard rock sound and electrifying guitar solos, taking the original blues song and giving it a new life.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby please don't go
The singer is pleading with their lover not to leave them.
Baby please don't go down to New Orleans
The singer doesn't want their lover to travel to New Orleans.
You know I love you so
The singer expresses their deep love for their partner.
Before I be your dog
The singer would rather not be treated like a subservient pet.
I get you way'd out here and let you walk alone
The singer will leave their lover stranded and alone if they treat them like a dog.
Turn your lamp down low
The singer wants their partner to dim the lights for a romantic atmosphere.
I beg you all night long baby please don't go
The singer is begging their partner to not leave them all night long.
You brought me way down here
The singer's lover brought them to a location they don't want to be in.
'Bout to Rolling Forks you treat me like a dog
The singer's partner treated them badly in Rolling Forks.
Baby please don't go back the New Orleans
The singer still doesn't want their lover to travel to New Orleans.
You know your man down gone
The singer's partner knows they went away.
To the country farm with all the shackles on
The singer's partner is on a farm working in shackles.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joseph Lee Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tim Hurley
on The Pledge Song
Found this outfit called "Sonic Hits" for free streaming.
Pretty impressed with the depth of their catalog and none of those serenity busting ads.