"Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" is a 1967 single released by Motown girl gr… Read Full Bio ↴"Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" is a 1967 single released by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. The song's production was a departure from the Vandellas' repertoire as their label, Motown, was having a harder time staying with the times in the music industry and having a much harder time finding a hit for its acts after several departures including Vandellas collaborators William "Mickey" Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland, who produced the b-side to this single, "One Way Out", one of the trio's final recordings with the Vandellas. Produced by Richard Morris, the song displayed of the narrator wanting "the love bug" (i.e., her former lover) to leave her alone so she won't "fall in love". The narrator, lead singer Martha Reeves, was left heart-broken the last time she allowed the man to come back to her but after suffering heartbreak, she expresses her disgust at the man's attempts, with her fellow members Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelley chanting "get outta there, love bug, leave my heart alone". The song (with its unusual-for-Motown fuzz guitar) was their second consecutive Top 40 single of 1967 peaking at number twenty-five on the Billboard pop singles chart and number fourteen on the Billboard Hot R&B singles chart. The record was the first track ever played on UK Radio One by DJ John Peel.

Personnel
Lead vocals by Martha Reeves
Background vocals by Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Written by Richard Morris and Sylvia Moy
Produced by Richard Morris

Love Bug; Leave My Heart Alone
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

LOVE BUG LEAVE MY HEART ALONE
Martha and The Vandellas

Oh yeah (get out of here,
Love bug leave my heart alone)
Leave my heart alone (get out of here,
Love bug leave my heart alone)
Spring is here and like a wayward breeze

The love that left me came back haunting me
He's like the ever changin' sun
That warms my heart and leaves
The love but tries to bite again
Ooh I'm falling, the same old heartaches calling

Oh yeah (get out of here,
Love bug leave my heart alone)
I don't want to love him
Get out of here love bug leave my heart alone
Behind each gentle word he speaks
Love bug there you hide
To stir my tender feelings through his words of honey
But if you wait to sleep in love
I bear it deep inside
Love bug you love and leave me
Sobbing and sighing
Again he'll leave me cryin'

Oh yeah (get out of here,
Love bug leave my heart alone)
Get out of here love bug leave my heart alone
I'm telling you love bug, love bug
Hope you fly away
Spread your little wings, leave my heart and fly away
Cause I don't want to love a guy
Who truly don't love me
I don't want the heartaches that I had before
He wants me for the moment and another girl he'll see
And through long and sleepless nights
When I'm tossin' and turnin'
My heart will be burning
Oh yeah (get out of here,
Love bug leave my heart alone)
I don't want to love him

Get out of here love bug leave my heart alone
You know, you know, he don't love me

Overall Meaning

"Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" is a song by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas that talks about a problematic love interest, the love bug, who keeps on coming back even after leaving her before. The lyrics describe the love bug as someone who is like a wayward wind, ever-changing but returns to stir up her heart’s love only to bite again. She describes the love bug as someone who stirs up her tender feelings through his words of honey but, in the end, leaves her sobbing and crying.

The chorus, "get out of here, love bug leave my heart alone" is a useful instructional piece of advice for the love bug to leave her for good. She doesn't want him back, and his presence only brings back the same old heartaches. She knows this kind of love is unhealthy because he loves her in the moment, but he will soon be with another girl. When he leaves her behind crying, she remembers him as being the love bug who bites, bringing pain and heartache.

In summary, the song "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" is a cautionary tale of a lost love that keeps coming back to stir up old emotions that may have no meaningful future. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas hope that the love bug will fly away and leave her alone so that she can find love that lasts this time.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh yeah (get out of here, Love bug leave my heart alone)
The singer is pleading with the Love Bug to leave her alone.

Leave my heart alone (get out of here, Love bug leave my heart alone)
The singer is telling the Love Bug to leave her emotions alone.

Spring is here and like a wayward breeze The love that left me came back haunting me
Spring has arrived and with it came back the singer's lost love that haunts her.

He's like the ever changin' sun That warms my heart and leaves The love but tries to bite again
The artist's love is like the sun, warming her heart but then biting her again.

Ooh I'm falling, the same old heartaches calling
The artist is falling for her love again even though it leads to the same old heartaches.

Behind each gentle word he speaks Love bug there you hide To stir my tender feelings through his words of honey
The singer realizes that her love is hiding behind kind words that stir her emotions.

But if you wait to sleep in love I bear it deep inside Love bug you love and leave me Sobbing and sighing
The singer knows that if she waits to fall asleep in love, it will only lead to more heartache.

Again he'll leave me cryin' Oh yeah (get out of here, Love bug leave my heart alone)
The artist knows that her love will leave her crying again and begs for the Love Bug to leave her alone.

I'm telling you love bug, love bug Hope you fly away Spread your little wings, leave my heart and fly away
The artist is telling the Love Bug to fly away and leave her emotions.

Cause I don't want to love a guy Who truly don't love me I don't want the heartaches that I had before
The artist doesn't want to love someone who doesn't love her back and doesn't want the same heartache as before.

He wants me for the moment and another girl he'll see And through long and sleepless nights When I'm tossin' and turnin' My heart will be burning
The singer's love only wants her for the moment and will soon move on to another girl while she lies awake, heart burning.

Oh yeah (get out of here, Love bug leave my heart alone) I don't want to love him Get out of here love bug leave my heart alone You know, you know, he don't love me
The artist is pleading with the Love Bug to leave her alone and admits that her love doesn't truly love her.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICHARD MORRIS, SYLVIA MOY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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