Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (2 April 1939 - 1 April 1984) was an American soul an… Read Full Bio ↴Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (2 April 1939 - 1 April 1984) was an American soul and rnb singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, known as "The Prince of Soul", or "The Prince of Motown." Originally a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows, he pursued a solo career after the group disbanded and released many successful solo hits including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Let's Get It On" and "What's Going On". His best albums are still held in extremely high regard, and he is often cited as one of the finest singers of his era.

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was born in 1939 to Marvin Gay, Sr. and Alberta Gay in Washington, D.C.. Gaye began his career in Motown in 1958, and soon became Motown's top solo male artist. He scored numerous hits during the 1960s, among them "Ain't That Peculiar", "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", as well as several hit duets with Tammi Terrell, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"" and "You're All I Need to Get By", before moving on to his own form of musical self-expression.

Along with Stevie Wonder, Gaye is notable for fighting the hit-making—but creatively restrictive—Motown record-making process, in which performers, songwriters and record producers were generally kept in separate camps. Gaye forced Motown to release his 1971 album What's Going On, which is today hailed as one of the best albums of all time. Subsequent releases proved that Gaye, who had been a part-time songwriter for Motown artists during his early years with the label, could write and produce his own singles without having to rely on the Motown system. This achievement would pave the way for the successes of later self-sufficient singer-songwriter-producers in African American music, such as Luther Vandross and Babyface.

During the 1970s, Gaye would release several other notable albums, including Let's Get It On and I Want You, and released several successful singles such as "Come Get to This", "Got to Give It Up" and "Sexual Healing". By the time of his shooting death in 1984, at the hands of his clergyman father, Gaye had become one of the most influential artists of the soul music era.

It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow
Marvin Gaye Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here I stand lonely, just a heartbroken guy
I used to be a laugher
'till I made my baby cry
And I knew my baby loved me
I was overconfident
So I did her wrong, now she's gone
I don't know which way she went

My baby forgave me so much time
And time and time again
Cause when your baby starts to walk away
And tells you no need to follow
And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
It's a bitter pill to have to swallow

But the way the ball bounces
That's the way the cookie crumbles
From the top to the bottom
That's a long way to tumble
Oh when you realize that you're no
Longer first on your baby's list
And the home you thought you
Had forever no longer exists

You wake up and you discover what
A great fool you have been
Cause when your baby starts to walk away
And tells you no need to follow
And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
It's a bitter pill to have to swallow

Ooh baby, what kind of fool am I?
To know that you love me and
Yet I made you cry baby when I think it over
It's fault that I'm here, gone
But I'd like to do it over
And would deliver my love to you warm
And on and on

Oh darling you forgave me so much
Time and time and time again
Cause when your baby starts to walk away
And tells you no need to follow
And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
It's a bitter pill to have to swallow
Cause when your baby starts to walk away
And tells you no need to follow

And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
It's a bitter pill to have to swallow

Overall Meaning

In "It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow," Marvin Gaye sings about the pain of breaking someone's heart and losing their love. He acknowledges his mistake and wishes he could go back in time to fix his wrongs. The chorus emphasizes the bitterness of the reality when someone you love starts to walk away despite your attempts to make them stay.

The verses tell a story of heartbreak, regret, and the consequences of taking someone's love for granted. Marvin Gaye admits to being overconfident and neglectful in the relationship when he was the center of his partner's world. However, the moment he realizes that his actions have pushed her away, he is hit with the reality of losing her love forever. The somber tone of the song reflects the sorrow and pain of the situation, and Gaye's expressive voice effectively conveys the emotions of the lyrics.

Overall, "It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow" highlights the importance of valuing and cherishing the love of those around us. It serves as a cautionary tale of what can happen when we take love for granted and don't appreciate the ones we love.

Line by Line Meaning

Here I stand lonely, just a heartbroken guy
I am standing here all by myself, feeling lonely and heartbroken.

I used to be a laugher
I was a happy person who used to laugh a lot.

'till I made my baby cry
Until I made my partner cry.

And I knew my baby loved me
I was aware that my partner loved me.

I was overconfident
I had too much faith in myself.

So I did her wrong, now she's gone
I hurt my partner and now she left me.

I don't know which way she went
I am not aware of the direction she took.

My baby forgave me so much time
My partner has forgiven me many times before.

And time and time again
And it kept happening repeatedly.

Cause when your baby starts to walk away
Because when your partner starts to leave.

And tells you no need to follow
And tells you there's no point in following.

And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
And whatever you do, it doesn't make her want to stay.

It's a bitter pill to have to swallow
It's a hard truth to accept.

But the way the ball bounces
But that's just the way things happen.

That's the way the cookie crumbles
That's just life.

From the top to the bottom
From the highest point to the lowest point.

That's a long way to tumble
It's a big fall.

Oh when you realize that you're no
Oh, when you come to terms with the fact that you are no longer.

Longer first on your baby's list
Not a priority for your partner anymore.

And the home you thought you
And the home you believed to be.

Had forever no longer exists
Doesn't exist anymore.

You wake up and you discover what
You realize that.

A great fool you have been
You were a big fool.

Cause when your baby starts to walk away
Because when your partner starts to leave.

And tells you no need to follow
And tells you there's no point in following.

And nothing you do, seems to make her stay
And whatever you do, it doesn't make her want to stay.

Ooh baby, what kind of fool am I?
Oh baby, how foolish am I?

To know that you love me and
To be aware that you love me and

Yet I made you cry baby when I think it over
But I still made you cry when I think about it.

It's fault that I'm here, gone
It's my fault that I am alone now.

But I'd like to do it over
But I wish I could do it all again.

And would deliver my love to you warm
And I would express my love to you with warmth.

And on and on
Over and over again.

Oh darling you forgave me so much
Oh darling, you forgave me so many times.