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.
My Mistake
Marvin Gaye Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love you, girl
My mistake was to give you all
Tell the world
First I had you
In the palm of my hand
But I let you slip through
At the beginning
When I didn't care
Like my own reflection
You were always there
My mistake was to love you, girl
Love you, girl
My mistake, baby was to give you all
Tell the world
You were sweeter
Then my very own kin
But what did I do for you
Not a thing
In front of my friends
You broke me down
Since then darling
It's hard to track you down
My mistake was to love you, boy
Love you, boy
My mistake was to give my all
Tell the world
Many a smile
You put on my face
But I paid dearly
With the tears I taste
My tenderness
Made you cold, not sweet
'Cause if a girl loves you
You only call her weak
My mistake was to love you, boy
Love you, boy(love you girl)
My mistake was to give my all
Tell the world
My (my,my,my) mistake was to love you, girl(love you boy)
Love you, girl(love you boy)
My (my, my, my) mistake was to give you all
Tell the world
The lyrics to Marvin Gaye's song "My Mistake" tell the tale of a failed relationship caused by the singer's own blunders. He laments over his mistake of loving the girl and giving her everything because it led to his own misery. At the beginning of the relationship, the singer didn't care much for the girl's love but soon realized her importance when she slipped through his fingers like rain to sand. He regrets taking her love for granted and realizes the mistake of not valuing her love soon enough.
In the lyrics, Marvin Gaye sings about how the girl was sweeter than his own kin, but he did nothing for her in return. He is regretful that he didn't appreciate her enough, and his inability to do so led to their breakup. The lyrics suggest that the girl he loved was always there for him, but he didn't see her true value until it was too late. He also acknowledges his mistake of thinking that her tenderness made her weak and that men believe that only they can be in charge in a relationship.
Overall, "My Mistake" is a sad song about lost love coming from the regretful voice of the singer who made numerous mistakes in the relationship. It tells a story of a love that was not given enough value and care, leading to pain and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
My mistake was to love you, girl
I regret loving you, girl.
Love you, girl
I loved you deeply as a woman.
My mistake was to give you all
I regret giving everything to you.
Tell the world
Announcing to everyone about our love was my error.
First I had you
Initially, you were mine.
In the palm of my hand
I was in complete control of you.
But I let you slip through
But I lost you due to my mistake.
Like rain to sand
Like the rain slipped through my hand and was absorbed in the sand.
At the beginning
Initially, everything was perfect.
When I didn't care
When I was not paying attention to you.
Like my own reflection
You were always there with me, like my reflection.
You were sweeter
You were better than my closest relations.
Then my very own kin
Than my own family.
But what did I do for you
But I did nothing for you.
Not a thing
I did nothing for you.
In front of my friends
In the presence of my close ones.
You broke me down
You humiliated me in front of everyone.
Since then darling
Since then, my dear one.
It's hard to track you down
It is difficult for me to find you again.
Many a smile
You made me happy many times.
You put on my face
You made me smile.
But I paid dearly
But I suffered a lot.
With the tears I taste
With the bitter tears I shed.
My tenderness
My love and care.
Made you cold, not sweet
My love made you indifferent and cold.
'Cause if a girl loves you
That's because if a girl loves a boy.
You only call her weak
You only consider her weak.
My mistake was to love you, boy
I regret loving you, boy.
Love you, boy(love you girl)
I loved you deeply as a man(woman).
My mistake was to give my all
I regret giving all my love to you.
Tell the world
Announcing to everyone about our love was my error.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GLORIA JONES, PAMELA JOAN SAWYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@georgeking1647
One of the best duets of all time. Their voices together was pure chemistry. This is a very beautiful song and everyone can feel the message!
@michellehicks4500
I’ve been listening to this song for the last 2days none stop except when I’m at work but when I’m at work I’m singing it none stop it has a nice melody and it reminds me of the 70’s that’s my birth year
@viniciusaugusto1150
I'm from Brazil I'm 18 years old I'm a man my parents gave me real music culture two legends marvin gaye and Diana Diana Ross I love listening to both good even knowing marvin gaye died but his voice is still eternal our hearts ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏😔😔😭
@marinaferreira-wh9ge
Os br por aqui, que orgulhooooo!!!
@John-vw3lr
I love the whole album Every Track been listening to it for about 45 years
@flashdance5574
Me too, I adore it, best album I ever bought, ❤️❤️❤️❤️
@adamfernandez8159
Biggest mistake I've ever did in life was drugs (Heroin) 2019 .But now I'm going on 6 years sober.Thank man upstairs.
@danielbrown7115
Hallelujah. Praise the LORD
@edwardjones8919
Been there. Stay Strong..
@nellienell9746
Congrats