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.
Secret Love
Marvin Gaye Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love,
Became impatient to be free
So I told a friendly star,
The way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are,
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my hearts an open door,
And my secret love's
No secret anymore.
Marvin Gaye's song "Secret Love" is all about a love that a person keeps hidden within themselves, unable to share it with anyone else. This kind of love is something that many people feel, but few are able to express. In the song, the singer reveals that they had such a secret love, but eventually they couldn't keep it hidden any longer. They told a "friendly star" all about how wonderful their love is, and why they are so in love with that person.
The song paints a picture of someone who has been keeping their feelings bottled up for a long time, unable to express them for fear of rejection or ridicule. But finally, they reach a point where they can't hold it in any longer. They shout their love from the "highest hills" and even tell the "golden daffodils" about it. They have opened their hearts and let their secret love out into the open.
Overall, this is a hopeful and uplifting song about the power of love to overcome fear and uncertainty. It shows that even the most hidden and secret emotions can be expressed and shared with others, and that love can bring us together in ways that we never thought possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I had a secret love,
I used to have a hidden love in my heart
That lived within the heart of me
This love was deeply ingrained within my heart
All too soon my secret love,
After a while, my hidden love started to become difficult to hide
Became impatient to be free
And it started to yearn to be expressed openly
So I told a friendly star,
To unburden my heart, I confided in a star which appeared friendly to me
The way that dreamers often do
I expressed my emotions in the typical manner of a dreamer who is in love
Just how wonderful you are,
I spoke of your incredible qualities and attributes
And why I'm so in love with you
I explained the reasons that have led me to fall deeply in love with you
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
But now, I no longer hold back my love- I proclaim it from the highest mountain tops
Even told the golden daffodils
I have even shared the news with the natural world, telling it to nature's own golden daffodils
At last my hearts an open door,
My heart is now like an open door, ready to let anyone and everyone know how I feel about you
And my secret love's
It's clear to all and sundry, that my hidden love
No secret anymore
Is no more a secret known only to me.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL FRANCIS WEBSTER, SAMMY FAIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind