Parliament was originally The Parliaments, a doo-wop group based out of George Clinton's Plainfield, New Jersey barber shop. The name was soon abandoned due to legal issues with Revilot and Atlantic Records, and most of the same people recorded under the name Funkadelic, which consisted of The Parliaments' backing musicians. Billy "Bass" Nelson is credited with creating the name Funkadelic. He also switched from 6-string guitar to bass, creating room for his childhood friend Eddie Hazel to join the group. Soon, Parliament was created in addition to Funkadelic and the two bands consisted of essentially the same people, though both released albums under their respective names.
The legal problems with the name "The Parliaments" were resolved in 1970, and Clinton signed all of Funkadelic to Invictus Records under the name Parliament, releasing Osmium ("The Breakdown" reached #30 on the R&B charts in 1971) but the name Parliament was then abandoned for some time, as Funkadelic was much more successful.
In the early 1970s, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Catfish Collins joined Funkadelic, which released five albums by 1974. With only moderate success, Funkadelic signed with Casablanca Records as Parliament, releasing "Up for the Down Stroke" (off the album of the same name) which reached #10 on the R&B charts but peaked at #63 Pop. The song was the biggest hit of P Funk's career. 1975 saw the release of Chocolate City, which also enjoyed moderate success; the title track reached #24.
With the ensuing albums, Parliament became one of the most respected bands on the 1970s, and are now recognized as one of the forefathers of funk music. Of particular interest are the spacey themes of Starchild, Sir Nose and other recurring characters from multiple albums.
Of particular note is the landmark album Mothership Connection, an amalgam of many '70s themes and the tight "popular" funk sound which was both more commercially viable (particularly in the black community) and more readily emulated by the numerous artists capitalizing on the popularity of funk's mainstream cousin: disco. Artists such as the BeeGees, the Commodores and Kool and the Gang repackaged many of Parliament's innovations into radio-ready pop hits and upon the mass acceptance of disco culture as portrayed in Saturday Night Fever, millions of suburban Americans were able to boogie-oogie-oogie safely protected from exposure to the urban dance scene's multi-ethnic, sexually diverse and cocaine-fueled celebration.
In the early 1980s, with legal difficulties arising from the multiple names used by multiple groups, as well as a shakeup at Casablanca Records, George Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as recording and touring entities. Parliament/Funkadelic morphed into P-Funk. New audiences were fueled in the '90s due to extensive sampling by hip hop DJs and producers, including beats used in The Chronic and Cypress Hill's debut album.
A variety of bands evolved in their own right out of the main two bands - they included Bootsy's Rubber Band, The Brides of Funkenstein, Parlet, Mutiny, The Horny Horns, and Quazar.
George Clinton subsequently worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Reformed in January 2018, the first new Parliament release in 38 years was "I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me", which features the rapper Scarface. A new Parliament album, Medicaid Fraud Dogg, was released in May 2018.
All Your Goodies Are Gone
Parliament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby, I refuse to be blue
Let hurt put you in the loser's seat
Let hurt put you behind the wheel
(Hurt put you in the loser's seat)
Shame, shame on me
For thinking that I could possibly be
In this world infested with boys
Well, now I know that I am first on your list
And if I leave, I'm gonna be missed
I cannot take a chance on you
It's so easy to become number two
And I refuse to be blue
Baby, I'm crying you will lose
Let hurt put you in the loser's seat
Let hurt put you behind the wheel
(Hurt put you in the loser's seat)
Let you see how does it feel (let you see how it feels)
To be un-for-real (to be un-for-real)
To be without a love of your own (without a love of your own)
And all your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
All your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
So good
I had known that your love was good
But it don't rectify how I'll cry
If you ever say goodbye
I refuse to be blue
Meaning, I'm cutting you a-loose
Let hurt put you in the loser's seat
Let hurt put you behind the wheel hurt put you in the loser's seat
Let you see how it feels (let you see how it feels)
To be un-for-real (to be un-for-real)
To be without a love of your own (without a love of your own)
And all your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
All your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
All your goodies are gone
In the lyrics of Parliament's song "All Your Goodies Are Gone," the singer is expressing dissatisfaction and a lack of patience with their partner's inability to commit to them. They indicate that they are fed up with the situation and refuse to be unhappy while their partner continues to string them along. The use of the phrase "loser's seat" suggests the idea that the partner is acting in a way that is causing them to lose the trust and affection of the singer.
The lyrics also touch on themes of self-empowerment and self-worth. The singer indicates that they are the first on their partner's list, but they are not willing to continue to tolerate a situation where they are not given the respect and trust they deserve. They refuse to become "number two" and want to be the exclusive choice, which isn't possible in a world "infested with boys."
Ultimately, the singer indicates that they are cutting their partner loose and will not tolerate a situation where they are left feeling blue or unhappy. They want their partner to experience the pain of being without true love, which is suggested by the repetition of the phrase "all your goodies are gone."
Line by Line Meaning
I am through with you
I am done with this relationship.
Baby, I refuse to be blue
I refuse to be sad about it.
Let hurt put you in the loser's seat
The hurt caused by the breakup is going to make you feel like the loser.
Let hurt put you behind the wheel
The hurt is going to be the driving force behind your feelings.
(Hurt put you in the loser's seat)
Repeat of earlier line for emphasis.
Shame, shame on me
I made a mistake by thinking I was the only one for you.
For thinking that I could possibly be
I was being naive and foolish.
The exclusive one of your choice
I thought I was the only person you wanted to be with.
In this world infested with boys
In a world full of men, I was just one of many options for you.
Well, now I know that I am first on your list
I now know that I am your top choice.
And if I leave, I'm gonna be missed
If I leave you, you'll be sad that I'm gone.
I cannot take a chance on you
I can't risk being hurt by you again.
It's so easy to become number two
It's easy for you to replace me with someone else.
Let you see how does it feel (let you see how it feels)
I want you to experience the same hurt that you caused me.
To be un-for-real (to be un-for-real)
To feel like the love you had wasn't genuine.
To be without a love of your own (without a love of your own)
To be without someone to love you.
And all your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
All the things that you enjoyed, like my love and attention, are gone.
So good
Even though our relationship was good.
I had known that your love was good
I knew that you gave me a good feeling when we were together.
But it don't rectify how I'll cry
But that doesn't erase the pain that I'll feel if we break up.
If you ever say goodbye
If you decide to end things with me.
Meaning, I'm cutting you a-loose
I'm letting you go.
All your goodies are gone (all your goodies are gone)
Repeat of earlier line for emphasis.
All your goodies are gone
Repeat of earlier line for final emphasis.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CLARENCE HASKINS, GEORGE S CLINTON, WILLIAM NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anand Jacob
This is one of my favourite tracks of all time. Maybe the trippiest funk track ever. There’s just so much to love in it. These guys were genius.
BRANDO HMC
Opera level vocals etc this shit is timeless
KneesTurnedVelvet
This song has to be one of the coolest songs ever made. So funky.
Míster Funke
@Andrew Leslie is a kind of slow melancholic-dark funkyness.
57dogsbody
@Míster Funke Check out "Let Hurt Put You in The Losers Seat" by The Parliaments, to see where this comes from. It was one of Georges comic takes on the Hertz car rental advert.......Let Hertz put you in the drivers seat!
La Jo Ba
Georges best vocal performance. Too flunking funky!
James Bond, Jr.
Gary Shider
La Jo Ba
@James Bond, Jr. .no that's George. Listen to Never Gonna Tell it, the leads on that is Gary Shider.
James Bond, Jr.
@La Jo Ba Ok I stand corrected.
La Jo Ba
@James Bond, Jr. Funk on Funkateer! 🤘