Parliament is an American funk band formed in the late 1960s by George Clin… Read Full Bio ↴Parliament is an American funk band formed in the late 1960s by George Clinton as part of his Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Less rock-oriented than its sister act Funkadelic, Parliament drew on science-fiction and outlandish performances in their work. The band scored a number of Top 10 hits, including the million-selling 1976 single "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)", and Top 40 albums such as Mothership Connection (1975). Clinton dissolved the band in the early 1980s. 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.

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.

I've Been Watching You
Parliament Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've been watching you
Can't take my eyes off of you, girl
I've been watching you

I've been watching you (aiii)
The way you move your sexy body
I'm liking the things you do
The way you move your sexy body (aiii)

You would like you too
If you knew
How you move your body, yeah

Hey, hey, la la la, la la, la la la la
Hey, hey, aiiii
La la la, la la, la la la la, yeah hey
Hey, hey, hey-hey

(Hey, baby...)
Yeah, I've been watching you
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine)
I'm liking the things you do (move yeah)
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, aiii)
I'd like to help you do
What you'll do
When you move your body

Hey hey hey now
La la la, la la, la la la la, yeah hey
Hey, hey aiii
La la la, la la, la la la la, yeah hey
Yoww-hoo!
Aiii!

I've been watching you
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, body body)
I'm liking the things you do (when you move)
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, yeah)
They could not help me to
Two of you
And y'all sexy body
Aii, aii

I've been watching you
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine)
I'm liking the things you do (when you move)
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, yeah)
You would like you too
If you knew
The way you move your sexy body
Oh, girl

I've been watching you
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, ai!)
You would like you too
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, yeah)
I like the things you do
The way you move
Your body
Girl

I've been watching you
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine)

I'm liking the things you do, oh
The way you move your sexy body (just move your body close to mine, yeah)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Parliament/Funkadelic's song "I've Been Watching You" are essentially an ode to a woman's body and the way she moves it. The singer of the song (presumably a man) is enthralled with the woman and can't take his eyes off of her. He describes her body as "sexy" and admires the way she moves, stating that he'd like to help her do what she does when she moves her body. The repetitive nature of the lyrics reinforces the idea that the woman's body is mesmerizing and captivating to the singer.

Furthermore, the use of "La La" and "Hey Hey" interjections and the addition of "aiii" contribute to the hypnotic and seductive nature of the song. The fact that the woman's perspective is not explicitly acknowledged also serves to objectify her, reinforcing the tired stereotype of men sexualizing women's bodies.

Overall, while the lyrics may not be the most progressive or empowering, they do reflect a certain kind of male gaze that has been present in popular music for decades.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been watching you
I cannot take my eyes off of you, girl.

Can't take my eyes off of you, girl
I am extremely attracted to you and cannot stop looking at you.

The way you move your sexy body
I find your dance moves sexy and desirable.

I'm liking the things you do
I am enjoying the way you move and act.

You would like you too
If you knew how attractive you are, you would like yourself as well.

If you knew how you move your body
You are not fully aware of how attractive your dancing is.

Hey, hey, la la la, la la, la la la la
Humming, showing my admiration for you with my voice.

Hey, hey, aiiii
Expressing my appreciation with a joyful shout.

Just move your body close to mine
I am trying to get you to dance with me and be closer.

I'd like to help you do what you'll do when you move your body
I want to help you feel good and enjoy yourself when you dance.

Yoww-hoo! Aiii!
Making an excited sound, indicating my high level of attraction to you and eagerness to dance.