Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The Miracles, The Marvelettes, The Temptations and The Supremes, The Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who crafted for the group a stream of popular hit singles, including two #1 hits: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-1970s. Since the 1980s, The Four Tops have recorded for, at various times, Motown, Casablanca Records, and Arista Records.
As an unofficial record, it is believed that The Four Tops were the band to continue performing the longest without a lineup change. Levi Stubbs, Abdul Fakir, Renaldo Benson and Lawrence Payton sang together as the Four Tops from 1954 until 1997, when Lawrence Payton died of cancer. That's an astonishing 43 years without a lineup change. The three surviving members continued to tour as "The Tops."
7-Rooms of Gloom
The Four Tops Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A lonely house, 'cos now you're gone
Seven rooms, that's all it is, seven rooms of gloom
I live with emptiness, without your tenderness
You took the dream I had for us, and turned that dream into dust
I watch a phone that never rings, I watch a door that never rings
I need you back into my life and turn this darkness into light
I need your touch to comfort me, your tender tender arms that once held me
Without your love, your love inside
This house is just a place to run and hide
Seven rooms, that's all it is, seven rooms of gloom
Rooms of emptiness, without your tenderness
Don't make me live from day to day, watching a clock that ticks away
Another day, another way, another reason for me to say
I need you here, here with me, I need you, darlin', desperately
I'm all alone, all alone in this house that's not a home
I miss your love I once have known, I miss your kiss that was my very very own
Empty silence surrounds me, lonely walls, they stare
Seven rooms, that's all it is, seven rooms of gloom
I live with emptiness, without your tenderness
All the windows are painted black, I'll wait right here 'til you get back
I keep waitin' and waitin', 'til your face again I see
The Four Tops' song "7-Rooms of Gloom" is a heart-wrenching plea from a man who is left alone in a house that was once filled with love and warmth. The singer looks around the house, which is now empty and cold without his lover, and describes its seven rooms. But to him, those seven rooms are nothing but gloom and emptiness, without the woman he loves.
The first verse sets the tone, with the man describing how the house is now just a lonely, stone structure. The seven rooms are nothing but symbols of his emptiness and grief, without the tenderness and love that his lover once provided. The second verse reveals that the man's lover left him and took away all the dreams he had for their future together, turning them into dust. Now, he's left watching a phone that never rings and a door that never opens. In the chorus, the man pleads for his lover to return to him, to turn this darkness into light, and turn this lonely, seven-roomed house into a home again.
In the third verse, the man describes how much he needs his lover's touch and the comfort of her arms around him. Without her love, the house is just a place to hide, and the emptiness and loneliness drive him to watch the clock tick away each day. The final verse is a desperate plea for his lover to return to him, to fill his life with love and tenderness again. The song ends with the man waiting patiently for his lover's return, knowing that the seven rooms will remain nothing but gloom until she's by his side again.
Line by Line Meaning
I see a house, a house of stone
The singer is describing the house where they once lived together, made of stone.
A lonely house, 'cos now you're gone
The house is now lonely because the person they love is gone.
Seven rooms, that's all it is, seven rooms of gloom
There are seven rooms in the house, but without love, each room feels empty and sad.
I live with emptiness, without your tenderness
The singer is living in the house alone, feeling empty and missing the love and tenderness of the person they love.
You took the dream I had for us, and turned that dream into dust
The person they love destroyed the dream they had together, leaving the singer feeling disappointed and let down.
I watch a phone that never rings, I watch a door that never rings
The singer is waiting for the person they love to call or come back, but they never do.
I need you back into my life and turn this darkness into light
The singer needs the person they love to come back to their life so they can feel happy and hopeful again.
I'm all alone in this house, turn this house into a home
The house feels empty and lonely without the person they love, and the singer wants them to come back and make it feel like a home again.
I need your touch to comfort me, your tender tender arms that once held me
The singer misses the comfort and love that the person they love used to provide.
Without your love, your love inside
Without the love of the person they love, the house and the singer feel empty and sad.
This house is just a place to run and hide
Without the person they love, the house feels like a lonely and sad place where the singer is hiding from the world.
Don't make me live from day to day, watching a clock that ticks away
The singer doesn't want to live day by day without the person they love, feeling like time is passing them by.
Another day, another way, another reason for me to say
Every day that goes by without the person they love gives the singer another reason to want them back.
I need you here, here with me, I need you, darlin', desperately
The singer is desperate for the person they love to come back and be with them.
I'm all alone, all alone in this house that's not a home
The singer is alone in a house that doesn't feel like a home without the person they love.
I miss your love I once have known, I miss your kiss that was my very very own
The singer misses the love and affection they used to receive from the person they love.
Empty silence surrounds me, lonely walls, they stare
The house feels silent and empty without the person they love, and the walls seem to be staring back at them.
All the windows are painted black, I'll wait right here 'til you get back
The singer is waiting for the person they love to come back, and has even painted the windows black to show their sadness and longing.
I keep waitin' and waitin', 'til your face again I see
The singer will keep waiting for the person they love to come back until they see their face again and can be together once more.
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN HOLLAND, EDWARD HOLLAND, EDWARD, JR. HOLLAND, LAMONT DOZIER, LAMONT HERBERT DOZIER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carlos Arturo Sousa Garrido Lecca
WIKIPEDIA
"7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a single in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1] and was a Top 10 R&B Hit, charting at #10. It was also a hit in the UK, their seventh, staying for nine weeks in the UK Singles Charts and reaching #12 and in the Netherlands where it made #23 in the Dutch Top 40.
Described as "throbbing with dread over a racing minor key dominated arrangement" it was written by HollandβDozierβHolland. The single's B-side was "I'll Turn to Stone"[5] also written by Holland-Dozier-Holland with R Dean Taylor.[6] That song made a separate chart entry, and peaked at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #50 on the R&B Charts.
The song begins with Levi Stubb's doing a spoken recitation, which gets repeated twice with alterations.
The Four Tops strongly disliked the song, and they don't perform it live either.
Personnel
Levi Stubbs β lead vocals
Abdul "Duke" Fakir β background vocals
Renaldo "Obie" Benson β background vocals
Lawrence Payton β background vocals
Jackie Hicks β background vocals
Marlene Barrow β background vocals
Louvain Demps β background vocals
Funk Brothers β instrumentation
Jaylen E. Turner
Written by
Brian Holland
Lamont Dozier
Eddie Holland
ββββββββββ
Lead Vocals:
Levi Stubbs
(Baritone)
(R.I.P.)
βββββββββββ
Background Vocals:
Abdul βDukeβ Fakir
(First Tenor)
(Still performing)
Lawrence Payton
(Second Tenor)
(R.I.P.)
Renaldo βObieβ Benson
(Bass)
(R.I.P.)
βββββββββββ
Additional
Background Vocals:
The Andantes:
Jackie Hicks(Soprano)
Louvain Demps(Alto)
Marlene Barrow(Soprano)
βββββββββββββ
Instrumentation:
The Funk Brothers
ββββββββββββ-
Arranger and
Conductor:
Paul Riser
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Produced by
Brian Holland
and
Lamont Dozier
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Year:
1967
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Album:
Reach Out
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Went to #14 on the
Billboard Hot 100
#10 on the
R&B chart.
#12 on
the U.K. chart.
#23 on the
Dutch Top 40.
Valerie Boynton
MERRY XMAS
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SOUTHSIDE
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7 ROOMS OF GLOOM
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REDD BLITZ PRODUCTIONZ
What's never been mentioned or hardly ever discussed is how the mighty Four Tops were the first group ever at the time to land SIX straight singles from one album onto the Billboard's Pop and Soul charts.
Jenny Cowan
Really one of the greatest songs ever written in my opinion, and dude just blows it out of the water. That last line about the windows being painted black, and he'll wait right there til she comes back, it's so haunting.
mausolos8
That part of the song really gets me too.
George Megalis
I watch the phone that never rings then says I watch the door that never RINGS . Donβt you think it have been better writing if they said β I watch the door that never SWINGS β . Either way great song one of my favourites .
Jenny Cowan
@mausolos8 yeah, you can tell the man is hurting.
Malcolm Marshall
*14 on the pop charts. Highly underrated and appreciated. This is a classic.
Xavier Lechard
Maybe their finest song up there with Reach Out and Bernadette.
Lynne Forsyth
Brilliant vocals on every single record...Four Tops were absolutely incredible. I am so glad I grew up in the 60s and 70s...each song reminds me of my life back then. God bless each and every one of them...Levi...omg..you had the very best voice, such feeling..the Master! It is the Soundtrack of my life...β₯οΈ
Dubplate Pearl
I grew up listening to the Four Tops during the 60s - I just love the instrumentation and voices on this tune - I can just imagine how the dancers danced to this one - absolutely superb, but too short!!!
moochincrawdad
Still a stone cold HIT after all these years! π