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."
You Can't Hurry Love
The Four Tops Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I need to find, find someone to call mine,
But mama said you can't hurry love,
No you just have to wait,
She said love don't come easy,
It's a game of give and take.
You can't hurry love,
No, you just have to wait,
No matter how long it takes;
But how many heartaches must I stand
Before I find a love to let me live again.
Right now the only thing that keeps me hanging on,
When I feel my strength, yeah, it's almost gone,
I remember mama said,
You can't hurry love,
No you just have to wait,
She said love don't come easy,
It's a game of give and take.
How long must I wait how much more can I take,
Before loneliness will 'cause my heart, heart to break?
No, I can't bear to live my life alone.
I grow impatient for a love to call my own,
But when I feel that I, I can't go on,
These precious words keeps me hanging on,
I remember mama said,
Can't hurry love,
No you just have to wait,
She said love don't come easy,
it's a game of give and take.
You can't hurry love,
No you just have to wait,
She said love don't come easy,
It's a game of give and take
No matter how long it takes.
No love, love don't come easy,
But I keep on waiting, anticipating for that
Soft voice to talk to me at night,
For some tender arms to hold me tight.
I keep waiting; I keep on waiting,
But it ain't easy, it ain't easy when mama said
You can't hurry love no,
You just have to wait,
She said trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes.
You can't hurry love
You just have to wait,
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take.
In "You Can't Hurry Love," The Four Tops sing about the search for love and the importance of waiting for it to come naturally. The singer is struggling with loneliness and the need for companionship, but their mother cautions them that love cannot be rushed. She tells them that love is a challenging game of give and take that requires trust and patience. The lyrics convey a sense of frustration with the difficulties of finding love but also a determination to hold out for the right person.
The repeated refrain of "you can't hurry love" emphasizes the central message of the song: that love requires waiting and that trying to force it won't work. The lines "How many heartaches must I stand before I find a love to let me live again" and "But when I feel that I can't go on, these precious words keep me hanging on" convey the singer's intense desire for love and the hope and comfort they draw from their mother's advice.
Overall, "You Can't Hurry Love" is a timeless anthem about the search for love and the importance of patience and trust in finding it.
Line by Line Meaning
I need love, love to ease my mind,
I require a romantic relationship to alleviate my anxiety and soothe my worries.
I need to find, find someone to call mine,
I am searching for a partner with whom I can have a lasting and fulfilling relationship.
But mama said you can't hurry love,
My mother warned me that love cannot be rushed or forced.
No you just have to wait,
Love requires patience and cannot be obtained immediately.
She said love don't come easy,
Love is not simple and often comes with obstacles and challenges.
It's a game of give and take.
Love requires both partners to sacrifice and compromise in order to succeed.
But how many heartaches must I stand
I am wondering how many failed relationships I must endure before finding true love.
Before I find a love to let me live again.
I am searching for a love that will help me feel alive and happy once more.
Right now the only thing that keeps me hanging on,
Currently, the only thing keeping me optimistic about love is this belief in waiting for it to arrive.
When I feel my strength, yeah, it's almost gone,
During my moments of despair, when I feel like giving up hope, my strength and patience are almost exhausted.
You can't hurry love,
Reiterating the idea that love cannot be rushed or forced.
No you just have to wait,
Being patient is the only way to find true love.
You gotta trust, give it time,
It is essential to have faith in love and allow time to pass in order to find the right partner.
No matter how long it takes;
Regardless of how much time passes or how difficult the search may become, love must be given the time and patience it requires.
How long must I wait how much more can I take,
I am growing restless and wondering how much longer I must wait before I find love and how much more disappointment I can withstand.
Before loneliness will 'cause my heart, heart to break?
I am worried that my loneliness and lack of love will eventually destroy my emotional wellbeing and happiness.
No, I can't bear to live my life alone.
Being alone for too long is unbearable, and I am looking for a companion to share my life with.
I grow impatient for a love to call my own,
My desire for love is causing me to become restless and frustrated, as I want to find a partner to call my own.
But when I feel that I, I can't go on,
During moments of extreme hopelessness and despair, I feel like I cannot continue the search for love.
These precious words keeps me hanging on,
The words of my mother, reminding me to be patient and wait for love, are what keep me hopeful and determined to continue my search.
No love, love don't come easy,
Once again emphasizing that love is not simple and requires effort and sacrifice to succeed.
But I keep on waiting, anticipating for that
Despite the difficulties, I continue to wait and hope for the arrival of love.
Soft voice to talk to me at night,
Part of my desire for love includes having a gentle and soothing voice to comfort me at night.
For some tender arms to hold me tight.
I am hoping to find someone who will embrace me with tenderness and affection.
I keep waiting; I keep on waiting,
Once again, emphasizing the theme of patience and waiting for the right partner to come along.
But it ain't easy, it ain't easy when mama said
Despite my resolve to remain patient, waiting for love is difficult, especially when my mother is the one who warned me about the challenges of finding it.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN HOLLAND, LAMONT DOZIER, EDWARD JR. HOLLAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leomcdev
The Four Tops Live at the Roostertail in Detroit. One of the first records I bought back in the 1960's. I bought this record in a Rexall Drug Store in Bolton Ontario in 1966. The price was $3.98.
Ujima Jame
Great remake of a great song - just as good as the original!
Onkel Ebert
i really like a lot of stuff from the four tops, but this version is just crap.
Jane Wolfe
the wonderful four tops