The group was founded as The Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks, and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago, Illinois and added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their lineup to become Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and new Impression Fred Cash collectively became a top-selling soul act. Mayfield left the group for a solo career in 1970; Leroy Hutson, Ralph Johnson, Reggie Torian, and Nate Evans were among the replacements who joined Gooden and Cash before the group's demise in 1983.
Inductees into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Impressions are best known for their 1960s string of hits, many of which were heavily influenced by gospel music and served as inspirational anthems for the Civil Rights Movement.
Personnel:
Jerry Butler (1958 - 1960)
Curtis Mayfield (1958 - 1970)
Sam Gooden (1958 - 1983)
Arthur Brooks (1958 - 1962)
Richard Brooks (1958 - 1962)
Fred Cash (1960 - 1983)
Leroy Hutson (1970 - 1973)
Ralph Johnson (1973 - 1976)
Nate Evans (1976 - 1979)
Reggie Torian (1973 - 1983)
Discography
Albums
1963: The Impressions
1964: Keep on Pushing
1964: The Never Ending Impressions
1965: One by One
1965: People Get Ready
1966: Ridin' High
1967: The Fabulous Impressions
1968: We're a Winner
1968: This Is My Country
1969: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story
1969: The Versatile Impressions
1969: Amen
1970: Check out Your Mind!
1972: Times Have Changed
1973: Preacher Man
1974: Finally Got Myself Together
1974: Three the Hard Way
1975: First Impressions
1975: Sooner or Later
1976: It's About Time
1976: Originals
1976: Loving Power
1979: Come to My Party
1981: Fan the Fire
Too Slow
The Impressions Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Woman, you're too slow
Ain't got much time
Tell me your mine
Woman you're too slow
Done messed up my mind
Tryin' to figure on love
You're waiting around
Woman, you're too slow
You're too slow
Woman you're too slow
Ain't got much time
Tell me you love me
Woman you're too slow
I got a woman
My woman she's too slow
Keeps me in pain
And it's a dog-gone shame
A woman can be too slow
Everybody's sayin'
Woman you're too slow
You're gone dead and buried
Before we get married
Woman, you're too slow
You're too slow!
You're too slow
You're too slow!
You're too slow
You're too slow!
You're too slow
The Impressions' song "Too Slow" is a bluesy lament about a woman who is taking too long to commit to the singer. The lyrics express frustration and confusion as the singer tries to make sense of the situation. He feels like he's getting mixed signals from the woman, and he's not sure if she's really interested in him or if she's just stringing him along. The repetition of the phrase "you're too slow" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's impatience with the situation.
The song's opening lines set the tone for the rest of the lyrics: "You're too slow / Woman, you're too slow / Ain't got much time / Tell me your mine / Woman you're too slow." Here, the singer is urging the woman to make a decision and tell him whether she wants to be with him or not. He's running out of patience and wants to know where he stands.
Later in the song, the singer sings, "Done messed up my mind / Tryin' to figure on love / From you all I found / You're waiting around / Woman, you're too slow." These lines highlight the singer's confusion and frustration as he tries to navigate the complexities of the relationship. He's invested a lot of time and emotional energy into this woman, but he's not getting much back in return.
Line by Line Meaning
You're too slow
You're not moving fast enough in regards to our relationship
Woman, you're too slow
I'm specifically talking to you, the woman I'm in a relationship with
Ain't got much time
I don't have an infinite amount of time to wait around for you
Tell me your mine
Commit to me and let me know that you're mine
Done messed up my mind
You've confused me on what love truly is
Tryin' to figure on love
I'm attempting to understand love
From you all I found
You haven't given me any indication that you reciprocate my feelings
You're waiting around
You're hesitant to take our relationship further
I got a woman
I'm in a committed relationship
My woman she's too slow
My partner is not moving forward in the relationship as much as I'd hoped
Keeps me in pain
Your lack of progress in the relationship is hurting me
And it's a dog-gone shame
It's unfortunate that you're moving so slowly, causing me pain
A woman can be too slow
This is a general observation that women can sometimes be unprepared to move forward in relationships
Everybody's sayin'
I'm not the only one who has noticed that you're moving too slowly
You're gone dead and buried
We will have missed our chance if you continue to move so slowly
Before we get married
If we want to get married, you need to speed up your progress in the relationship
You're too slow!
You're still not moving fast enough
You're too slow
Reiterating that you're not moving forward in the relationship as quickly as I'd like
You're too slow!
Emphasizing again that your progress in the relationship is not fast enough
You're too slow
Continuing to express frustration over your slow pace in the relationship
You're too slow!
Ending with one more repetition of my annoyance with how slowly you're moving in our relationship
Contributed by Avery F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Keith Fuqua
on People Get Ready
Amen brothers. Get ready people