Back Stabbers
The O\'Jays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
All you fellows who have someone and you really care, yeah, yeah
Somebody's out to get your lady
A few of your buddies they sure look shady
Blades are long, clenched tight in their fist
Aimin' straight at your back
And I don't think they'll miss
(What they do)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
I keep gettin' all these visits from my friends, yeah, what they doin' to me
They come to my house again and again and again and again, yeah
So are they there to see my woman
I don't even be home but they just keep on comin'
What can I do to get on the right track
I wish they'd take some of these knives off my back
(What they do)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
Low down dirty
(What they do)
(They smile in your face)
Smiling faces smiling faces sometimes tell lies (back stabbers)
(They smile in your face)
I don't need low down, dirty bastards (back stabbers)
The O'Jays’ song Backstabbers is about the deceit and betrayal that can happen in relationships and friendships. The repetition of the phrase “smiling faces,” which is heard throughout the song, suggests that the backstabbers are not honest with their intentions and can easily hide their true feelings with a friendly façade. The verses tell the story of a man who is going through a tough time because his girlfriend is being pursued by other men who are supposed to be his friends. They come to visit him often, but he suspects that they are only there to see his girlfriend when he is not home. He feels like he cannot trust anyone, and that people are trying to take his place in both his romantic relationship and his social circle.
The chorus of the song is particularly memorable, with its repetition of “all the time they want to take your place, the backstabbers,” which underscores the sense of paranoia and suspicion that the singer feels. The second verse continues the image of knives and blades being aimed at his back, which metaphorically represents the untrustworthy actions of his friends. The lyrics in the bridge further amplify the concept of deceitful appearances, as the singer speaks of “smiling faces sometimes telling lies” and refers to the backstabbers as “low down dirty bastards.”
Line by Line Meaning
(What they do)
The subject being discussed
(They smile in your face)
The back stabbers pretend to be friendly
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers want to take what the target has
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
The term used to describe the people being discussed
All you fellows who have someone and you really care, yeah, yeah
The people who are in relationships and care about them should be cautious
Then it's all of you fellows who better beware, yeah yeah
All men in a relationship should be careful
Somebody's out to get your lady
Someone wants to take the target's lady
A few of your buddies they sure look shady
Some of the target's friends look untrustworthy
Blades are long, clenched tight in their fist
The backstabbers have knives
Aimin' straight at your back
The backstabbers are targeting the target's back
And I don't think they'll miss
The backstabbers are confident in their aim
(What they do)
The subject being discussed
(They smile in your face)
The back stabbers pretend to be friendly
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers want to take what the target has
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
The term used to describe the people being discussed
I keep gettin' all these visits from my friends, yeah, what they doin' to me
The target is constantly being visited by their friends and is unsure why
They come to my house again and again and again and again, yeah
The friends are repeatedly visiting the target's house
So are they there to see my woman
The target suspects that their friends are there to see their woman
I don't even be home but they just keep on comin'
The friends keep visiting even when the target is not home
What can I do to get on the right track
The target is looking for a solution
I wish they'd take some of these knives off my back
The target wishes their friends would stop betraying them
(What they do)
The subject being discussed
(They smile in your face)
The back stabbers pretend to be friendly
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers want to take what the target has
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
The term used to describe the people being discussed
Low down dirty
The back stabbers are immoral
(What they do)
The subject being discussed
(They smile in your face)
The back stabbers pretend to be friendly
Smiling faces smiling faces sometimes tell lies (backstabbers)
The back stabbers are not truthful even when they smile
(They smile in your face)
The back stabbers pretend to be friendly
I don't need low down, dirty bastards (backstabbers)
The target does not want the immoral back stabbers in their life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEON HUFF, GENE MCFADDEN, JOHN WHITEHEAD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@billbently7778
This song is an absolute GEM!!!! 50 years after this timeless hit, and, unfortunately, Lord knows, we still have too many backstabbers!!!
@earnestinecole4030
"Amen, you and dude up top said that, I'm with you. I've been stabbed all up in my back by all of that!! So called friends, so call family and co workers, NONE OF THEM SPIT WITH IT. But you gotta love them anyway, you gotta keep going!! Life goes on!! Long as I got Jesus, God and the Holy Ghost, Ion give a detn who don't want me!! Life is grrreeeeattt, life is cool!! They will be alright!! You Gon have backstabbers all through out your days and ain't nothing you can do about it!!! I've been stabbed so many times, it don't even hurt no more, it just slightly disappoints and that's it. You gotta keep going cuz in the end you win by staying real,sweet and staying strong!!!!! Life is something else, but it's all cool, it's all worth it!!!!! They Gon answer to God for they inconsistencies?! You can't be stun these folks?! These folks weird!! Just keep on going, keep living!!!! God got SOME REAL,TRUE BLUE FOLKS and friends for you up ahead!!!!! That's in the real, for real!!!!! Strangers,complete strangers,such as myself keep it realler than most family and some friends, even some of your intermediates be weak or lacking with it. I testify!!"
@LuckyLarry33
Sin!
@karlschneider9479
I loved this song from day 1. Thank God for WILD in Boston!
@jamesgossett194
Amen that is for sure
@5274100
People have been backstabbing each other for hundreds of years possibly 1000s of years. You can't trust nobody.
@OfficialTMurdock
I Dedicate This Song To Everyone That Back Stabbed Me, From So Called Friends, So Called Family, So Called Fellow Co Workers.
@nicolemartin1799
💜
@cws6493
I shouldn't respond like this, but I can't help it ...🤣🤣🤣🤣
@truthhurtz8517
💯💯💯💯💯