Love Child
The Supremes Lyrics

You think that I don't feel love
You believe I am incapable of love

What I feel for you is real love
But my feelings for you are genuine and true love

In other's eyes I see reflected a hurt, scorned, rejected
I can see in the way others treat me that I am looked down on and judged harshly for being a love child, a child born out of wedlock or to poverty

Love child, never meant to be
I was never intended to arrive and be another responsibility

Love child, born in poverty
But I was born in conditions of scarcity and insufficiency

Love child, never meant to be
I faced unfavorable terms from life in the first place

Love child, take a look at me
But see me for who I am and not what society has preconceived about me

I started my life in an old, cold, rundown tenement slum
My life began with me living in a poor quality housing unit

My father left, he never even married Mom
My biological father abandoned my mother before I was born

I shared the guilt my mama knew
I empathize with the shame that my mother feels about my existence

So afraid that others knew I had no name
I was scared that people would find out that I carried no legitimate family identity of my own

This love we're contemplating, is worth the pain of waiting
We believe that the potential of our relationship justifies enduring any struggles to start a family

We'll only end up hating the child we may be creating
But we also fear that we may end up resentful or full of self-hatred if we give birth to a love child

Love child, never meant to be
Because society has conditioned us that such children don't deserve a place like others

Love child, by society
We face stigma and condemnation from the community

Love child, always second best
As a consequence, we are always judged to be inferior and lesser

Love child, diff'rent from the rest
We are set apart and distinct from everybody else, and not generally in a good way

Hold on, whoa
But, despite everything, let's take a moment to pause and reflect

I started school in a worn, torn, dress that somebody threw out
The poverty that I was born into and the harsh treatment I received made it so that I sometimes had to wear clothes others had discarded

I knew the way it was to always live in doubt
This also meant that I was in a perpetual state of uncertainty, and never had a secure feeling

To be without the simple things
I never had the luxury of experiencing basic needs or basic wants

So afraid my friends could see the guilt in me
I was constantly anxious that my peers would recognize my sense of shame about my origins

Don't think that I don't need you
But I want you to know that I really do depend on you and your love

Don't think I don't want to please you
And that I'm not committed to wanting to make you happy

No child of mine'll be bearing the name of shame I've been wearin'
No child of ours, if we can help it, will have to be subjected to the same negativity and stigma as I have experienced firsthand

Love child, never quite as good
'Less than' is a label that we'll have to carry even with our best intentions

Afraid, ashamed, misunderstood
This will translate to us feeling constantly apprehensive, self-doubting, and feeling inadequate

But I'll always love you
Nevertheless, we will always hold affection and regard for each other

I'll always love you
And we will continue to hold each other in high esteem and affection

I'll always love you
Through every challenge and obstacle, we will remain devoted to one another

I'll always love you
It's a concrete assurance that no one can take from us, and upon which we will build our lives

I'll always love you
Our bond is unconditional, unbreakable, and everlasting

I'll always love you
That is the one thing we can be sure of

You, you, you
We are only loyal to each other, without reservation or hesitation