History
The group's music and unusual costuming (large Afros and white makeup) typified the then-popular trend of "psychedelic soul". A number of their singles became minor hits, and many of them were also songs for Whitfield's main act The Temptations, among them "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Their single Top 40 hit in the United States was the ominous "Smiling Faces Sometimes", also originally recorded by The Temptations, which hit #3 on the US pop charts in 1971.
The Undisputed Truth, along with Rose Royce and Willie Hutch, followed Whitfield during his exodus from Motown to set up Whitfield Records in 1975. At this time, Calvin and Joyce left the group, and Harris was joined by new members Taka Boom, Tyrone "Lil Ty" Barkley, and Calvin "Dhaak" Stephenson. The group's costuming and style changed as well, becoming even more unusual and Funkadelic-influenced. However, the group had little success at the new label, and faded into obscurity after two more albums, although they charted in the UK in 1977 (#43) with the disco single "You + Me = Love" from the album Method to the Madness.
(from the Wikipedia Page)
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
The Undisputed Truth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Bout your plans to make me blue
With some other guy you knew before
Between the two of us guys
You know I loved you more
It took me by surprise I must say
When I found out yesterday
Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
Oh I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah.
I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine baby
I know a man ain't supposed to cry
But these tears I can't hold inside
Losin' you would end my life you see
'Cause you mean that much to me
You could have told me yourself
That you loved some one else
Instead I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Oh, I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah
I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine, baby
People say believe half of what you see
Son and none of what you hear
But I can't help but be confused
If it's true please tell me dear
Do you plan to let me go
For the other guy you loved before?
Don't you know I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine, baby yeah
I heard it through the grapevine
I'm just about to love my mind
Honey, honey, yeah
I heard it through the grapevine,
Not much longer would you be mine, baby yeah
The Undisputed Truth's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" is a classic hit song with many layers of meaning. The opening lines begin with the singer expressing his uncertainty about how he knew about his partner's plan to make him "blue" with someone else. Between the two of them, he loved her more. He was taken aback when he found out and uses the grapevine to describe how he learned of it. The grapevine is a colloquialism for the rumour mill, and implies that the news was not directly shared with him by his partner. He has no idea how true the rumours are, and seeks confirmation directly.
In the second verse, the singer's emotions are in turmoil as he processes potentially losing the love of his life. He is unable to hold back tears and explains how significant his lover is to him, and how losing her would end his life. He laments that she didn't tell him herself, but rather he heard it through the grapevine. The chorus repeats the phrase of how he heard the news, repeating the heartrending idea that he's about to lose her, and the refrain incorporates the title.
The final verse implies that the singer is starting to think that he may be losing his mind over the uncertainty of their relationship because mixed messages are causing him to doubt everything. The song's ending leaves the listener guessing whether the singer's hope is that the rumours aren't accurate or if part of him is vaguely aware that his partner is merely waiting for an excuse to break up.
Line by Line Meaning
I bet you're wonderin' how I knew
You must be wondering how I found out
'Bout your plans to make me blue
About your intentions to make me sad
With some other guy you knew before
You are seeing someone you previously knew
Between the two of us guys
Out of the two of us men in this situation
You know I loved you more
You know that my love for you was greater
It took me by surprise I must say
I must admit that it caught me off guard
When I found out yesterday
When I heard the news yesterday
Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine
I heard the information from a source other than you
Not much longer would you be mine
Our time together is coming to an end soon
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
Oh I heard about it from someone else
Oh I'm just about to lose my mind
Oh I'm on the verge of going crazy
Honey, honey yeah.
My dear, oh yes.
I know a man ain't supposed to cry
I know it is not typical for a man to cry
But these tears I can't hold inside
But I cannot keep these tears inside
Losin' you would end my life you see
Losing you would be the end of me, you understand
'Cause you mean that much to me
Because you are that important to me
You could have told me yourself
You could have informed me personally
That you loved some one else
That you have feelings for someone else
Instead I heard it through the grapevine
Instead, I found out from someone else
People say believe half of what you see
People say that you should only believe half of what you witness
Son and none of what you hear
And none of what you hear
But I can't help but be confused
But I cannot help feeling unsure
If it's true please tell me dear
If it is accurate, please inform me, my love
Do you plan to let me go
Do you intend to end our relationship
For the other guy you loved before?
Because of the other man you loved previously?
Not much longer would you be mine, baby yeah
Our time together is drawing to a close, my dear
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore
Written by: Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind