Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.
The theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week is “game.”
Discovered by music legend Sam Cooke, Robert Dwayne Womack aka Bobby Womack, was one of those singers the average person ‘knew’… but just couldn’t quite place. With the exception of crossover hit’s like That’s the Way I Feel About Cha’, Woman’s Gotta Have It, and Across 110th Street, Womack was better known to R & B and gospel fans. However, in the music industry he ranks among the greats. Womack wrote songs for, collaborated with, or had songs covered by some of the biggest names in music including The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, Todd Rundgren, Sly & the Family Stone, and Van Morrison.
But it’s Womack’s 1982 If You Think You’re Lonely Now I bring to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday. It’s from his album The Poet. The single reached number three for four weeks on the Hot Soul Singles chart. This is significant because Womack released the song during a time when R&B was on a down slope and the charts were largely dominated by dance music.
The song is about a man whose woman is never satisfied. He does everything he can to please her and it’s never enough. She wants him home rubbing her back. She has a keeping up with the Joneses mentality and complains about him being at home and not out working because she wants everything her girlfriends get. She’s playing mind games.
He gets fed up!
This song is his come-toJesus-meeting for her… if you think you’re lonely NOW… wait until tonight, girl.
Enjoy!
See my Song Lyric Sunday selection on Nesie’s Place.
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Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.
If You Think You’re Lonely Now
by Bobby Womack
Written by Bobby Womack / Patrick Moten / Sandra Sully
I wanna dedicate this song to all the lovers tonight
And I expect that might be the whole world
Because everybody needs something or someone to love
When it’s cold outside who are you holding
You know
If y’all don’t mind I’d like to talk about this woman of mine
She’s always complaining ’bout me never being at home
But when I’m there broke
She’s telling me ’bout the things that her girlfriend’s got
What she ain’t got, and she wants me to go out and get em for her
But, but girl, I can’t be in two places at one time
If you think you’re lonely now, huh
Wait until tonight, girl
I’ll be long gone
And you’ll never find another man that’ll treat you right
When I ain’t there to rub your back
Just remember I made it a long fact
And it’s gotta just come out of the closet
And chase you all around your room
And the memories sail round like a ghost
And that’s a matter of fact, it’s no joke, ah
If you think you’re lonely now
Oh, wait until tonight
I’ll be long gone
And you’ll never find another man that’ll treat you right
Wai-ait, wait until tonight, girl
Oh, ain’t it funny how the tables turn
When things aren’t going your way
But when love runs out, and the pain walks in
And settles for a stay, ooh
Lord, help me, I feel like I wanna testify
Girl, wait until tonight
If you think you’re lonely, lonely now
Oh, you just wait until tonight, girl
You see tonight’s the night when the needs come out
When your needs come out to breathe
And you toast the stars and there ain’t no way you can sleep, oh
If you think you’re lonely now
I feel like I wanna testify this evening
I’m lonely, cause I know I gotta leave you, oh, girl
I just can’t take no more
Ooh…hoo…hoo…
Ah, girl, you just wait
If you think you got problems now, baby, you just wait
Wait
Ooh…hoo…ooh…hoo, babe
You say you’re a little lonely
But everybody needs somebody to love
It’s good that you know that you got somebody that’ll stand by your side
That’ll build you up when you’re falling down
And you had that someone, baby
Cause I’ve done my time
And it’s your turn now
If you think you’re lonely now
Wait, wait until tonight
I’m tired
I’m tired of this same old shuck and jive
It’s been too long
You think you could start all over again, it’s been too long
You think you could start it just one more time
Compiled from Genius Lyrics, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Google.
Felicia Denise, Author 
I love the stories you tell about your songs. I am a long-time R&B fan and this is the genre at its best. I remember Bobby Womack and this song well. As you say he was under the radar a lot but for those who knew and appreciated him he was a master at his craft.
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Thanks, Lydia! Bobby just had one of those voices, gruff but versatile! 😉
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Wake up call! 🙂 His voice really sells this one for me. It’s fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
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That voice! He does get your attention! 🙂
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