Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Week No 1: If You Can Want
I referenced this song in the last post and have been singing it ever since so in an attempt to exorcise myself from the pure, captive genius of wordsmith and songwriter supremo Smokey Robinson, I'm doing a whole week of him. This is the perfect antidote to Monday and should (as is often the case) be played with the volume up, especially if you turn it up to maximum 1 minute 25 seconds in when the Funk Brothers show what they can do without even breaking into a sweat. Just listen to this and sing along to Smokey's dazzling wordplay, full of rhetoric of all kinds, stunning rhymes, delivered with his smooth unhurried vocals
"Oh you may not love me now but I'm staying around 'cause you want my company just like push can turn to shove, like can turn to love and it's my philosophy that if you can want, you can need and if you can need, you can care if you can care, you can love and as soon as you want me I'll be there whenever you want me, I'll be there."
Because Smokey was a Motown group frontman, people often didn't notice what a great lyricist but not many hit the spot as often as he does.
"....oh, now this may take some time, but if time was money I would be a millionaire.."
Which, of course, by now, he is! Go Smokey, go!