1489 – Al Green – Take me to the river (1974)

 

Escrita por Al Green e Mabon Hodges, foi gravada em 1974 em Memphis, Tennessee e lançada em 2 de outubro de 1974 no disco Al Green Explores Your mind, Foi regravada pelo Talking Heads, entre outros artistas É o número 117 da lista das 500 greatest songs of all time da revista Rolling Stone. Eles compuseram essa canção em uma casa no meio do mato, em Lake Hamilton, Arkansas. Green fez música e letra e Hodges ajudou na música. Ele dedica essa música ao seu primo, Little Junior Parker, que havia falecido. Ele fala de suas convicções religiosas em conflito com coisas terrenas. Quando ele virou pastor, deixou de cantar essa canção. Foi regravada também por Levon Helm, Bryan Ferry, The Grateful Dead, Annie Lenox, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen e Courtney Love, entre outros artistas.

A letra:

I'd like to dedicate this song to little Junior Parker
A cousin of mine who's gone on, but we'd like to kinda carry on in his name
I sing

I don't know why I love you like I do
After all the changes that you put me through
You stole my money and my cigarettes
And I haven't seen hide nor hair of you yet

I wanna know
Won't you tell me
Am I in love to stay?
Hey, hey

Take me to the river
And wash me down
Won't you cleanse my soul
Put my feet on the ground

I don't know why she treated me so bad
After all the things that we could have had
Love is a notion that I can't forget
My sweet sixteen I will never regret

I wanna know
Won't you tell me
Am I in love to stay?
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Hold me, love me, please me, tease me
'Til I can't, 'til I can't take no more

Take me to the river

I don't know why I love you like I do
After all the things that you put me through
The sixteen candles burning on my wall
Turning me into the biggest fool of them all

I wanna know
Oh, won't you tell me
Am I in love to stay?

I wanna know
Take me to the river

I wanna know
I want you to dip me in the water
I wanna know
Won't you wash me in the water
Wash me in the water
Wash me in the water
Won't you wash me in the water
Feeling good

A versão de Al Green:

A versão do Talking Heads:

A versão de Levon Helm: