Medley: By The Time I Get To Phoenix/I Say A Little Prayer - Isaac Hayes, Dionne Warwick

Awww, yeah

Mmmm, hmmm, hmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm

I’m talking about the power of love now

I’m gonna tell you what love can do

You know when they say love makes the world go 'round, that’s the truth

Love can make you or break you

It can make you laugh.

It can make you cry

It can make you happy.

It can make you sad

Aw, it’d get hung up real bad

In a case of jealousy, love can make you mad.

Aw, yeah

Now everybody, everybody’s got it’s own thing

Everybody’s got it’s way of doing a thing

Now we should attempt to do a tune that is very popular it was written by one

of the great young songwriters of today

Now I don’t know what he was thinking about or what inspired him to write this

tune, but it’s a deep tune

There’s a deep meaning to this tune because it shows you what the power of love

can do

Now I should attempt it to do it my way, my own interpretation of it

Like I said, everybody’s got it’s own thing

I’m gonna bring it on down to Soulsville

Now I want you to bear along with me for a few minutes while I set it up

Now I want your imagination.

I want you to travel with me

Oh, come on, come on, come on

This young man was raised in the hills of Tennessee

When he reached the age of maturity, he moved to the West Coast

And he fell in love when he got out there to this young girl

Aw, man, she was out of sight.

She was bad

And then they started dating and then the inevitable, became engaged and they

were married

Mmmm, hmmm, hmmm

They were happily married.

That’s right they lived in L. A

Oh, oh.

The power of love was upon them

But you see, girls, I don’t mean to come down on you, but this man loved this

woman so… He can really say love is blind

He could see no wrong.

No, no, no

He worked every day and sometimes he’d pull overtime, double time, triple time

He bought anything that this woman’s heart desires, anything that he could rake

and scrape

He spent his last dime on women because he loved her

And you know, girls, you can take love and kindness sometime for weakness and

she took it for granted

She said, «I got a fool and I know I got a fool.

I got a good thing.»

Yeah, she was standing around on the corner, you understand, meeting with her

friends

She would go to the beauty salon, get her hair fixed

She’d go shopping and she would brag about her good thing that she’s got

Yeah.

And she took doubt on it

See, ain’t nobody gonna believe what to tell him no way, fool

Oh, yeah, girls, you would love that sometimes

But one day, one day, the old boy got sick and he had to come home

I don’t have to tell you what he found

Oh, yeah, it hurt him so bad

He said, «Baby, Mama… why?»

That’s all he could say

That’s all he could say.

He was hurt

But she said, «Oh, go on fool, you’re doing it, but the man wasn’t doing it,

but that’s the only excuse you can give him.»

He said, «Mama, I can’t take it.

I’ve got to leave you.

I’m gonna leave you.»

He packed up his rags, you understand, and he started out the door

And when he reached the driveway, you understand, he went in there begging just

like my man Tyrone Davis

And he said, «Oh, mama, mama, mama, can I change, oh, my mind?»

You see, the power of love was upon him and he came back

Oh, yes he did

When she tried to straighten up, she said she was gonna straighten up

She got a little job to help him out with the bills too, but that was just a

sham because he found it again and again

And seven times he left this woman and seven times he came back

Oh, but you know, the heart can take so much

That’s right.

You can kick a dog around for so long and he’ll get tired.

He’ll turn

And he taken all that he could stand

In the eighth time that this went down, he said, «Mama, I’ve got to go.»

With tears in his eyes, he said, «I'm gonna leave you, baby.»

He said, «I ain’t coming back.»

He said, «I'm leaving my heart right here, but I’ve got to go, you see,

'cause this man can’t take no more.»

She didn’t believe it

He packed his clothes.

He got in his 1965 Ford

He started out

Three times he started to turn back before he reached the outskirts of the city,

but he kept on going

Oh, I don’t wanna go, but I’ve got to leave you, mama

And he’s going down the highway

I guess it was around 3:30 in the morning

He could not hardly see the road with tears in his eyes

That’s right, he was crying

There were meaning in his tears

He cannot barely see the sign that read on the side of the road,

the next town is 125 miles away

And these very words came into his mind.

He said…

By the time I get to Phoenix, she’ll be rising

Oh, and she’ll find a note I left hanging on her door

She’ll laugh when she reads the part that says I’m leavin'

Yes she will.

Why?

'Cause I’ve left that girl so many times before.

Oh

By the time I make Albuquerque, she’ll be workin'

And she’ll probably stop at lunch

Just to give her, her sweet good thing a call

And oh, she’ll hear, oh, oh, the phone keeps right on ringin' and ringin' and

ringin' and ringin' and ringin' and ringin'

Oh, and ringin' off the wall

Mama, mama, mama, that’s all

And by the time I get to Oklahoma, she’ll be sleepin'

She’ll turn softly in her restless sleep, call my name out low

And oh, then she’ll cry just to think I-I-I-I-I…

I would really leave her

For time after time after time after time and time again, I tried to tell her so

But she was a non-believer, oh, and she didn’t know

Oh, that I-I-I-I-I-I…I would really go

She didn’t believe I would really go.

Oh no

I hate to leave you, baby, yes I do

I really, really, really hate to go, oh yeah

But this heart of mine just can’t take no more

I-I-I-I-I-I've taken all that I could stand

You should’ve known what you were doing to the man

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You see, when I left, baby, I left a piece of my heart

Oh yeah

You know, you know, you know, you know you took, baby

You know you, you took the greatest part, yeah, yeah

I don’t know how I’m gonna make it, oh no, but I’ve got to go

I’m gonna miss all the sweet loving and the good times

But the good times weren’t as heavy, oh no, as the bad times

Oh yeah

You really, really put the hurt on me, yes you did

I’m a prisoner of your love and I just, I just won’t ever be free, no, no, no

So it’s bye-bye.

Oh, mama, mama, bye-bye

Oh, bye-bye.

Oh, bye-bye, baby, bye-bye

It’s too late for you to cry

You had a good thing, oh, and you misused it, yes you did

Yes you did

You had a good heart, oh, and you abused it

Oh yeah

You were sweet to me, yes you were

But on the other hand, you was real cold, cold, cold, cold

You just kept me, oh, you kept me hanging on, yes you did

Oh, oh, you kept me hanging on

You kept me begging, begging… You kept me begging you to do right

You kept me pacing the floor at night, oh yeah

But I love you.

God knows that I love you, baby

Ah, yeah.

I’ll always love you, yeah

(Instrumental break)

Raindrops of water beating under my chin

You can look at me and tell all the pain I’m in

Aw, yeah.

Aw, yeah.

I’m gonna moan now

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm

Mmmm, hmmm

(Organ solo)

(Instrumental finale)

The moment I wake up

Before I put on my makeup

I say a little prayer for you

While combing my hair, now

And wondering what dress to wear, now

I say a little prayer for you

Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever, forever, we never will part

Oh, how I’ll love you

Together, together, that’s how it must be

To live without you

Would only be heartbreak for me

I run for the bus, dear

While riding I think of us, dear

I say a little prayer for you

At work, I just take time

And all through my coffee break-time

I say a little prayer for you

Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever, forever we never will part

Oh, how I’ll love you

Together, together, that’s how it must be

To live without you

Would only be heartbreak for me

I say a little prayer for you

I say a little prayer for you

Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever, forever we never will part

Oh, how I’ll love you

Together, together, that’s how it must be

To live without you

Would only be heartbreak for me

My darling, believe me

For me there is no one

But you…