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October 5, 2018
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we step into our time machine and dial in May 10, 1970, the day The Jackson 5 performed “The Love You Save” on The Ed Sullivan Show.
In the song, a 12-year-old Michael Jackson is tormented by a girlfriend who can’t seem to shake her cheating ways. When they were little kids, she was always chasing after the boys. Now that she’s older, Michael’s promise ring is not enough to keep her faithful.
Jackson sings, “When we grew up you traded / Your promise for my ring / Now just like back in grade school / You’re doin’ the same old thing.”
“The Love You Save” was the third of four rapidly released chart-toppers by The Jackson Five in 1970. The others included “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” These songs are often mashed and merged in still-popular Jackson Five medleys.
Music historians believe that the emphatic “stop” at the beginning of “The Love You Save” is a nod to The Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love,” which was released on the Motown label in 1965. Diana Ross, the lead singer of The Supremes, is often credited with having discovered The Jackson Five (also on Motown).
According to Songfacts.com, the original lyrics of “The Love You Save” concerned traffic safety. The writing team of Deke Richards, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell and Berry Gordy Jr. (also known as “The Corporation”) altered the safety song to fit the style of The Jackson 5. In the end, Songfacts.com reported, the only elements of the original to survive were the title and the line “Darling, look both ways before you cross me.”
The founding members of The Jackson Five included brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. During a successful run from 1964 to 1990, the group (later to be called The Jacksons) amassed international legions of screaming fans and sold more than 100 million records, making them one of the most successful groups of all time.
Fun trivia: About halfway through the song, Michael calls out four rivals by name: “Isaac said he kissed you, beneath the apple tree / When Benjii held your hand he felt electricity / When Alexander called you, he said he rang your chimes / Christopher discovered you’re way ahead of your time.”
A closer look at the lyrics reveals that he’s actually referencing Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell and Christopher Columbus.
We hope you enjoy the clip of The Jackson 5 performing “The Love You Save” on The Ed Sullivan Show. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“The Love You Save” Written by Deke Richards, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell and Berry Gordy Jr. Performed by The Jackson Five.
Stop, you better save it Stop, stop, stop, you better save it, woo Do do do do do …
When we played tag in grade school You wanted to be it But chasin’ boys was just a fad, You crossed your heart, you’d quit When we grew up you traded Your promise for my ring Now just like back in grade school You’re doin’ the same old thing
Stop, the love you save may be your own Darlin’ take it slow Or some day you’ll be all alone You better stop The love you save may be your own Darlin’ look both ways before you cross me You’re heading for a danger zone
I’m the one who loves you I’m the one you need Those other guys will put you down as soon as they succeed
They’ll ruin your reputation They’ll label you a flirt The way they talk about you They’ll turn your name to dirt, oh.
Isaac said he kissed you, beneath the apple tree When Benjii held your hand he felt electricity When Alexander called you, he said he rang your chimes Christopher discovered you’re way ahead of your time
Stop, the love you save may be your own Darlin’ take it slow or some day you’ll be all alone You better stop The love you save may be your own Darlin’ look both ways before you cross me You’re headed for a danger zone Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on…
“S” is for save it “T” is for take it slow “O” is for oh, no “P” is for please, please don’t go
The love you save may be your own Some day you may be all alone Stop it Save it girl Baby, ooh You’d better stop The love you save may be your own Please, please or some day, some day baby You’ll be heading for a danger zone (All alone)
I’m the one who loves you I’m the one you need Those other guys will put you down As soon as they succeed
Ooh, stop, the love you save may be your own oh baby You better stop it, stop it, stop it girl or someday you’ll be all alone
The way they talk about you They’ll turn your name, turn your name Stop, the love you save may be your own Don’t you know, don’t you know Some day baby you’ll be heading for a danger zone (All alone)
Those other guys will put you down As soon as they succeed (Fade Out)
Credit: Image by CBS Television [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
