Music Blog, Musing

Thursday Inspiration Twofer

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Jim Adams’ Thursday Inspiration
#280 where the theme is “Hungry Heart”.
Here’s what I had to say.

In the May 15th edition of Thursday Inspiration, Jim Adams asked us to respond to the challenge by either using the prompt word “river,” or by referring to the above picture, or by going with anything else we thought might fit. My mind immediately went to a song I’ve liked for a long time … “Take Me To The River” by Talking Heads. But they were not the first ones to record this song.

“Take Me To The River” was written in 1974 by the multi-talented Al Green; his version was released as an album cut, not as a single. Over the next few years, the song was covered by numerous artists including Talking Heads in 1978. Their version – produced by the groundbreaking Brian Eno – became a massive worldwide hit. This is the version most people are familiar with. It’s great, but so is Al Green’s. Talking Heads kept the essence of the song, but took liberties with it, too, in order to make it a more comfortable fit for a very different band and singer (David Byrne)… and market. Both versions groove in different ways and it’s worth listening to both versions of this great song. But I’m not here to talk your ear off so let’s get this thing going!

This is the original “Take Me To The River” by Al Green

And this is “Take Me To The River” by Talking Heads


LYRICS

I don’t know why I love her like I do
All the changes you put me through
Take my money, my cigarettes
I haven’t seen the worst of it yet
I want to know that you’ll tell me
I love to stay
Take me to the river, drop me in the water
Take me to the river, dip me in the water
Washing me down, washing me down

I don’t know why you treat me so bad
Think of all the things we could have had
Love is an ocean that I can’t forget
My sweet sixteen I would never regret

I want to know that you’ll tell me
I love to stay
Take me to the river, drop me in the water
Push me in the river, dip me in the water
Washing me down, washing me

Hug me, squeeze me, love me, tease me
‘Til I can’t, ’til I can’t, ’til I can’t take no more of it
Take me to the water, drop me in the river
Push me in the water, drop me in the river
Washing me down, washing me down

I don’t know why I love you like I do
All the troubles you put me through
Sixteen candles there on my wall
And here am I the biggest fool of them all

I want to know that you’ll tell me
I love to stay
Take me to the river and drop me in the water
Dip me in the river, drop me in the water
Washing me down, washing me down

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Al Green/Mabon Hodges
Take Me to the River (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Thursday Inspiration #280 Hungry Heart

Big thanks to Jim Adams for this inspiration. Thanks to you all for stopping by for a look and a listen. Did you have a favorite version of today’s song?

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

33 thoughts on “Thursday Inspiration Twofer”

  7. A great song no matter which version you listen to. This song relates to a baptismal cleansing (being washed in the river), which Christian’s feel is a way to repent of their sins, but before John the Baptist stepped foot near the Jordan River, Jewish people immersed themselves in water for many reasons.  The singer has conflicted feelings towards his girl because she caused him a lot of stress and turmoil and he would like to know what is going on between them.  Take me to the river is a plea for purification and the human desire for renewal and redemption. Great post, Nancy.

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    1. Right on, brother! It’s a great song. Besides being a singer/songwriter, Al Green is also a preacher.
      Our eldest son, his wife and their three kids attend the Baptist Church. When the kids felt they were ready, around the age of 11/12, each one celebrated a full body immersion baptism. I’d never witnessed one in person and It was quite interesting to watch.
      Thanks, Jim.

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      1. On October 18, 1974, Al Green was scalded by a pot of boiling grits dumped on his bare back while he was taking a shower, by his girlfriend Mary Woodson.  Moments later Woodson shot herself dead in Green’s bedroom, which became a turning point in Green’s life.  He got out of the music business for a while to become a fully ordained minister and in 1976 he established the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis.  By the year 1980, Greene had devoted himself completely to his ministry and gospel music.  He, however, much later made his way back to secular music.

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        1. That’s quite some story about Mary Woodson, poor woman; the police found a 3 page suicide letter in her purse. She had tried to commit suicide just a few days before this incident. Allegedly, Woodson was married with children when she was with Green (who claims he didn’t know) and she was very upset when he refused to marry her.

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  9. I’m the same as you, both versions are wonderful in their own ways … of course there are many “river” songs; I like this one, “The Humbling River” by Pucsifer

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    1. Same here, Fan. It was cool.

      BTW – I found a cellphone video of one song from the 2016 Rock, Paper Scissors concert. It was good but would have been so much better if the woman next to the person making the video shut her trap for one frigging minute!

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      2. I haven’t watched this — it’s almost three hours long — but it appears to be a professionally recording of the entire (?) concert. So if you have three hours of spare time….

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