Skip to content

By The Time I Get To Phoenix Lyrics By Isaac Hayes

    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 la
    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 sohe 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 mamawhy 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 965 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 0 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 5 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 iiiii
    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 nonbeliever oh and she didn’t know
    oh that iiiiiii 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
    iiiiii’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 byebye oh mama mama byebye
    oh byebye oh byebye baby byebye
    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 beggingyou 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

    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

    finale

    Artist: Isaac Hayes

    Year: 1969

    Decade: 60s

    Language: en

    Word Count: 717