#SongLyricSunday June 20

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Our host Jim Adams for Song Lyric Sunday has given us the prompt of Brutal, Cruel, Frenzy, Savage, Violent

Take some time to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this music challenge, and even better, read as many of them as you are able to as you will probably find many enjoyable songs and it is quite possibly that you will learn a thing or two. Also feel free to offer up your suggestion to this week’s prompt.

Here are the “rules”:
• Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it contains the prompt words or not.  If it does not meet the criteria, then please explain why you chose this song.
• Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due.  Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be.
• Make sure you also credit the singer/band and if you desire you can provide a link to where you found the lyrics.
• Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song.
• Ping back to this post or place your link in the comments section below.
• Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
• Feel free to suggest future prompts.
• Have fun and enjoy the music.

Most weeks I take the prompt and make sure the song I selected has that as part of title. This week I went for the prompt being part of the song lyrics. The specific lyrics are below.

Picket lines [(brother)] and picket signs [(brother)]
Don’t punish me [(brother)] with brutality [(brother)]
Come on, talk to me [(brother)], so you can see [(brother)]

The song I choose was “What Going On” a 1971 song that was recorded by Marvin Gaye. It appeared on his 11th studio album titled “What’s Going On”

It was written by three golfing buddies who also happened to be songwriters that had delivered Motown hits. The trio included Al Cleveland, Four Tops member Renaldo “Obie” Benson and of course Marvin Gaye, who added lyrics and worked on the arrangement.

Gaye wanted the Originals to record the song, but Benson and Cleveland prevailed upon Gaye to do it himself. According to the book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves & Demons of Marvin Gaye, Motown head Berry Gordy initially refused to release this song, calling it the “worst record I ever heard in my life.”  Although Berry Gordy admits he had reservations about “What’s Going On,” he claims all of the stories surrounding his refusal to release the song are false.

Here are the lyrics:

Here is the video I liked of the recording

Next week the prompt is – Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, Supper