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This song is about marital infidelity. The couple meets at the same time and place every day, but must be careful not to arouse the suspicions of their partners. It's somewhat rare in the sense that it's told from the point of view of the people doing the cheating.

A hint about this song's subject matter is cleverly "hidden" in its intro: the saxophone is playing the first line from a 1954 Doris Day hit entitled "Secret Love." (thanks, Robin - Birmingham, AL)

This was written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Carey Gilbert. Gamble and Huff formed a famous songwriting team that helped define the Philadelphia Soul sound of the '70s. Gilbert, also known as "Hippy," is a lyricist who often teamed with Gamble and Huff, and worked on hits for The O'Jays, Lou Rawls and many others.

Kenny Gamble explained to National Public Radio in 2008 that he and Huff got the idea for the song from trips to a little bar downstairs in the Schubert Building, which was where their record company was located. Said Gamble: "This guy used to come into the bar every day - little guy that looked like a judge. We're songwriters, so we're always thinking about a song. The next day he came in again, and every day after he'd come in, this girl would come in 10-15 minutes after he'd get there, and they'd sit in the same booth, then go to the jukebox and play the same songs. We said, 'That's me and Mrs. Jones.' Then, when they'd get ready to leave, he would go his way and she would go hers. It could have been his daughter, his niece, anybody, but we created a story that there was some kind of romantic connection between these people, so we went upstairs to our office and wrote the song."

The song came to life after Billy Paul took the it with him on vacation and came back to deliver the powerful, emotive vocals that many people could relate to.

This was released on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International records. 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul was his first release on the label.

Comments:

i hear this song very much in the bar i wok in...great tune..maria
- maria, cincinnati, OH

This song always reminds me of the "first older woman" in my life Kathy Jeffries. Although neither of us was married at the time, she was 29 and I was 22 and I thought that she was SO sophisticated. I screwed up the relationship and I've always wondered what kind of life we would have had together. God bless Kathy Jeffries!
- Stormy, Kokomo, IN

love those echoed up strings right after the lyric "we've got a thiiiiiiing ...goin' on..." :)
- steve dotstar, los angeles, CA

This is an amazing song, anyone heard Peter Cox from Go West singing this? Great version, he's a great singer, think it was part of the reality tv program called "Back in the USA" or some crap like that, anyway it was a great cover.
- Norrie, Paisley, Scotland

This is definitely one of the most interesting songs I've heard. The lyrics describe a forbidden pleasure and hint at the naughtiness (by society's standards, anyway) of it. But there is an undertone of sadness in lines like "We've got to be extra careful/Not/To get our hopes up too high." (I used slashes to indicate pauses.) This bluesy feeling is accentuated by the pause after "not" and the violin (or some other string instrument) in the background. Also, the tone of the sax playing changes throughout the song--It starts off with the "naughty" feel but slows down into a more melancholy mood. All in all, this song is enjoyable yet more intricate than most people realize.
- MusicMama, New York, NY

I spent christmas holidays(1972) in fall river, massachusetts. my best friend and i traveled from walterboro,s.c.to get there. His black 1965 vw beetle broke on the way in hershey, penn., across from the chocolate factory. This was the memory i have of my first love affair with "me and mrs. Jones! Boy...did we haue a thing going on(about 1000 miles from home! Randy nettles from walterboro,s.c.

I spent christmas holidays(1972) in fall river, massachusetts. my best friend and i traveled from walterboro,s.c.to get there. His black 1965 vw beetle broke on the way in hershey, penn., across from the chocolate factory. This is the memory i have of my first love affair with "me and mrs. Jones!" Boy...did we haue a thing going on(about 1000 miles from home!) Randy nettles from walterboro,s.c.

check the version of this song by hall & oates, it's pretty large
- ken, trabuco canyon, CA