(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet

Album: Psychedelic Lollipop (1966)
Charted: 5
Play Video
  • One day you're up and the next day you're down
    You can't face the world with your head to the ground
    The grass is always greener on the other side, they say
    So don't worry, boys, life will be sweet some day
    Oh, oh, oh, oh
    Oh, oh, oh, oh
    We made enough mistakes
    But you know we got what it takes

    Oh, we ain't got nothin' yet
    No, we ain't got nothin' yet

    Nothin' can hold us and nothin' can keep us down
    And someday our names will be spread all over town
    We can get in while the getting is good
    So make it on your own, yeah, you know that you could
    Oh, oh, oh, oh
    Oh, oh, oh, oh
    We got to make the break
    'Cause we got too much at stake

    Oh, we ain't got nothin' yet
    No, we ain't got nothin' yet

    We made enough mistakes
    But you know we got what it takes

    Oh, we ain't got nothin' yet
    No, we ain't got nothin' yet Writer/s: EMIL THIELHELM, Michael Esposito, Peppy Castro, Ralph Scala, Ronald Gilbert
    Publisher: Royalty Network
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • C.g. Dee from Big D, Texas, UsaCheck out The Blues Magoos doing Tobacco Road on Jack Benny's show from the old days. I think it was done live and Benny was a master of presentation. The group seemed to have enjoyed themselves a lot on it. Plus a wonderful idea that the "Floyd" dug them. And, yes, the tune is boastful. However, We Ain't Got Nothing Yet describes most musical acts, that is to say the literal lyric. Key word Nothing, except maybe memories and some good times, mixed with lots of frustration. Just sayin'.
  • Kc from IlliniosMy mother in law made those suits. She was an amazing designer.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 31st 1966, the Blues Magoos performed "(We Ain’t Got) Nothin' Yet" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time the song was at #41 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and thirty-six days later it peaked at #5 {for 2 weeks}...
    {See 2nd post below}.
  • Sam Williams from Sherman Oaks, Cathe song's prominent bass line was directly lifted from Ricky Nelson's version of George & Ira Gershwin's "Summertime" (Deep Purple later "borrowed" that same riff for their original song "Black Knight"). the Blues Magoos and Deep Purple legally got away with this because arrangements can't be copyrighted (the bass line was an idea of Ricky's band Member Joe Osborne, as a way of putting their own twist on the Tin Pan Alley classic. A guitar riff created by Ricky's Guitar player James Burton for the song, was also "borrowed" by Johnny Rivers when he recorded his own version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis".
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 5th 1967, "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" by the Blues Magoos peaked at #5 (for 2 weeks) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on December 4th, 1966 at position #89 and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100 (and for 5 of those 14 weeks it was on the Top 10)...
    It was track one of side one on the group's debut album, 'Psychedelic Lollipop', and the album reached #21 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
    One other track from the album also made the Top 100, "One By One", and it peaked at #71, also in 1967 (its on You Tube).
  • Bob from Southfield, MiThe Blues Magoos were a fixture at the Chessmate Coffee House in Detroit in the late sixties. A big draw there, especially after this album came out.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.