You Can't Hurry Love

Album: The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966)
Charted: 3 1
Play Video
  • I need love, love to ease my mind
    I need to find, find someone to call mine
    But mama said you can't hurry love
    No you just have to wait
    She said love don't come easy
    It's a game of give and take
    You can't hurry love
    No, you just have to wait
    You gotta trust, give it time
    No matter how long it takes
    But how many heartaches must I stand
    Before I find a love to let me live again
    Right now the only thing that keeps me hanging on
    When I feel my strength, yeah, it's almost gone
    I remember mama said

    (You can't hurry love)
    No, you just have to wait
    She said love don't come easy
    It's a game of give and take
    How long must I wait? How much more can I take?
    Before loneliness will 'cause my heart, heart to break
    No, I can't bear to live my life alone
    I grow impatient for a love to call my own
    But when I feel that I, I can't go on
    These precious words keeps me hanging on
    I remember mama said

    (Can't hurry love)
    No, you just have to wait
    She said love don't come easy
    It's a game of give and take

    You can't hurry love
    No, you just have to wait
    She said trust, give it time
    No matter how long it takes (gotta wait)

    No love, love don't come easy
    But I keep on waiting, anticipating for that
    Soft voice to talk to me at night
    For some tender arms to hold me tight
    I keep waiting, I keep on waiting (give and take)
    But it ain't easy, it ain't easy when mama said

    You can't hurry love
    No, you just have to wait
    She said trust, give it time
    No matter how long it takes

    You can't hurry love
    No, you just have to wait
    She said love don't come easy
    It's a game of give and take
    You can't hurry love
    No, you just have to wait
    Mama said just give it time Writer/s: Brian Holland, Edward Jr. Holland, Lamont Dozier
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 16

  • Floy Joy From Usa from Brgn Cnty, NnjRoger, a song writer can take editorial license when writing lyrics and that is why it is keeps instead of keep.
  • Roger from BelgiumI have loved this song since the sixties.
    But as a non-English speaker I've always wondered about the lyrics "these precious words keeps me hanging on".
    Shouldn't that be "keep"? That's the way Phil Collins sang it.
  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaFyodor - have read and heard that the Funks used two drummers, on most of their recordings, that is why drummers had such a hard time learning how to play their stuff. don't know if that is Benny or Pistol but the drums rock.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 25th 1966, the Supremes performed "You Can't Hurry Love" on CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
    At the time the song was in its second of two weeks at #2 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; earlier on September of the 4th it had peaked at #1 {for 2 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for 13 weeks...
    And on August 28th it also reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
    As stated above it was the first in a string of four straight #1 records by the trio; after this one came, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" for two weeks, then "Love is Here and Now You're Gone" for 1 week, and finally "The Happening" for 1 week...
    The string was broken by "Reflections", but it came close, it reached #2* for two weeks...
    * The two weeks that "Reflections" was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobby Gentry.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 31st 1982, Phil Collins' covered version of "You Can't Hurry Love" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #77; and thirteen weeks later on January 30th, 1983 it peaked at #10 {for 3 weeks} and spent 21 weeks on the Top 100...
    And on January 15th, 1983 it reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on the United Kingdom's Singles chart; it also peaked at #1 in Ireland & Holland and at #3 in Australia, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland...
    The day it entered the Top 100 at #77, exactly sixteen years earlier on October 31st, 1966 the original version of the song, by the Supremes, was at #50 on the Top 100, earlier in the year on September 4th, 1966 it peaked at #1 {for 2 weeks}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn August 20th 1966, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, and the Temptations performed at the Forest Hills Music Festival in Queens, New York; attendance was 14,000 concert goers...
    At the time of the concert Stevie Wonder's "Blowin' in the Wind" was at #11 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eight days later on August 28th it would peak at #9 {for 1 week}...
    The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" was at #28, and on September 4th it would reach #1 {for 2 weeks}...
    The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" was sitting at #42, five weeks earlier it had peaked at #13 {for 1 week} on the Top 100, but on the R&B Singles chart it had reached #1 for 8 non-consecutive weeks...
    And the Temps next release, "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", had just entered the Top 100 chart at #80; eventually it would peak at #3 on the Top 100 and at #1 {for 5 weeks} on the R&B Singles chart.
  • Kat from Adelaide, Australia"love" = "orgasm"
  • Cyberpope from Richmond, CanadaPhil Collins did an acceptable rewrite & sing of this one
  • Camille from Toronto, OhHa, ha, Brian from Sheffield, England, I just agreed with your comment on another Diana Ross tune, and I'm going to agree with what you say about this song: 40 years hence, it still sounds...fresh and vibrant. This is a terrific, upbeat song with the message: "not everything in life is about instant gratification." Even tho it's a catchy song, what makes it so great is that every word rings true! It's singing about emotions and feelings that can be applied people from all walks of life, one reason for its popularity. I also love Phil Collins' version.
  • Kristin from Bessemer, AlThis record was such a strong #1 song, it prevented the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" from reaching the top of the Hot 100 in 1966.
  • Kristin from Bessemer, AlThis record was such a strong #1 song, it prevented the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" from reaching the top of the Hot 100 in 1966.
  • Kristin from Bessemer, AlThis record was such a strong #1 song, it prevented the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" from reaching the top of the Hot 100 in 1966.
  • Kristin from Bessemer, AlAt the time when a lot of teens carried around transistor radios, Motown and H/D/H wanted to capture a sound that would get all the teens to know what the song was- the "boom-boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom" really drove the point home.
  • Tony from Charleston, ScAccording to Holland/Dozier/Holland this song was derived from a gospel song, You can't hurry God by Dorothy Coates. "HDH" borrowed much of their material from thier church background.
  • Brian from Sheffield, EnglandPerhaps the most perfect expression of The Motown Sound of the 1960s. Holland/Dozier/Holland were at the peak of their form, and The Supremes never had a better song. 40 years later it sounds just as fresh and vibrant.
  • Fyodor from Denver, CoI like how the music stops except I think for the drums and bass and then the other layers get added back in one at a time, including two different rhythm guitars, one of which gets strummed through and the other, which has a sharp, bright sound, gets played in a staccato fashion on the upbeat, very typical of soul pop music of the day, but I wonder how they got that bright yet punchy sound!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

Who Wrote That Song?

Who Wrote That Song?Music Quiz

Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."