I'm Livin In shame live

[luke]

I can hear Mary and this sure sounds better than the record! Mary, Cindy and Flo were also a big part of the SOUND of the Supremes!https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eZRBTBMfaJw

[marybrewster]

I can hear Mary and this sure sounds better than the record! Mary, Cindy and Flo were also a big part of the SOUND of the Supremes!https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eZRBTBMfaJw

I've often wondered why the second verse was omitted? It's a clean shot, so it hasn't been cut. Perhaps for timing?

[masterblaster]

I've often wondered why the second verse was omitted? It's a clean shot, so it hasn't been cut. Perhaps for timing?

They sound have cut the "home made jam" verse, I always cringe when I hear that.

[Motown Eddie]

I can hear Mary and this sure sounds better than the record! Mary, Cindy and Flo were also a big part of the SOUND of the Supremes!https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eZRBTBMfaJw

Thanks for sharing Luke. And yes, you can hear Mary & Cindy's vocals on this since it's live on TV [[they're not on the studio version of the song like most DRATS recordings from the late '60s).

[Motown Eddie]

They sound have cut the "home made jam" verse, I always cringe when I hear that.

It must have been edited for time [[perhaps to make room for other performances on the show & commercials). Anyway, it's good to see another clip of Diana Ross & the Supremes on TV from the '60s.

[antceleb12]

Great song, but whoever choreographed Mary and Cindy [[Cholly?) appears to have been as bored as Mary and Cindy look.

[luke]

I agree. Perhaps having to sing ooos and ahhhs to Mama passed away while makin home made jam totally embarrassed them and they couldn't take it seriously!!

[marv2]

Great song, but whoever choreographed Mary and Cindy [[Cholly?) appears to have been as bored as Mary and Cindy look.

That is how it was a lot towards the end of "Diana Ross & the Supremes". They were starting to look like a "mature" act. LOL!!! Remember this was the sixties.

[LoveSupreme]

I literally can not stand this song. It was a cheap attempt to "shock" and emulate the success of "Love Child", but "Love Child" was vastly superior.

Lord knows I also hated the live version of their hits with those overblown, brassy and annoying "Las Vegas" endings.

Their recorded versions were always vastly superior to the middle of the road/sped up and over orchestrated versions they sang live.

The gowns the ladies wore in this clip were recycled for The Supremes Right On album, but then again all their old gowns were recycled and re-worn all the way up to 1977.

[TomatoTom123]

Hmm... interesting perfomance. None of them look very happy which is appropriate I guess, lol. I still don't really know what to make of this song... and that cringy homemade jam line... Lol

[marv2]

I literally can not stand this song. It was a cheap attempt to "shock" and emulate the success of "Love Child", but "Love Child" was vastly superior.

Lord knows I also hated the live version of their hits with those overblown, brassy and annoying "Las Vegas" endings.

Their recorded versions were always vastly superior to the middle of the road/sped up and over orchestrated versions they sang live.

The gowns the ladies wore in this clip were recycled for The Supremes Right On album, but then again all their old gowns were recycled and re-worn all the way up to 1977.

You're funny. I was around when that record was released and on the radio. No one around at the time had a real problem with it. I believe it went Top 10. It had nothing in common with "Love Child", but more so with "Runaway Child" or even "Cloud Nine"[[records about escaping your current situation). Both of which some believe were superior to "Love Child".

You sound like you are just repeating something you read somewhere.

How old were you in 1969? There was really nothing wrong with that appearance on the Hollywood Palace. The Supremes were the top of the line at the time. Who could have done it better? No one else as I recall.

[marv2]

Hmm... interesting perfomance. None of them look very happy which is appropriate I guess, lol. I still don't really know what to make of this song... and that cringy homemade jam line... Lol

It was a popular song in America when it was released.

[detmotownguy]

It was a popular song in America when it was released. I bel that damn song charted strong in the states.

[marv2]

I bel that damn song charted strong in the states.

It charted very well in the U.S. DET It was #10 Billboard Hot 100 and #8 Billboard R&B Chart. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the sequel to "Love Child". It was just another social commentary type record that Motown release that was popular during the late 60s. I remember hearing the intro on the radio and liking it. It received quite a bit of airplay.

[Boogiedown]

It charted very well in the U.S. DET It was #10 Billboard Hot 100 and #8 Billboard R&B Chart. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the sequel to "Love Child". It was just another social commentary type record that Motown release that was popular during the late 60s. I remember hearing the intro on the radio and liking it. It received quite a bit of airplay.

How is it you say that with such certainty Marv?

wiki , for one, disagrees with you:


wiki:

Inspired by the plot [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_%28narrative%29) of Douglas Sirk [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Sirk)'s 1959 film Imitation of Life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imitation_of_Life_%281959_film%29),[3] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Livin%27_in_Shame#cite_note-3) The Clan [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clan_%28composers%29) composed "I'm Livin' in Shame" as a sequel to the Supremes' number-one hit single, "Love Child." The song explores the quest of the 'love child' to shun both her impoverished childhood and her mother, and pass herself off to her friends and new husband as the daughter of a rich family. The woman's mother ends up dying without ever seeing her daughter as an adult, or ever meeting her two-year-old grandson, to the child's regret and chagrin.

Put me down as liking it as well then and now . It's quirky .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCkmZ5Rdemw

[Motown Eddie]

According to the notes to TCMS-1969, Diana Ross was never fond of the lyrics to "I'm Livin' In Shame" [[since she stayed close to her Mom unlike the protagonist of "Shame"). Also they said that The Supremes never did the song in the their stage show [[so I guess it was only performed on TV).

[blackguy69]

According to the notes to TCMS-1969, Diana Ross was never fond of the lyrics to "I'm Livin' In Shame" [[since she stayed close to her Mom unlike the protagonist of "Shame"). Also they said that The Supremes never did the song in the their stage show [[so I guess it was only performed on TV).
I've heard them doing the song during a Chicago show. But I ask heard they did only a few times and took it out.

[marv2]

How is it you say that with such certainty Marv?

wiki , for one, disagrees with you:



Put me down as liking it as well then and now . It's quirky .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCkmZ5Rdemw

Boogiedown. God nor Moses wrote what you saw on "Wiki". Whoever wrote it probably meant to say that it [["I Livin In Shame") was the follow up to "Love Child". It doesn't mean the same thing. All anyone needs to do is listen to the lyrics of both songs. They do not relate! The person who wrote that in wiki was really stretching it to make it fit! LOL! He read somewhere that the song "I'm Living in Shame" was suppose to be a continuation of the song "Love Child", but it is not if you go by lyrical content.

Oh I am sure you could make "Home made jam" in a " tenement slum", but it is highly unlikely if you've ever been in one. Too small, stove,etc,etc. The jam thing is something you usually find in rural areas, especially in the Southern U.S. Tenement slums were a feature of urban America in the 1960s and beyond. In "Living in Shame", the writer even says that she lived in a HOUSE! LOL! I digress. My point is the songs have nothing to do with one another. "Love Child" is basically about teen pregnancy and a girl begging her boyfriend to let's wait before we go all the way and suffer the consequences. "I'm Living in Shame" is about a young woman ashamed of her poor background" that she's trying to run away and hide from.

Explain to me this. Is the young woman in "Love Child" the mother or the daughter in "I'm Living in Shame"? Think hard now. LOL!~

[marv2]

According to the notes to TCMS-1969, Diana Ross was never fond of the lyrics to "I'm Livin' In Shame" [[since she stayed close to her Mom unlike the protagonist of "Shame"). Also they said that The Supremes never did the song in the their stage show [[so I guess it was only performed on TV).

Motown Eddie, I also like to add that neither she or Mary ever do the song in their concerts. It would seem that if it were the "sequel" to Love Child, they would do the song.

[marv2]

I've heard them doing the song during a Chicago show. But I ask heard they did only a few times and took it out.

I can remember one of my father's cousin's from Chicago playing the record a lot at the time.

[bradsupremes]

According to the notes to TCMS-1969, Diana Ross was never fond of the lyrics to "I'm Livin' In Shame" [[since she stayed close to her Mom unlike the protagonist of "Shame"). Also they said that The Supremes never did the song in the their stage show [[so I guess it was only performed on TV).

It was in their live shows for a short time before it was taken out. Diana didn't like singing it so it was removed.

[bradsupremes]

I always liked this song. The "homemade jam" lyric is corny, but some of the other lyrics are pretty deep. The track is solid and has a good melody. I like to think of this as their forgotten hit. A top 10 hit that never gets played on the radio anymore and hardly ever mentioned.

[marv2]

I always liked this song. The "homemade jam" lyric is corny, but some of the other lyrics are pretty deep. The track is solid and has a good melody. I like to think of this as their forgotten hit. A top 10 hit that never gets played on the radio anymore and hardly ever mentioned.

It would fit nicely in our "Rarely Heard Tracks by Motown Artists " thread.

[RanRan79]

Whether or not "Shame" was the continuation of the "Love Child" story can only be addressed by the people who wrote it. [[For the record one can make jam anywhere. It is not a difficult thing to do, nor a difficult image to conjure up of a woman living in an inner city neighborhood doing so in the 1960s.) But it doesn't take a genius to know that Motown was hoping to repeat the success of "Love Child" with another "social commentary" song. The two songs are linked. Where "Quicksand" is the "Son of 'Heat Wave'" [[as it had been nicknamed), "Shame" is most certainly the daughter of "Love Child".

My opinion of the song is that it's not a bad song, but I hate it. Probably the one Supremes A side of a single that I really can't stand to hear. I'm not surprised that it didn't equal "Love Child"'s success, but I am surprised it did as well as it did. A couple of those DRATS "flop" singles were much better than "Shame" to my ears. Surprisingly I can listen to the original unreleased [[at the time) version and think that "Shame" might have inched a little further if the label had gone with it instead of the eventual single version.

[marv2]

All record companies try to follow up a hit with a sound alike or something similar to the hit. It's called chasing a formula. Those songs to do not have anything in common with one another even though they were written by the same people! Enough people liked "I'm Living In Shame" [[including Berry Gordy) to drive it into the Top 10.

PS, You can spit anywhere too, but you would have been hard press to find a woman making jam in a tenement apartment. You would have to grow your own food, fruits etc to can them and that was not possible in tenement slums! Hence, NO HOMEMADE JAM! LOL!!! There is just no physical room/space for that. Must have been a luxury tenement slum. LOL!!!

[milven]

...[[For the record one can make jam anywhere. It is not a difficult thing to do, nor a difficult image to conjure up of a woman living in an inner city neighborhood doing so in the 1960s.)


True. In our family of six, my mom made home made jam in the small four room apartment that we lived in. When my parents were able to buy their own home [[thanks to my dad working two jobs) my mom continued to make home made jam and lots of other things from scratch.

Today, moms work outside the home and everyone does take out

[RanRan79]

PS, You can spit anywhere too, but you would have been hard press to find a woman making jam in a tenement apartment. You would have to grow your own food, fruits etc to can them and that was not possible in tenement slums! Hence, NO HOMEMADE JAM! LOL!!! There is just no physical room/space for that. Must have been a luxury tenement slum. LOL!!!

You do not have to grow your own food and fruits in order to can or make jam. That's not even up for debate.

[RanRan79]

True. In our family of six, my mom made home made jam in the small four room apartment that we lived in. When my parents were able to buy their own home [[thanks to my dad working two jobs) my mom continued to make home made jam and lots of other things from scratch.

Today, moms work outside the home and everyone does take out

Thanks Milven. This is what I know.

[RanRan79]

Enough people liked "I'm Living In Shame" [[including Berry Gordy) to drive it into the Top 10.

There's no accounting for taste.:p

[marv2]

You do not have to grow your own food and fruits in order to can or make jam. That's not even up for debate.

Um, where do you get the stuff to go in the jar if you are poor and live in an low income neighborhood?

[Roberta75]

A bunch of grown ups argueing over where and how and what space you need to make homemade jam. LOLOLOL.

[marv2]

There's no accounting for taste.:p

I hate doing this, but you just said:

"Everyone is entitled to their preference. No one can dictate what another person hears or feels when listening to any given singer"....

[marv2]

True. In our family of six, my mom made home made jam in the small four room apartment that we lived in. When my parents were able to buy their own home [[thanks to my dad working two jobs) my mom continued to make home made jam and lots of other things from scratch.

Today, moms work outside the home and everyone does take out

You guys had 4 separate rooms? In the Bronx that would be considered a mini-mansion. LOL!

[RanRan79]

Um, where do you get the stuff to go in the jar if you are poor and live in an low income neighborhood?

The stuff to go in the jar? You mean like fruits and veggies? That stuff? Marv I can't with you on this Sunday evening. Stop. Just stop. LOL

[RanRan79]

A bunch of grown ups argueing over where and how and what space you need to make homemade jam. LOLOLOL.

Hey Roberta, this is a more mature argument than "my Supreme is better than your Supreme", which seems to dominate "adult" conversations around here.:rolleyes:

[RanRan79]

I hate doing this, but you just said:

"Everyone is entitled to their preference. No one can dictate what another person hears or feels when listening to any given singer"....

Mmm hmmm. And the emoji at the end of my statement with the tongue sticking out was supposed to convey to the overly sensitive that I was joking. Although to be fair, the term "there's no accounting for taste" simply means that one can not explain why one person digs something while someone else can't stand it. I'm surprised the song was a hit and you countered with a lot of people liking it, including Berry Gordy. In actuality my comment about preferences that you reposted works in conjunction with my "no accounting for taste" comment, not against it. So in the end I'm glad that you brought it up. There is no accounting for why you apparently like this crappy song, while I abhor it.

[Roberta75]

Hey Roberta, this is a more mature argument than "my Supreme is better than your Supreme", which seems to dominate "adult" conversations around here.:rolleyes:

Oh disagreing about where ya'll make jam sure beats Diane is vile and Mary walks on water or Mary is horrible and Diane is a Saint. LOL

[marv2]

Mmm hmmm. And the emoji at the end of my statement with the tongue sticking out was supposed to convey to the overly sensitive that I was joking. Although to be fair, the term "there's no accounting for taste" simply means that one can not explain why one person digs something while someone else can't stand it. I'm surprised the song was a hit and you countered with a lot of people liking it, including Berry Gordy. In actuality my comment about preferences that you reposted works in conjunction with my "no accounting for taste" comment, not against it. So in the end I'm glad that you brought it up. There is no accounting for why you apparently like this crappy song, while I abhor it.

You were joking? I'm sorry. I did not notice the emoji. Never mind........LOL!!!

[marv2]

The stuff to go in the jar? You mean like fruits and veggies? That stuff? Marv I can't with you on this Sunday evening. Stop. Just stop. LOL

Oh you know what I'm sayin......... My mother's mother was big into canning and making homemade things like cakes and pies. My mother could not be bothered even though she had a considerably larger house and kitchen. She was a 70s mom LOL!!!!

[TomatoTom123]

Oh my... wow... this thread...

I didn't realise the process of making homemade jam could be so controversial... LOL :D

[marv2]

Oh my... wow... this thread...

I didn't realise the process of making homemade jam could be so controversial... LOL :D

It is when you try to take it from the rural areas to an urban tenement. LOL! You see if you are going to try making homemade jam in the city, you have to go buy the fruits, the stuff that jells it, the jars, tops etc. If you have money to spend on all of that, you might as well by jar of Smuckers! LOL!!!!! Y'all kill me! LOL!

[captainjames]

My mom use to can and in the 60's to be exact. Use old jars from food already purchased and canning fruit and jams would last all winter into the next summer whereas one jar from the grocery would be gone in about a week. Fresh fruit was cheap then and still is today, just bought a bushel of bananas for $1.21 and they will probably be have rotten by the middle of the week. If I canned them they could last until next summer. Those are short lessons from the hood.

[marv2]

my mom use to can and in the 60's to be exact. Use old jars from food already purchased and canning fruit and jams would last all winter into the next summer whereas one jar from the grocery would be gone in about a week. Fresh fruit was cheap then and still is today, just bought a bushel of bananas for $1.21 and they will probably be have rotten by the middle of the week. If i canned them they could last until next summer. Those are short lessons from the hood.

lol!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bluebrock]

I may be in the minority but i always liked ILIS and it does still get the occasional play on UK radio. I heard it on Ken Bruce's radio 2 show a few months back.
Whoever said that Diana did not like the song is correct. I asked her to consider it for inclusion in the Return To Love tour. Her response was short and to the point!!

[Albator]

I may be in the minority but i always liked ILIS and it does still get the occasional play on UK radio. I heard it on Ken Bruce's radio 2 show a few months back.
Whoever said that Diana did not like the song is correct. I asked her to consider it for inclusion in the Return To Love tour. Her response was short and to the point!!
I like the song and the old gold dress to. I love the way she phrases.

[thanxal]

Oh disagreing about where ya'll make jam sure beats Diane is vile and Mary walks on water or Mary is horrible and Diane is a Saint. LOL
I could not agree more!!! Next, the debate should turn to “dirty raggedy old scarves” and whether or not they should be worn “around the head”.

[captainjames]

I like the song and the old gold dress to. I love the way she phrases.

Yeah, looks like the same gowns that were worn on the cover of "Right On". I have seen solo shots from 1970 with Diana wearing the same gown. Always, wondered if an extra gown was cut or not.

[reese]

Yeah, looks like the same gowns that were worn on the cover of "Right On". I have seen solo shots from 1970 with Diana wearing the same gown. Always, wondered if an extra gown was cut or not.

I think the solo shots of her wearing Supremes gowns were from photo sessions done before she left the group.

[captainjames]

You may be right but the photos I have say they were shot in 1970.

[TheMotownManiac]

Marv, you are correct: ILIS was a follow-up that Berry wanted to be similar - not a sequel - which it cannot be since the characters are not the same.

Marv, you are wrong: Most people who can and make jam do not grow their own.

ILIS, was a weak top ten being there just one week. It was released with two platinum singles on the charts by DR&TS, so, naturally radio was all over it. Once sales did not meet airplay, it died a quick death.


All record companies try to follow up a hit with a sound alike or something similar to the hit. It's called chasing a formula. Those songs to do not have anything in common with one another even though they were written by the same people! Enough people liked "I'm Living In Shame" [[including Berry Gordy) to drive it into the Top 10, but I liked it enough.

I SAW them sing it at Keil Opera House in Feb 1969 and Diana said it was the story based on Imitation Of Life - "but not MY life.... not MY mother!!!"


PS, You can spit anywhere too, but you would have been hard press to find a woman making jam in a tenement apartment. You would have to grow your own food, fruits etc to can them and that was not possible in tenement slums! Hence, NO HOMEMADE JAM! LOL!!! There is just no physical room/space for that. Must have been a luxury tenement slum. LOL!!!

[RanRan79]

ILIS, was a weak top ten being there just one week. It was released with two platinum singles on the charts by DR&TS, so, naturally radio was all over it. Once sales did not meet airplay, it died a quick death.

Is there a website that contains chart information for Motown songs and albums, such as length of time on chart?

[marv2]

Marv, you are correct: ILIS was a follow-up that Berry wanted to be similar - not a sequel - which it cannot be since the characters are not the same.

Marv, you are wrong: Most people who can and make jam do not grow their own.

ILIS, was a weak top ten being there just one week. It was released with two platinum singles on the charts by DR&TS, so, naturally radio was all over it. Once sales did not meet airplay, it died a quick death.

There are many artists that would kill for a Top Ten hit.

[detmotownguy]

Oh you know what I'm sayin......... My mother's mother was big into canning and making homemade things like cakes and pies. My mother could not be bothered even though she had a considerably larger house and kitchen. She was a 70s mom LOL!!!!
Mine was 70's mom too Marv! She went on strike at home and said enough of this and got a job! No more homemade jam. In Detroit, in Indian Village we had big gardens and they did can a lot food.

[Circa 1824]

I loved this song. I was not bothered by home made jam. Diana's vocals were superb, and she sold the tragic lyrics. I remember crying when I first heard it.

[marv2]

Mine was 70's mom too Marv! She went on strike at home and said enough of this and got a job! No more homemade jam. In Detroit, in Indian Village we had big gardens and they did can a lot food.

DET! Yeah! My Mom went to work in 1970 and never looked back. This is when we began becoming accustom to things like Fish sticks and Tater Tots during the week for dinner LOL!!!

I know Indian Village, yes.

[Ozmo]

I too was around when 'I'm Living In Shame' was first released and I initially liked it a lot, as it was a sound alike to 'Love Child'[[never considered it a sequel). However, I tired of ILIS rather quickly and today while I don't hate it, it's not one of my favourite Supremes recordings.

I think that 'Love Child' was such a big hit because the record buying public [[especially young women) could relate to the lyrics and empathise with the dilemma that the character Diana Ross sang about was facing. However, to me 'I'm Living In Shame' was pure soap opera. I don't think too many people could identify with someone who lied about their mother dying on a weekend trip to Spain!!

I can totally understand why Diana and Mary don't choose to perform this song as both had close relationships with their very supportive mothers and would not relate to the song's lyrics.

[Boogiedown]

Ozmo

However, to me 'I'm Living In Shame' was pure soap opera. I don't think too many people could identify with someone who lied about their mother dying on a weekend trip to Spain!!


I think its even worse than that Ozmo !



Boogiedown. God nor Moses wrote what you saw on "Wiki". Whoever wrote it probably meant to say that it [["I Livin In Shame") was the follow up to "Love Child". It doesn't mean the same thing. All anyone needs to do is listen to the lyrics of both songs. They do not relate! lyrical content. "Love Child" is basically about teen pregnancy and a girl begging her boyfriend to let's wait before we go all the way and suffer the consequences. "I'm Living in Shame" is about a young woman ashamed of her poor background" that she's trying to run away and hide from.



Yes guilty as charged !
I should have reviewed what SHAME was about instead of depending on a very vague memory . I agree the two songs have nothing to do with each other , that SHAME is not somehow a sequel to LOVE CHILD , in fact even calling it a follow-up can be misleading, even though it was the next release by them , but story wise it was more of a one-off or a variation of a theme.

I like the song a lot less now that I've actually paid attention to the lyrics:

Mom was cooking bread,
she wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head.
Always had her stockings low,
rolled to her feet, she just didn't know.
She wore a sloppy dress,
No matter how she tried, she always looked a mess.
Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate.
I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her,
Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her.

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found.

Mom was cooking bread,
she wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head.
Always had her stockings low,
rolled to her feet, she just didn't know.
She wore a sloppy dress,
No matter how she tried, she always looked a mess.
Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate.
I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her,
Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her.

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found.
Said I was born elite, with maids and servants at my feet.
I must have been insane,
I lied and said my mom died on a weekend trip to Spain.
She never got out of the house, never even boarded a train.
I married a guy, was livin' high,
I didn't want him to know her,
She had a grandson, two years old,
I never even showed her.

I'm Livin' In Shame, Momma, I miss you.
I'm Livin' In Shame, Momma, I miss you.

Came the telegram,
mom passed away while making homemade jam.
Before she died, she cried to see me by her side.
She always did her best, Ah! cookin', cleanin',
always in the same old dress.
Workin' hard down on her knees,
always try'n to please.
Momma! Momma! Do you hear me, Momma!
Momma! Momma! Do you hear me, Momma!

The narrator's mother is more than just poor, she seems to be a bit "touched " and not in a Mary Wilson way . Even the poorest of people have the capacity to use a plate and silverware when eating . Or to pull up their socks !!

Either just dirt poor, or loony as a loon , for 'Diana' to just run off and never check up on her , not once, even three years into a successful marriage of living well , to never contemplate rescuing her own hard working mother !

I'm proud of Diana for distancing herself from such a despicably selfish narrative !
Who stuck us with that turkey from the HDH camp ? I bet it was Lamont! lol!

BTW
I make homemade jam almost every morning . Mash my fresh fruit , usually strawberries in a sauce pan, boil it up with a bit of sugar, then spoon it on toast or oatmeal or pancakes. I'm fancy though,
I call it compote!! lol!

[marv2]

I think its even worse than that Ozmo !




Yes guilty as charged !
I should have reviewed what SHAME was about instead of depending on a very vague memory . I agree the two songs have nothing to do with each other , that SHAME is not somehow a sequel to LOVE CHILD , in fact even calling it a follow-up can be misleading, even though it was the next release by them , but story wise it was more of a one-off or a variation of a theme.

I like the song a lot less now that I've actually paid attention to the lyrics:

Mom was cooking bread,
she wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head.
Always had her stockings low,
rolled to her feet, she just didn't know.
She wore a sloppy dress,
No matter how she tried, she always looked a mess.
Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate.
I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her,
Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her.

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found.

Mom was cooking bread,
she wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head.
Always had her stockings low,
rolled to her feet, she just didn't know.
She wore a sloppy dress,
No matter how she tried, she always looked a mess.
Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate.
I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her,
Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her.

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found.
Said I was born elite, with maids and servants at my feet.
I must have been insane,
I lied and said my mom died on a weekend trip to Spain.
She never got out of the house, never even boarded a train.
I married a guy, was livin' high,
I didn't want him to know her,
She had a grandson, two years old,
I never even showed her.

I'm Livin' In Shame, Momma, I miss you.
I'm Livin' In Shame, Momma, I miss you.

Came the telegram,
mom passed away while making homemade jam.
Before she died, she cried to see me by her side.
She always did her best, Ah! cookin', cleanin',
always in the same old dress.
Workin' hard down on her knees,
always try'n to please.
Momma! Momma! Do you hear me, Momma!
Momma! Momma! Do you hear me, Momma!

The narrator's mother is more than just poor, she seems to be a bit "touched " and not in a Mary Wilson way . Even the poorest of people have the capacity to use a plate and silverware when eating . Or to pull up their socks !!

Either just dirt poor, or loony as a loon , for 'Diana' to just run off and never check up on her , not once, even three years into a successful marriage of living well , to never contemplate rescuing her own hard working mother !

I'm proud of Diana for distancing herself from such a despicably selfish narrative !
Who stuck us with that turkey from the HDH camp ? I bet it was Lamont! lol!

BTW
I make homemade jam almost every morning . Mash my fresh fruit , usually strawberries in a sauce pan, boil it up with a bit of sugar, then spoon it on toast or oatmeal or pancakes. I'm fancy though,
I call it compote!! lol!

Boogiedown..................Exactly! Do you remember a hit song by Helen Reddy in the 70s called "Angie Baby"? It was another one of those very narrative songs that became popular in the U.S.

[Boogiedown]

Boogiedown..................Exactly! Do you remember a hit song by Helen Reddy in the 70s called "Angie Baby"? It was another one of those very narrative songs that became popular in the U.S.

Sure do. I was a fan.
Another example of being a bit "touched" and not in a Mary Wilson way!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQKyGt_I5L4

[marv2]

Sure do. I was a fan.
Another example of being a bit "touched" and not in a Mary Wilson way!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQKyGt_I5L4

That was a great song. Back at the time,1974 I had to listen to it a few times to understand it. It received a lot of airplay in Detroit Metro.

[Boogiedown]

I've got another one for you


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0rgeQ0QD-o


Back to SHAME : Maybe 'Diana' was worried she was a bit like mom ... in the middle of the song she references her own lack of sanity. Or the word usage was just a roundabout way for HDH to work the insanity notion into the song .

[marv2]

I've got another one for you


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0rgeQ0QD-o


Back to SHAME : Maybe 'Diana' was worried she was a bit like mom ... in the middle of the song she references her own lack of sanity. Or the word usage was just a roundabout way for HDH to work the insanity notion into the song .


Oh yeah I remember that one too! LOL!!!!

[TomatoTom123]

Back to SHAME : Maybe 'Diana' was worried she was a bit like mom ... in the middle of the song she references her own lack of sanity. Or the word usage was just a roundabout way for HDH to work the insanity notion into the song .

Hey boogiedown, I believe the song was actually written by 'The Clan' [[R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, Henry Cosby) with Berry Gordy. I'm pretty sure HDH had left Motown by 1969! :)

[marv2]

I've got another one for you


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0rgeQ0QD-o


Back to SHAME : Maybe 'Diana' was worried she was a bit like mom ... in the middle of the song she references her own lack of sanity. Or the word usage was just a roundabout way for HDH to work the insanity notion into the song .

That could be. One thing though. HDH did not write this one.

[Boogiedown]

Hey boogiedown, I believe the song was actually written by 'The Clan' [[R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, Henry Cosby) with Berry Gordy. I'm pretty sure HDH had left Motown by 1969! :)

thanks for the gentle correction TT ! It doesn't sound like them at all does it. And I'm glad it isn't!

Marv, ever heard the "B" side?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gbvcEkuFFI

I actually bought this record as a kid! :o And i remember the b side being very creepy to me.

ANY other 45s that had as their flip , the song in reverse??

[marv2]

thanks for the gentle correction TT ! It doesn't sound like them at all does it. And I'm glad it isn't!

Marv, ever heard the "B" side?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gbvcEkuFFI

I actually bought this record as a kid! :o And i remember the b side being very creepy to me.

ANY other 45s that had as their flip , the song in reverse??

Uh, that is too much. LOL

[luke]

I have a hard time Believing that Diane Ross wouldn't say to her Mama "pull them stockings up or I'm gonna ______________!" And why couldn't she just mail her a new dress in 3 years???

[Boogiedown]

I have a hard time Believing that Diane Ross wouldn't say to her Mama "pull them stockings up or I'm gonna ______________!" And why couldn't she just mail her a new dress in 3 years???


:D:Dlol!:D lol! :Dlol!:D:D

[marv2]

Hey boogiedown, I believe the song was actually written by 'The Clan' [[R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, Henry Cosby) with Berry Gordy. I'm pretty sure HDH had left Motown by 1969! :)


I am trying to get Pam Sawyer to come to the forum. She and R. Dean Taylor are the only remaining survivors of that group of writers. Dean use to post year a while back.

[marv2]

I have a hard time Believing that Diane Ross wouldn't say to her Mama "pull them stockings up or I'm gonna ______________!" And why couldn't she just mail her a new dress in 3 years???

You are killing me! LOL!!!!