Them - Baby, Please Don't Go - Suggestions

Song

"Baby Please Don't Go" was one of the earliest songs recorded by Them, fronted by a 19-year-old Van Morrison. Their rendition of the song was derived from a John Lee Hooker version recorded in 1949 as "Don't Go Baby" using the pseudonym "Texas Slim" (King 4334), which later appeared on a 1959 album, Highway of Blues, that Van Morrison heard and felt was "something really unique and different" with "more soul" than he'd previously heard.

Them recorded "Baby, Please Don't Go" for Decca Records in October 1964. Besides Morrison, there is conflicting information about who participated in the session. In addition to the group's original members (guitarist Billy Harrison, bassist Alan Henderson, drummer Ronnie Millings, and keyboard player Eric Wrixon), others have been suggested: Pat McAuley on keyboards, Bobby Graham on a second drum kit, Jimmy Page on second guitar, and Peter Bardens on keyboards.

George Case

As Page biographer George Case notes, "There is a dispute over whether it is Page's piercing blues line that defines the song, if he only played a run Harrison had already devised, or if Page only backed up Harrison himself". Morrison has acknowledged Page's participation in the early sessions: "He played rhythm guitar on one thing and doubled a bass riff on the other" and Morrison biographer Johnny Rogan notes that Page "doubled the distinctive riff already worked out by Billy Harrison".

Janovitz identifies the riff as "the backbone of the arrangement" and describes Henderson's contribution as an "amphetamine-rush, pulsing two-note bass line." Music critic Greil Marcus comments that during the song's quieter middle passage "the guitarist, session player Jimmy Page or not, seems to be feeling his way into another song, flipping half-riffs, high, random, distracted metal shavings". Them's blues rock arrangement is "now regarded justly as definitive", according to music writer Alan Clayson.

The song was released as Them's second single on November 6, 1964. With the B-side, "Gloria", it became their first hit, reaching number ten on the UK Singles Chart in February 1965. The single was released in the U.S. in 1965, but only "Gloria" became a hit the following year.

Van Morrison also accompanied John Lee Hooker during a 1992 performance, where Hooker sings and plays it on guitar while sitting on a dock, with harmonica backing by Morrison; it was released on the 2004 Come See About Me Hooker DVD.

Artist

Them were a Northern Irish rock band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career. The original five member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Milling, Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon. The group was marketed in the United States as part of the British Invasion.

Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist. Despite their relatively few hit singles, the Belfast group had considerable influence on other bands, such as the Doors.

I Them sono stati un gruppo musicale rock dell'Irlanda del Nord, attivo negli anni sessanta e conosciuto per essere stato la band con cui ha debuttato il cantante Van Morrison.

Baby, please don't go (x2)
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you, so, baby, please don't go

Baby, your mind done gone
Well, your mind done gone (x2)
left the county farm
You had the shackles on; baby, please don't go

Before I be your dog (x2)
Before I be your dog to get you way down here
I'll make you walk alone; please don't go, hey

Baby, please don't go (x2)
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you, so, baby, please don't go

Before I be your dog (x2)
Before I be your dog to get you way down here
Make you walk alone; baby, please don't go

Know how I feel right now?
My baby leavin' on that midnight train, and I'm cryin'

Baby, please don't go
Oh, baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you, so, baby, please don't go yeah

Before I be your dog (x2)
Before I be your dog to get you way down here
I make you walk alone; baby, please don't go, yeah

All right

Baby, per favore non andare (x2)
Piccola, per favore, non andare a New Orleans
Sai che ti amo, quindi, piccola, per favore non andare

Piccola, la tua mente è sparita
Bene, la tua mente è andata via (x2)
lasciato la fattoria della contea
Avevi le catene; piccola, per favore non andare

Prima di essere il tuo cane (x2)
Prima che io sia il tuo cane per portarti qui
Ti farò camminare da solo; piccola, per favore non andare, ehi

Baby, per favore non andare (x2)
Piccola, per favore, non andare a New Orleans
Sai che ti amo, quindi, piccola, per favore non andare

Prima di essere il tuo cane (x2)
Prima che io sia il tuo cane per portarti qui
Ti fanno camminare da solo; piccola, per favore non andare

Sai come mi sento adesso?
La mia piccola sta salendo su quel treno di mezzanotte e sto piangendo

Baby, per favore non andare
Oh, piccola, per favore non andare
Piccola, per favore, non andare a New Orleans
Sai che ti amo, quindi, piccola, per favore non andare, sì

Prima di essere il tuo cane (x2)
Prima che io sia il tuo cane per portarti qui
Ti faccio camminare da solo; piccola, per favore non andare, si

Tutto ok

Them – Baby, Please Don’t Go