[Lisa]

A Loan or Alone?

This has been bugging me for ages. Seriously!
I cannot tell from listening to the song and when you google for the lyrics you find both.
Maybe the correct lyrics are on the original LP that the song was on. But I don't even know what LP that is.

Anyone know for sure what papa left us?

 

[Coltrane]

why would it possibly be 'a loan'? thats absurd.

Its definitely 'alone.'

 

[Lisa]

Because I googled the lyrics a long time ago and it said "a loan". And ever since I started to wonder.

 

[Land]

I think "alone" makes more sense, why would he leave you a loan ?

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Land I think "alone" makes more sense, why would he leave you a loan ?

Quote:

Hey Mama, is it true what they say, that Papa never worked a day in his life? And Mama, some bad talk going around town saying that Papa had three outside children and another wife. And that ain't right. Hey, talk about Papa doing some store front preaching. Talked about saving souls and all the time leeching. Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord.

If he died and he had debts he might have left the family a will with a loan in it... I don't know. English is not my native language.

But then mama started saying:
Quote:

Mama just hung her head and said, "Papa was a rolling stone, my son. Wherever he laid his hat was his home. (And when he died) All he left us was a loan." "Hey, Papa was a rolling stone. Wherever he laid his hat was his home. (And when he died) All he left us was a loan."

OK. so if mama was saying that papa was OK then all he left them was alone. But according to this website I quoted above she just said that he was a rolling stone and left them a loan.

Personally if I had to choose I'd say "alone" too , if only because it's more poetic. But there are a lot of lyrics websites who seriously say that he left "a loan".

 

[Coltrane]

those websites are wrong.


it is 'alone.'


and your logic doesnt make sense anyways. if he did have debt from a loan, he would have left them a debt. not a loan.

 

[Old Pa]

So it was either "alone" or it was a payment book?

 

[sbulack]

Hi Lisa,

I don't find your question (or your finding ambiguity in the words in question) to be as absurd or non-sensical as some apparently do.

To get you a step closer to the primary materials you seek, "Papa ..." was first released (by The Temptations) on their 1972 LP "All Directions". That may help you to find the lyrics, if any, which were published in that release.

A sampling of lyrics found on the 'net for this song reveals:

Wikipedia quotes that particular line from Papa as "alone".
Wikipedia has a LOT of the history surrounding that song, and seems to be in touch with folks who were close to its history - so it seems to carry some authority.
A variety of other sites seem pretty unanimous in quoting that particular word as "alone".
An interesting note is the sing365 site which, when the song lyrics are looked up under Queen as the artist - they say - as recorded by the Temptations, and quote the words of interest as "alone" - and give a copyright notice - making it seem that the source of these words had access to a printed version with a copyright notice.
On the same site, if the song is found under The Temptations, the phrase of interest is given as "a loan". This set of words credits the songwriters, but does not include a copyright notice.

The consensus of lyrics for "Papa" give "alone" - including those with pretty detailed history (Wikikpedia) or a copyright notice (the song lyrics for the song as performed by Queen, but listed as "as recorded by the Temptations).

But, at least one contributor to this site (plus its lyrics moderator) seemed to think that "a loan" fit the context of a no good man leaving his family with HIS trouble to deal with in the form of "a loan" to service - even when he was gone he was still causing them trouble. "a loan" makes sense to me in that it amplifies how no-good this man was to his family.

But, now you've got the name of the LP on which the song was first released by the Temptations - and for which you MAY find the lyrics published with it. It sure would be nice to find a reference for the lyrics as contained in the songwriters' edition - they are NORMAN WHITFIELD and BARRETT STRONG, BTW.

I hope you are able to get some primary materials to scratch this itch or yours definitively, instead of just a consensus plus a contradictory collections of opinions.

I, who do not have a big itch to scratch here, am swayed in the direction of "alone" because of the signs of authority (detailed history and a copyright notice) associated with the sources listing that homonym. But, as a thought experiment, wouldn't it be funny if you actually got hold of Norman Whitfield's AND Barrett Strong's (two) personal scores of that song, and one said "alone" and the other said "a loan"?

This is the stuff of which music history careers are made - getting at the primary sources that definitively resolve these ambiguities. If you get at some primary sources that definitively document what the correct wording is (rather than just compiling a consensus of folks' seat-of-the-pants takes), please get back to us with the bibliographic reference. It'd be a hoot to find out.

Best wishes to you,
Steve

 

[tom hankins]

I always thought it was a loan. As in they had to pay it back.

 

[markl]

Is this thread for real?

All he left us was ALONE. Alone, alone, alone.

It's so simple, don't over-think it.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl Is this thread for real? All he left us was ALONE. Alone, alone, alone. It's so simple, don't over-think it.

Then how come when you google the Temptations lyrics it says "a Loan" in them?
The George Micheals lyrics say alone.

 

[jpelg]

It's "alone".

It's the play on the word/phrase that's the interesting part.

 

[Rempert]

I think only "alone" makes any sense here. If the song were about a man obsessed with his work, who worked all hours or travelled around the country making money while his family really needed him to just be there, then it would probably be a play on words with both meanings intended.

I guess it still works in the sense of "left us a loan (to pay off)", but to me that seems unlikely to be intentional because it is so forced. If someone gives you a loan, normally that means you are getting money, not the burden of debt on a loan that person got from someone else.

 

[VicAjax]

none of you have got it right.

all he left us was a koan. a zen koan.

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

I think only "alone" makes any sense here.

I disagree. While "alone" does sound more poetic, fits perfectly, and very likely is correct, the rest of the song's lyrics aren't all that poetic. It's more of a straight story. Plus, when you think of a dead person leaving you something, money is what comes to mind. Leaving behind a loan to be paid off as a direct opposite, fits perfectly in this context.

Other lines from the song: (taken from the net)

"Dealing in debt, and stealing in the name of the law
Momma just hung her head and said..." (the "law"??? I thought it was the "Lord" )

"Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills"

But most of the sites say alone...which doesn't necessarily prove anything. It would be nice to see the actual liner notes from the original Temptations album...but even then, several times I've seen lyrics misprinted or slightly off even in liner notes.