Levi Stubbs' Tears...

I was very, very sad to read, a few moments ago, that Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the Four Tops and a giant of Motown, has passed away.

I will admit that I, like many people my age, came to know his voice long before I ever learned who he was, in the likeness of Audrey II in the film, "Little Shop of Horrors." I remember watching the man eating plant devour the citizens of Skid Row with a mixture of horror and excitement pumped up by the incredible soundtrack. Even as an adult, I am blown away by the depth of humor and pathos Stubbs was able to evoke - the many winks and nods his voice conveyed.

In my teenage years I came to appreciate the music of the Four Tops and Aretha Franklin, along with the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth and Nirvana. As I learned of, and listened to, the musicians who had inspired the bands to whom I was so devoted I began to understand the connections that run straight from Leadbelly to Kurt Cobain with a stop in Detroit along the way.

There is a wonderful song by Billy Bragg called Levi Stubbs' Tears about surviving abuse and loneliness. While listening to my iPod at work, every once in a while, the song will catch me off guard and force me to pay attention. Today, especially, it is strangely comforting to hear someone singing, "when the world falls apart some things stay in place/ Levi Stubbs' tears roll down his face." One thing is for certain, the world will never be the same.

Levi Stubbs’ Tears

With the money from her accident
She bought herself a mobile home
So at least she could get some enjoyment
Out of being alone
No one could say that she was left up on the shelf
It’s you and me against the world kid she mumbled to herself

Chorus:
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi stubbs’ tears run down his face

She ran away from home in her mother’s best coat
She was married before she was even entitled to vote
And her husband was one of those blokes
The sort who only laughs at his own jokes
The sort that war takes away
There wasn’t a war but he left anyway

When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi stubbs’ tears run down his face

Norman Whitfield and Barratt Strong
Are here to make everything right that’s wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you

One dark night he came home from the sea
And put a hole in her body where no hole should be
It hurt her more to see him walking out the door
And though they stitched her back together they left
her heart in pieces on the Floor

When the world falls apart some things stay in place
She takes off the four tops tape and puts it back in it’s case
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs’ tears...