Aretha Franklin

Songwriter: Gene Price

Producer: Arif Mardin

[Verse 1]
You're asking me to
Understand your feelings
To just forget about my own
And let you go
Darling, I won't raise a hand to stop you
Just let me say one thing before you go

[Chorus]
Come to me whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand and there I'll be
My love will light your way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love, come to me

[Verse 2]
I believe that time alone will change you
The changing tides will bring you back to me
And when you grow tired of chasing rainbows
Just make a wish for love and there I'll be

[Chorus]
Come to me whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand and there I'll be
Oh, my love will light your way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love, come to me
Come to me whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand and there I'll be
My love will light your way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love, come to me, sweet baby
Come to me whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand and there I'll be
My love will light your way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love, come to me
Come to me whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand and there I'll be
My love will light your way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love, come to me, yeah

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

more tracks from the album

Aretha (1980)

From the albums

Aretha (1980) (1980)
Through the Storm (1989)

Aretha Franklin popular songs

Come To MeAretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha (1980)