Smokey Robinson

Released: June 19, 1973

Songwriter: Smokey Robinson

Producer: Willie Hutch Smokey Robinson

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh...

Holly made the rules
She laid down all the laws
Then broke the ones she made
Most folks would be afraid
To play the games that Holly played

When she was seventeen
She ran away from home
As fast as she could run
Said home was just no fun
There was an awful lot of doing to be done

Holly on a cloud in the sky
Way above the crowd flying high, ooh-ooh...
Holly on a cloud in the sky, yeah
Way above the crowd flying high

Holly made the scene
She's gone to every place
She never should have been
Oh, but she was hanging in
Couldn't tell her nothing then, no

Strangers in the night
Have paid a handsome price
To sleep in Holly's bed
She couldn't see that far ahead
To know that she'd become
One of the living dead

Holly on a cloud in the sky, ooh-ooh...
Way above the crowd flying high, ooh-ooh...

Ooh-ooh-ooh...

Holly was confused
She did some things
That even she could no explain
Oh, but now she's so in pain
The devil running through her veins

Holly on a cloud in the sky, ooh-ooh...
Way above the crowd flying high

How could Holly make such a great mistake
To take that she could beat the rap
In just one fling, it never happened

Holly on a cloud in the sky, ooh, Holly
Way above the crowd flying high
Ooh-ooh-ooh...
Holly on a cloud in the sky
Ooh, life is passing by, yeah
Way above the crowd flying high
Ooh, life is passing by...

Arguably the greatest songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century, Robinson’s timeless creations for Motown, both for his own group and for other artists, provided the ultimate example of what a pop song can be. From The Beatles to Bob Dylan, the rest of the 60s followed in his wake

As if that wasn’t enough, he created a whole new genre in the mid-70s with “quiet storm”, a radio format named after one of his songs. He continues writing and performing today.

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Smokey

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