Time to Get It Together
Encyclopedia
"Time to Get It Together" is a 1976 song recorded by Marvin Gaye
and issued on Marvin's 1978 album, Here, My Dear
. Much like "Everybody Needs Love
", "Anger
" and "A Funky Space Reincarnation
", among others, this song doesn't discuss the demise of Marvin's marriage to Anna Gordy Gaye
. Instead the song is a biographical account of the singer's own personal demons as he battled drug abuse
, paranoia
and depression
.
The artist admits though he says he's trying to break his habits, he always find himself back in it. In the beginning of the song, Gaye shouts out in a preacher's tone, saying "Jesus said time will heal all wounds/but we have to live right to get the time". As with many of the songs on Here My Dear, "Time to Get It Together" lacks a chorus, but concludes with a vamp in which Gaye mixes his optimism with a depressive tone. He chants in one instance that his days of drug abuse and, as he puts it, "runnin' 'round with midnight hos" were over, and in another harmoniously states "my life's a clock and it's winding down/from the day you're born 'till the day you're in the ground". Gaye used the song's intro as the opening number for his late 1970s/early 1980s concerts, including his performance at the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland
.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and issued on Marvin's 1978 album, Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear is a studio double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released December 15, 1978 on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Marvin's Room in Hollywood, California from 1976 to 1977. A deeply personal and controversial album, Here, My Dear is notable for...
. Much like "Everybody Needs Love
Everybody Needs Love (Marvin Gaye song)
"Everybody Needs Love" is a 1977 song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye and issued on the singer's confessional 1978 album, Here, My Dear. Though most of the songs on the album were based on a mostly antagonist view of Marvin's first wife, Anna Gaye, few songs like this stood out which...
", "Anger
Anger (song)
"Anger" is a 1979 single released by singer Marvin Gaye recorded in 1978 for the album, Here, My Dear. The song was issued in 1979 as a single in Canada but failed to chart there. The song discussed mental anguish and pain over bitterness and talks specifically of angry confrontation, in Marvin's...
" and "A Funky Space Reincarnation
A Funky Space Reincarnation
"A Funky Space Reincarnation" is a 1978 funk single recorded and released in 1979 by Marvin Gaye on the Tamla label.In this song, he described a parallel universe where in the future, he's a captain of a "space bed" and he meets a woman that reminds him of his first wife, Anna.He then tells the...
", among others, this song doesn't discuss the demise of Marvin's marriage to Anna Gordy Gaye
Anna Gordy Gaye
Anna Gordy Gaye is an American songwriter and composer, known as the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy and the first wife of soul legend Marvin Gaye, who used their troubled marriage as the focal point of his critically acclaimed 1978 effort, Here, My Dear, an album from which Gordy...
. Instead the song is a biographical account of the singer's own personal demons as he battled drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
and depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
.
The artist admits though he says he's trying to break his habits, he always find himself back in it. In the beginning of the song, Gaye shouts out in a preacher's tone, saying "Jesus said time will heal all wounds/but we have to live right to get the time". As with many of the songs on Here My Dear, "Time to Get It Together" lacks a chorus, but concludes with a vamp in which Gaye mixes his optimism with a depressive tone. He chants in one instance that his days of drug abuse and, as he puts it, "runnin' 'round with midnight hos" were over, and in another harmoniously states "my life's a clock and it's winding down/from the day you're born 'till the day you're in the ground". Gaye used the song's intro as the opening number for his late 1970s/early 1980s concerts, including his performance at the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Personnel
- All vocals, keyboards and synthesizers by Marvin Gaye
- Drums by Bugsy Wilcox
- Bass by Frank Blair
- Guitars by Wali Ali and Gordon Banks
- Alto saxophone by Ernie Fields
- Percussion by Gary Jones