About the song
“There Goes My Baby” is a seminal pop song written by Ben E. King (Benjamin Earl Nelson), Lover Patterson, and George Treadwell, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Drifters. Originally recorded as the debut single for the second iteration of The Drifters (formerly known as the 5 Crowns), the release marked Ben E. King’s inaugural recording as the group’s lead vocalist under Atlantic Records.
History
Leiber and Stoller approached production with a distinctive style, diverging from the methods Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler used with the earlier Clyde McPhatter-led Drifters. This fresh combination of new stylistic elements and the group’s adaptability propelled the song to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, following Elvis Presley’s “A Big Hunk o’ Love.” Additionally, “There Goes My Baby” clinched the number one spot on Billboard’s R&B chart. It also topped the Cash Box sales chart for two weeks during the summer of 1959.
Song Structure
The song’s lyrics exhibit a loose, almost freeform structure, breaking away from traditional rhyme schemes. The instrumental backing features a string section mimicking saxophone riffs in a rock and roll style, complementing King’s high tenor vocals.
Legacy
This recording pioneered the use of strings, a Brazilian baion rhythm, and sophisticated production techniques in R&B music, intensifying the emotional power of African-American music. The string arrangement was crafted by Stan Applebaum, signaling a pathway toward the forthcoming era of soul music as the popularity of doo-wop groups peaked and waned. Phil Spector studied this production model under Leiber and Stoller’s influence.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “There Goes My Baby” at #196 among its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song has been covered by various artists including Jay and the Americans, the Walker Brothers, and The Walkmen. It also found its place in the musical Smokey Joe’s Cafe, cementing its enduring impact on popular music and its status as a classic in the R&B and pop genres.
VIdeo
Lyrics
Bom-bom (do-do-do-do-do)
There she goes (do-do-do-do-do)
There she goes (do-do-do-do-do)
Bom-bom (do-do-do-do)
Bom-bom (do-do-do-do)
There goes my baby, movin’ on down the line
Wonder where, wonder where, wonder where she is bound?
I broke her heart and made her cry
Now I’m alone, so all alone
What can I do, what can I do?
There goes my baby (whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh)
There goes my baby (yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
There goes my baby (whoa-oh-oh-oh)
There she goes, yeah, there she goes
I wanna know if she loved me
Did she really love me?
Was she just playing me for a fool?
I wonder why she left me
Why did she leave me so all alone?
So all alone?
I was gonna tell her that I loved her
And that I need her
Beside my side to be my guide
I wanna know where is my – (do-do-do-do-do)
Where is my baby? (Do-do-do-do-do)
I want my baby (do-do-do-do-do)
I need my baby (do-do-do-do-do)
Yeah, whoa-oh-oh
There goes my baby
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
There goes my baby