You Can Leave, But It’s Going to Cost You Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I remember like it was yesterday
We were over Gwen's
And we was trying one more time to make amends
Oh yes we was
Suddenly it occured to me it did not matter
Whether I was mad at her
Or she was mad at me
Naw, babe
Understanding my condition
I must surely be a wishing
And a hoping to be free

[Chorus]
Some say, you can leave, but it's going to cost you
She said, you can leave, but it's going to cost you, yeah
She said, you can leave, but it's gonna cost you dearly, oh
You can leave, but it's going to cost you, hah, dearly

[Verse 2]
Sometimes your eyes was red as fire
Intoxicated
Sometimes your spirit was moving on me
It wanted to fight me
I had to fight to defend my life

I didn't mind it
You see, I find it
A bit stimulating
But after fighting
We're making love
Ooh baby, ooh baby, ooh baby
Cause after all, you was my wife
Hey, can you still boogie
Boogie down the road sometime

[Chorus]
Hey, you can leave, but it's going to cost you
She said, you can leave, but it's going to cost you
You were trying to put me down
She said, you can leave, but it's going to cost you
I used to sing this song, I'm dancin' on
She said, you can leave, but it's going to cost you
Mystery man, what's going down

That young girl is going to cost you
If you want happiness, you got to pay

Oooh baby, used to be the apple of my eye
How come you loved me, baby?
How come you loved me
You used to be my heart's desire
My heart's desire, yeah

I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it
I'm gone, get used to it, baby
I'm gone, get used to it
You tried to have them shackle me
Bring me in
Tell me what for
So I'd satisfy you baby
You have won the battle
Oh but Daddy's gonna win the war
Her lawyers worked so hard
Tryin'a take my riches
Rich things, too
Trying to sell my home
Tried to take my life
Not my child too
Tryina upset my woman
Examinin' my soul

But I was strong, baby
Stood my ground and prayed
Asked the Lord to help
Wish he was in a position
To upset the judge

[Chorus]
You can leave, but it's going to cost you
You can leave, but it's going to cost you
You can leave, but it's going to cost you
You can leave, but it's going to cost you
You use to say that I was a gorgeous hunk of man
That didn't help me baby
Ah, when you was on the stand

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About

Genius Annotation

Marvin Gaye’s marriage with Anna Gordy began to fall apart in the early 1970s, around the time he met his second wife, Janis Hunter.

Marvin and Janis moved in and had two children together while he was separated but not officially divorced from Anna, causing a great deal of strife and public embarrassment for her.

In “You Can Leave, But It’s Going to Cost You”, Marvin paints a picture of an embittered Anna vowing to drain him financially for leaving him to be happy with another woman. All of this, as he notes in the beginning of the song, happened in full view of their friends some times.

The song is littered with shots at Anna, “Her lawyers worked so hard tryn'a take my riches”, while Marvin claims that he simply wants “to be free” of her.

As Here, My Dear was a musical form of payment and tribute to their marriage and divorce, the song reflects the mindset Marvin had throughout its entirety: one where he therapeutically transformed his pain into art to finally get over Anna.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Recorded At
Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, CA
Release Date
December 15, 1978
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