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The Temptations - The Way You Do The Things You Do

The Temptations - The Way You Do The Things You Do Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Meet The Temptations
Released: 1964

The Way You Do The Things You Do Lyrics

You got a smile so bright
You know you could have been a candle
I'm holding you so tight
You know you could have been a handle
The way you swept me off my feet
You know you could've been a broom
And babe you smell so sweet
You know you could've been some perfume

Well you could of been anything that you wanted to
I can tell
The Way You Do The Things You Do

As pretty as you are
You know you could've been a flower
If good looks were minutes
You know you could have been an hour
The way you stole my heart
You know you could have been a crook
And baby your so smart
You know you could have been a school book

Well you could of been anything that you wanted to
I can tell
The way you do the things you do

Well you could of been

You make my life so rich
You know you could've been some money
And baby you're so sweet
You know you could have been some honey

Well you could of been anything that you wanted to
I can tell
The way you do the things you do

Well you could of been

As pretty as you are
You know you could've been a flower
If good looks were minutes
You know you could have been an hour
The way you stole my heart
You know you could have been a crook
And baby your so smart
You know you could have been a school book

Well you could of been anything that you wanted to
I can tell
The way you do the things you do

Well you could of been

Writer/s: ROGERS, ROBERT / ROBINSON JR., WILLIAM
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Way You Do The Things You Do Song Chart

Smokey Robinson wrote this after Berry Gordy asked his Motown writers to come up with something for The Temptations. He said that whoever wrote them a hit would get preferential treatment and the chance to write more songs for The Temptations, which Smokey did.

The Temptations previous 7 singles all flopped. There was a lot of pressure on Motown to deliver a hit.

Berry Gordy wrote his own song the be their next single, but he put it on the shelf when enough people at Motown told him that Smokey's song was better.

Bobby Rogers, who was a member of Smokey's group, The Miracles, helped him finish writing this.

This was the first song on the first Temptations album, which was a collection of their singles released in 1965. At the time, Motown focused on releasing hit singles, and album sales were secondary. Singles were more profitable because more people bought them.

UB40 covered this in 1990. Their version hit #6 in the US.

Otis Williams of The Temptations recalled in Mojo magazine February 2009: "The first time we heard the song, we loved it. The melody swung, and the lyrics had lots of charm. They were silly in a way, talking about a girl you loved as a candle, a handle, a schoolbook, a cool crook, a broom, a perfume, but, typical Smokey, he made it work. It got a good response whenever we did it live, so our hopes were up. We knew from past experience that even the best tracks don't always click."

Smokey Robinson told Mojo October 2014 that Curtis Mayfield was his inspiration for this tune. "He had a song out with The Impressions called 'It's Alright' and they sang with this great harmony and I knew The Temptations could sing like that because they had a great harmony sound," Smokey explained, "and Curtis had this high voice like Eddie Kendricks and I wanted to simulate that if possible."