Lyrics to
What’s Going On

This version of What’S Going On was released by Marvin Gaye in 1971.

Our Marvin Gaye Songs profile has What’S Going On lyrics from 1971 and most if not all of the lyrics by Marvin Gaye that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Marvin Gaye or about the 1970s in general.

Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today – Ya

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on – Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Marvin Gaye?

Marvin Gaye has released many songs over the years besides What’S Going On. Marvin Gaye released songs from 1961 to 1985 spanning across albums like The Soulful Moods Of Marvin Gaye, That Stubborn Kinda Fella, Together, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, Moods Of Marvin Gaye, Take Two, United, You're All I Need, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Easy, M.P.G., That's The Way Love Is, What's Going On, Trouble Man, Let's Get It On, Diana & Marvin, I Want You, Here, My Dear, Midnight Love, Romantically Yours, and Dream Of A Lifetime. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Marvin Gaye.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1971 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and What’S Going On by Marvin Gaye

The lyrics for What’S Going On are defined as the words making up the song released by Marvin Gaye in 1971. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to What’S Going On have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Marvin Gaye and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to What’S Going On by Marvin Gaye if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to What’S Going On" means the words set to the music of What’S Going On, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Marvin Gaye. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to What’S Going On and the lyrics to What’S Going On are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Marvin Gaye who came here looking just for the lyrics to What’S Going On, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Marvin Gaye

Visit our Marvin Gaye profile for more Marvin Gaye songs, lyrics & info!

)