Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone

This song is just about the coolest song ever. It was a long way from My Girl a few years earlier. That innocent sound is gone, replaced with hardness and grit, not to mention strings and a wah-wah.

The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The first recording wasn’t by The Temptations, but by The Undisputed Truth, a psychedelic soul group also produced by Whitfield. Released in May 1972, their version had a rawer, less refined sound and was under four minutes long. It charted but not huge, peaking at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Temptations version peaked at #1 (of course) in the Billboard 100, #14 in the UK, and #12 in Canada in 1972. This was the last big hit recorded in Motown’s famous Studio A, located in a two-story house in Detroit. Most of Motown’s studio work had moved to Los Angeles by then, but The Temptations still recorded in Detroit.

Whitfield reworked the song for The Temptations. By 1972, they had transitioned from smooth Motown pop to a grittier sound under Whitfield’s guidance in what some called psychedelic soul. The intro alone runs nearly four minutes in the full album version, which is a lot for a mainstream soul song. The band initially hated the long instrumental sections, feeling like it sidelined them, but the track’s success changed their minds.

The B side to this single was Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Instrumental). Both sides of the single won Grammy awards. The A-side won for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus, and the B-side took the award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.

Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone

It was the third of September
That day I’ll always remember,
Yes, I will
‘Cause that was the day that my daddy died
I never got a chance to see him
Never heard nothin’ but bad things about him
Mama, I’m depending on you
To tell me the truth
Mama just hung her head and said, “Son,..

Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

Hey, mama!
Is it true what they say that papa never worked a day in his life?
And, mama, some bad talk goin’ round town sayin’ that papa had three outside children and another wife,
And that ain’t right
Heard them talking papa doing some store front preachin’
Talked about saving souls and all the time leechin’
Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord
Mama just hung her head and said,

Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

Hey, mama,
I heard papa called himself a “Jack Of All Trades”
Tell me is that what sent papa to an early grave?
Folks say papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey, mama,
Folks say papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Mama, I’m depending on you
To tell me the truth
Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said, “Son,..

[Chorus]
Papa was a rolling stone (well, well…)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

I said, “Papa was a rolling stone (yes, he was, my son)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
My daddy was (papa was a rolling stone), yes, he was
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone.”

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

39 thoughts on “Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone”

  1. Pingback: Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone – MobsterTiger

  2. The two groups switched places. While the Undisputed Truth recorded this first, followed by the Temptations stretching it out, they reversed this for “Ball of Confusion”.

    The Temptations version of “Papa was a Rollin’ Stone” is a masterpiece. I could say more but I won’t.

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  3. Best Motown single. Ever. Perfectly played, great lyrics (though yes, it seemingly damn near gave Gordy Berry a stroke when he heard it …’where’s the part about My Girl, lovie dovey, doo wah, all that?), mood matches the words…. just a great song. And so bold, not the least of which being because who would put out a single where the vocals don’t kick in until two minutes or more?

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    1. Yea he was dead wrong with this one and also wrong with Marvin Gaye…Gordy didn’t change with the times too well lol. It is a masterpiece of a song though…like you said…perfect.

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  6. Old Gold. I forgot about that “Superfly” intro. As a kid I thought they were saying “all he left us was a loan.” Probably because the bill collectors were always blowing up our phone. lol

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  7. This is probably my favourite soul/funk song ever. (Though ball of confusion comes a close second). I like the Temptations’ long version best.I optimistically bought a compilation of theirs a couple of years ago called Psychedelic Temptations (I think that’s the title) and it has it on the disc, but it’s still not quite the same as the original long version. Personally I absolutely LOVE the long intro. I can get rather tripped out on it, which is weird!

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    1. It has such a groove and it’s hypnotic..it locks you into it. I do like the album version as well…and the instrumental version is really cool!

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  9. I’m really into psychedelic soul…and this is one of the forerunners of the genre.

    My husband said that when he was a kid, he thought the lyrics went...And when he died all he left us was a loan. Hilarious! And apropos.

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    1. Yes it was Pam…oh that is funny because someone else thought they said the same thing!
      You know…I also hear the beginning of the Philly sound in this.

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    1. A famous deadbeat dad.
      I do love that line though…Wherever he laid his hat was his home
      That was me in the late eighties.

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    1. I know the type…you grin and bare it if you like the song or not. Where ever He laid his hat was his home…that sticks with me. It sounds like me in the 80s.

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  14. Yes definitely a Masterpiece, and under-rated at the time in the UK but its stature has grown with time. The previous significant single, Take A Look Around, was a sort of advanced signal of what was coming, but the sad thing is how Berry Gordy let the core creatives at Motown move on – Holland-Dozier-Holland and Norman Whitfield went on to success outside of Motown, but their peak years remain Motown era, while without them Motown was lesser. Still, they had a magnificent back catalogue to work over the next 50 years as pretty much most acts moved on as well.

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    1. Gordy didn’t think some things through…and yea getting rid of them hurt bad. He might have thought he could pick up someone cheaper? Dumb thing to do though.

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