About the song
Okay, I’m ready to put on my music aficionado hat and dive deep into The Drifters’ classic, “There Goes My Baby.” This song is a landmark achievement, not just for the group, but for popular music in general. Released in 1959, it signaled a shift in the sound of R&B, incorporating elements that would become essential to the soul music of the 1960s.
Now, before we get into the song itself, let’s talk about The Drifters for a moment. This wasn’t the original lineup that recorded hits like “Money Honey” and “Such A Night.” There’s a whole soap opera surrounding the group’s name and its members, but the short version is that the manager, George Treadwell, owned the name “The Drifters” and essentially hired a new group called The Five Crowns to record under that name. This “second generation” of Drifters, featuring the incredible voice of Ben E. King, would go on to create some of the most beloved and enduring music of the era.
“There Goes My Baby,” written by Ben E. King, Lover Patterson, George Treadwell, and produced by the legendary duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, marked a significant departure from the Drifters’ earlier sound. While their previous hits were rooted in jump blues and doo-wop, this song introduced a lush orchestration, featuring strings and a prominent Latin-inspired beat. This was a bold move, a gamble that paid off handsomely.
The song’s arrangement, with its dramatic strings and those distinctive timpani hits, creates an atmosphere of both heartbreak and grandeur. It’s as if the singer’s loss is so profound that it demands this epic, cinematic treatment. And then there’s Ben E. King’s vocal performance. Oh, that voice! It’s filled with such raw emotion, a blend of yearning, despair, and resignation that just pulls you in. He delivers lines like “There goes my baby, with someone new” with a vulnerability that is both heartbreaking and utterly compelling.
But “There Goes My Baby” isn’t just a song about lost love; it’s about the struggle to maintain dignity and composure in the face of that loss. The lyrics express a deep sense of longing, but there’s also a sense of acceptance, a recognition that life goes on. “I’ve got to face it, I can’t erase it,” King sings, acknowledging the reality of the situation.
This song’s impact was immediate and far-reaching. It topped the R&B charts and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1959. More importantly, it influenced countless artists and producers, paving the way for the soul music explosion of the following decade. You can hear its echoes in the work of everyone from The Beatles to Otis Redding.
So, as you listen to “There Goes My Baby,” I invite you to appreciate not only its beauty and emotional depth but also its historical significance. It’s a timeless classic that continues to resonate with listeners of all ages, a testament to the enduring power of great songwriting, masterful production, and truly exceptional vocal talent.
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