If You Want Me To Stay Lyrics

[Verse 1]
If you want me to stay
I'll be around today
To be available for you to see
But I am about to go
And then you'll know
For me to stay here, I got to be me

[Verse 2]
You'll never be in doubt
That's what it's all about
You can't take me for granted and smile
Count the days I'm gone
Forget reachin' me by phone
Because I promise I'll be gone for a while

[Verse 3]
And when you see me again
I hope that you have been
The kind of person that you really are now
You got to get it straight
How could I ever be late
When you're my woman taking up my time?

[Verse 4]
Whoa, oh, how could you ever allow
I guess I wonder how
How could you get out of pocket for fun, how, how?
When you know that you're never number two
Number one's gonna be number one
[Verse 5]
Ohh, ow, oohh
I'll be good, I wish I could
Get this message over to you now

[Verse 6]
When you see me again
I hope that you have been
The kind of person you really are now
I'll be so good
Oh, I wish I could
Get the message over to you now

[Outro]
Oh, yessir
I'm good, man

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About

Genius Annotation

“If You Want Me to Stay” is a 1973 hit single by Sly and the Family Stone, from their album Fresh. The single was the band’s final Top 20 pop hit, and is the best-known of its post-There’s a Riot Goin' On recordings.

Stone recorded the song without much input from the rest of the band; by the early 1970s, he had begun crafting most of his material by himself. An alternate version of “If You Want Me to Stay”, as well as most of the rest of the Fresh album, was completed before Stone decided to scrap the masters and re-record the album.

Story has it that Stone got the idea for this song after a fight with his former wife, Kathleen Silva.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Sly and the Family Stone say about "If You Want Me To Stay"?
Genius Answer

“If You Want Me to Stay,” made live in the room with me singing and playing organ, was straightforward in some ways. If you want me to stay, tell me. Otherwise, I’m gone. But people couldn’t decide how wide a lens to view it through. Was it a love song? Was I singing it to my audience?

— Sly Stone, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

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