![]() "The beautiful thing is that music is open to interpretation. Yet Detroit-based bassist Ralphe Armstrong disagreed with Martone's reading of Ain't No Way when interviewed for The Guardian's recent profile of Carolyn Franklin, claiming "It's just a love song about having a broken heart." Martone tells BBC Culture that he still maintains his stance. ![]() In Ritz's biography, Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, Erma is quoted as saying of Carolyn, "I consider her a great woman… She went her own way, lived her own life, and found freedom in her individuality." it took me a long time to find my own identity and voice". It might also have been particularly personal for Carolyn: she told Aretha's biographer David Ritz that Erma and Aretha were "chasing after boys when I was discovering that my romantic preference went in an entirely different direction. Other lyrics include the lines "I know that a woman’s duty is to help and love a man, and that’s the way, it was planned/ Oh but how can I how can I how can I/ Give you all the things I have/ If you're tying both of my hands". The story the song tells is haunting at its very core, and could be interpreted as representing the realities of millions of queer women around the world who feel they cannot love freely. In 2018, the writer Andrew Martone described it as "an undercover LGBT anthem", highlighting the lyric "stop trying to be someone you're not" as a coded message to a secret lesbian lover, asking them to accept their sexuality. Some have argued that, rather than a male lover, the lyrics are addressing a female.Īin't No Way's status as a queer love song has been a subject of debate in recent times. ![]() don't you know that I need you?" Beneath the tenderness of these pleas, however, there could be a call for radical resistance to subvert what society has decided to adopt as the norm. The song ends with an earnest plea: "and if you need me like you say do. Throughout the song, she keeps reminding this lover that "there ain't no way for me to love you, if you won't let me". As the song progresses, we begin to learn more about this woman, whose story is delivered through a beautiful monologue. Carolyn Franklin and the Sweet Inspirations supplied the background vocals, with Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston's mother) belting the operatic notes during the bridges.Īin't No Way chronicles the heartbreak of a woman whose lover has left her. Described as "quite possibly soul music's finest ballad", it shines through with the rich and soulful lead vocals of Aretha Franklin. It's a quintessential love song, filled with yearning, passion, and the desire to love someone or be loved recklessly, without abandon. Ain't No Way spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 16. It was recorded by Aretha Franklin as part of her 12th studio album Lady Soul (which is on the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die). Of course, Aretha went on to clinch the title Queen of Soul – but her sisters carried on writing, composing, and recording songs for decades.ĭuring Carolyn's musical career, before her death from cancer at the age of 43, she recorded five solo studio albums and wrote/co-wrote songs like Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around), Angel, As Long As You Are There, Baby Baby Baby, I Was Made For You, Pullin and Without Love.Īin't No Way stands out effortlessly in Carolyn's impressive portfolio as a songwriter. Her father – reverend and civil rights activist CL Franklin – was known as "the Man with the Million-dollar Voice", and he featured her in his church choir, alongside her two older sisters Erma and Aretha. Its writer, Carolyn Franklin, was born into a family of soul music talents. However, one song is conspicuously missing from these lists – the 1968 hit Ain't No Way. In recent years, Billboard, Insider, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan have ranked and curated a selection of the greatest love songs of all time. ![]() As a genre, the love song continues to endure because of its ability to capture our happiest, deepest, and most vulnerable moments. In her 2012 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, Adele stated that "everyone loves a love song" – and the musical form has proven consistently popular, with chart-toppers such as Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, Adele's Someone Like You, and Stevie Wonder's I Just Called to Say I Love You. ![]()
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