you keep me hanging on

The Supremes had their eighth chart-topper with another Holland–Dozier–Holland production. The legendary songwriting team wrote, arranged, and produced 'You Keep Me Hanging On' over nine multi-tracked sessions with the Supremes and Motown house band the Funk Brothers. Lamont Dozier says that although they were going for a rock sound for the song, "All the songs started out as slow ballads, but when we were in the studio we'd pick up the tempo. The songs had to be fast because they were for teenagers - otherwise it would have been more like something for your parents. The emotion was still there, it was just under cover of the optimism that you got from the up-tempo beat." Dozier came up the staccato guitar line, which was inspired by a news flash radio signal. It was played by Robert White.

According to Dozier,'You Keep Me Hanging On' was about a girl complaining about the guys fooling around and we knew all about that because that was what we did. We considered ourselves to be playboys. If you didn't have two or three girls in those days you looked like a wuss." The song went to number one on the US pop and R&B charts, and made it to number eight in the UK.

Set me free, why don't cha babe

Get out my life, why don't cha babe

'Cause you don't really love me

You just keep me hangin' on

You don't really need me

But you keep me hangin' on

Why do you keep a coming around

Playing with my heart?

Why don't you get out of my life

And let me make a new start?

Let me get over you

The way you've gotten over me

Set me free, why don't cha babe

Let me be, why don't cha babe

'Cause you don't really love me

You just keep me hangin' on

Now you don't really want me

You just keep me hangin' on

You say although we broke up

You still wanna be just friends

But how can we still be friends

When seeing you only breaks my heart again

And there ain't nothing I can do about it

Woo, set me free, why don't cha babe

Woo, get out my life, why don't cha babe

Set me free, why don't cha babe

Get out my life, why don't cha babe

You claim you still care for me

But your heart and soul needs to be free

Now that you've got your freedom

You wanna still hold on to me

You don't want me for yourself

So let me find somebody else Hey!

Why don't you be a man about it

And set me free

Now you don't care a thing about me

You're just using me

Go on, get out, get out of my life

And let me sleep at night

'Cause you don't really love me

You just keep me hangin' on...