Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – The Onion Song

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell: The Unconventional Beauty of “The Onion Song”

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “The Onion Song” is a captivating anomaly in the realm of popular music.

Released in 1969, the song defies easy categorization, blending elements of soul, pop, and even psychedelia into a unique sonic tapestry. It is a testament to the duo’s adventurous spirit and their willingness to experiment with musical boundaries.

Background

Unlike the typical love ballads that characterized their repertoire, “The Onion Song” is a metaphorical exploration of relationships and human emotions.

The song’s central metaphor, the onion, serves as a poignant symbol of layers, complexities, and the inevitable tears that accompany peeling back life’s complexities.

Gaye and Terrell’s vocal harmonies, as always, are exquisite, but they are employed in an unconventional manner, lending the song an ethereal quality.

The song’s arrangement is equally unconventional. The instrumentation, which includes a prominent flute and a rhythmic pulse, creates a dreamlike atmosphere that complements the song’s introspective lyrics.

The production, characterized by its psychedelic undertones, places “The Onion Song” firmly within the countercultural zeitgeist of the late 1960s.

Video

Lyrics

🎵 Let’s sing along with the lyrics! 🎤

The world is just a great big onion
And pain and fear are the spices that make you cry
(Oh baby) Oh, and the only way to get rid of this great big onion
Is to plant love seeds until it dies, uh-huh

Hey world! We got a great big job to do
Yeah, we need you
And everybody who loves through
Oh, Don’t you know we’ve got to clean up this place
And reach far high and oh yeah (Yes we do now)
We gotta be headstrong about righting the wrong
And make a lot more happy souls oh, ohh (oh baby)

The world is just a great big onion
And I don’t care, it’s the face people like to wear (Yes it is now)
And the only way to get rid of this great big onion
Every single soul’s got to do their share
Tell ’em bout it, baby! (woo)

So come on, let’s knock on every door (woo)
Tell them love is the answer
Whether they’re rich or poor, oh yeah
Now we don’t care what you do
How you look, or your status claim, baby
No, no, because “brothers & sisters” from now on is gonna be everyone’s name, oh-oh

The world is just a great big onion
And pain & fear are the spices that make you cry (Yes it is)
And the only way to get rid of this great big onion
Is to plant love seeds
Now everybody got to plant love seeds
Come on and plant love seeds
Until it dies
The world is just a great big onion