Yesterday, our staff was checking out the incredibly cool Questlove Supreme podcast on Pandora. This episode’s guest was Usher, who, along with Questlove and Phonte (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), breaks down the intricacies of his career from the beginning to the present. That discussion alone is worth a listen before it expires tomorrow.
Towards the end of the podcast, Quest and Phonte start speaking a bit about samples and rare tracks. At that point, Quest mentions “Buttercup,” a very rare track written and produced by the legend, Stevie Wonder. The mid-tempo track from 1974 has long been a favorite of the most discerning crate digging DJs and was recorded during the pre-disco transitional Jackson 5/Jacksons “Moving Violation” and “The Jacksons” album sessions. Based on the lyrics below, the song seems to be about a woman who is torn between (at least) two lovers and cannot decide which to choose. This song is yet another stellar collaboration between Wonder and the Jacksons and joins classics like “I Can’t Help It” (Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall album) and “Let’s Get Serious” (Jermaine Jackson’s Let’s Get Serious album).
Until this track was released on the I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters
Check out the lyrics and the track below:
Buttercup
There’s a chance for everybody
So I took my chance on loving you, yeah
But no one man can make you happy
You wanna have your cake and eat it too, yeah
You won’t give up your buttercup
You say you love to but one is givin’ up
‘Cause he can’t stay, no, no
Aw, you won’t give up your buttercup
You’re plenty for one but two, you’re not enough
And I can’t stay
Rump, pump, pa, pumpah, pah, dahbah
I’ve a right to my opinion
Feeling we’d be better off as friends, yeah
‘Cause you can make no one man happy
When you’re spreading yourself much too thin, aw
You won’t give up your buttercup
You say you love to but one’s givin’ up
‘Cause he can’t stay, no, no
Aw, you won’t give up your buttercup
You’re plenty for one but two, you’re not enough
And I can’t stay
Rump, pump, pa, rump, pump, pa, dah
Dit, dit, dit, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, di, dit, di, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, dit, dit, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, di, dit, di, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, dit, dit, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, di, dit, di, dit, di, dit, di
Dit, dit, dit, dit, di, dup
Oh, buttercup, well, give it up
Na, na, na, na, na, no
Oh, buttercup
Ooh, no, no, no, no, no, no
You won’t give up your buttercup
You say you love to but one is givin’ up
‘Cause he can’t stay, no, no
Aw, you won’t give up your buttercup
You’re plenty for one but two, you’re not enough
And I can’t stay
Rump, pump, pa, rump, pump, pa, dah
There’s a chance for even losers
‘Cause I will find a love that’s pure someday
Yeah, ee, yeah, you will be the one who’s bluer
Because your game of love no one will play, ya
You won’t give up your buttercup
You say you love to but one is givin’ up
‘Cause he can’t stay, no, no
You won’t give up your buttercup
You’re plenty for one but two, you’re not enough
And I, I can’t stay
Rump, pump, pa
Rump, pump, pa, dah
Won’t give up, well, give it up
No, no, no, no, no, no, won’t give it up
You’ve gotta give it up
You gotta give it up
Or you’re gonna loose it
Won’t give it up
Oh give it up, you gotta
Give it up woe
Woe, woe, woe, woe now
Give it up, oh no, no
Won’t give it up
Don’t wanna give it up
Won’t give it up, oh
I’m in love with you, oh