Begging For Mercy

Begging For Mercy

Lyrics

My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees
She got me begging for mercy but crying for more
My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees.
And before she's finished, I'll be down on the floor

She's got me comin' and go-o-in, keeping me up so many late nights
Got me hangin' at the sort of places you wouldn't go to twice
So tired, so tired, so tired, yeah

My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees
She got me begging for mercy but crying for more
My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees
And before she's finished, I'll be down on the floor

My lady is a harsh mistress, she picks you up and she won't let go
Shakes you 'til your bones are a-quiver, you can't stop because you love her so

I come home red-eyed and wound up tight, that girl won't let me sleep
My minds a-whirling from the rock-n-roll rhythm
She's got her hooks in deep.

My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees
She got me begging for mercy but crying for more
My baby's got me, oooh my baby's got me down on my knees.
And before she's finished, I'll be down on the floor

Outro

My baby's got me,
My baby's got me,
My baby's got me,
Down on my knees.
My baby's got me down on my knees
My baby's got me down on my knees
She's got me begging for mercy
My baby's got me
My baby's got me
My baby's got me
Down on my knees.
My baby's got me
Down on my knees.
My baby's got me
Down on my knees.
ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
My baby's got me

Theresa's comments

The lines in bold at the beginning are repeated throughout and would be considered the hook.

Jamie came up with the lines and the melody to those lines but I wrote most of the rest of the lyrics and Kevin wrote the bridge, if I remember correctly.

Not all songs have bridges, but many pop songs do - it's where, in the middle of the song, the chords and melody change and it "bridges" between the verses and chorus.

For example, in the Beatles' song, "And I Love Her", the hook, for me, are the chords of the intro and outro (the way the song ends). There isn't really a chorus in the song, just "And I love her" at the end of each verse. Then the song goes into the bridge "A love like ours Will never die As long as I have her near me" and then the instrumental where they actually change keys, going up either a half step or a whole step. And then it goes back to a final verse (though remaining in the changed key) and the outro. The outro is the chords of the intro repeating a few times and then ending on a major chord.

And I Love Her

The outro (the end of the song) in Begging For Mercy is mostly the way you show it but early on in it, I'm singing:

She's got me comin' and goin'
She's got me down on my knees
She's got me begging for mercy
She's got me saying please

And then Jamie and I start doing oohs while the My baby's got me Down on my knees continues on.

Many songs don't have outros, they just get the volume turned down and that's how the song ends. "Whiter Shade of Pale" for instance. Skip to the last 30 seconds and you'll see it essentially has no outro: Whiter Shade of Pale

"Begging For Mercy" can be viewed as a metaphor for what music does to a musician.

In my case, the only thing it did to me was make me tired because practice often went very late, and then I had to drive home. And if we played at a bar, it could be 3 AM before I got home. But I didn't live the life of touring, etc. I don't know that the metaphor of the song is accurate for even most musicians but it makes for an interesting song so there's that!