If You Can't Hold The Man You Love(02-20-26) - Ethel Waters
My sermon for the Sabbath Day"
Said Parson Johnson Brown
"Is going to of interest to every gal in town;
Mandy Lee has done told me
Her man is gone away
That will be the subject
Which I'll preach about today"
If you can't hold the man you love
Don't cry when he's gone;
If you can't keep a good man down
Don't you carry on
First I want you gals to know
A little fact I've known
It takes more than a radio
To keep a man at home
And some night when you're alone
Waitin' for the dawn
Listen sisters listen while I warn doggone:
You can't mail a letter if it isn't stamped
You can't reform a man but he can be revamped
If you can't hold the man you love
Don't cry when he's gone
You can't hold a bird unless you feed him seeds
You can't hold a dog without the bones he needs
If a monkey don't get peanuts why you'll find him gone;
You can't hold a chicken 'less you feed him corn;
You can't hold a seal unless you feed him fish
You even got to grant a baby's slightest wish
And just as sure as there's a lord above
You can't hold a man unless you give him love
If you can't hold the man you love
Don't cry when he's gone;
If you can't keep a good man down
Don't you carry on
The secret ladies is to know
Just what your man desires
Learn to cultivate the tastes
His appetite requires
And some night when you're alone
Waitin' for the dawn
Listen sisters listen while I warn doggone:
You better get wise realize the truth
Keep your home fires burnin' for your flame in you
If you can't hold the man you love
Don't cry when he's gone
I'm preachin'
Don't cry when he's gone
