Al Green, “I’m a Ram” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 78^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “I’m a Ram” by soul and gospel icon, Al Green.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 78^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “I’m a Ram”, performed by soul and gospel icon, 🎙 Al Green. 

Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

“‘Cause I’m a ram, yes I am / And I know just what to do / Think I’ll drive on / And try to get next to you…” 💿 Gets Next to You is one of the great soul albums of the 1970s.  Gets Next to You marks the third studio album by soul and later, gospel icon, 🎙 Al Green.  The best-known Green hit from Can’t Get Next to You is 🎵 “Tired of Being Alone”, which peaked at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Previously, I raved over another favorite from the album, 🎵 “I Can’t Get Next to You”,  a transformation of The Temptations’ classic.  Still yet, Gets Next to You has another, tremendous record that didn’t chart on the Hot 100 like the aforementioned cuts, 🎵 “I’m a Ram”.

“I’m a Ram” may not be considered among the greatest of Al Green’s greatest hits, but it’s an infectious, must-hear soul joint.  The groove is incredibly funky, the riffs are utterly sweet, the horns sublime, and Al – well – he’s beastly.  There’s a certain cool that only Al Green could generate and generate it he does indeed.  He sings incredibly expressive, impressing with his distinct, nuanced pipes.  The question is, is Green really singing this song about an animal – and a ram of all things? Well, yes and no.  Green seems to embody the aggressiveness of the animal as well as being forceful like a battering ram.  And, yes, of course, he mentions the fact that “I’m a ram out in the bush /And he needs to be free.” Woo! Why? To get close to her, of course, which makes sense in the context of the album!

“Hey baby

‘Cause I’m a ram

Bet your life, I do

‘Cause I’m a ram now

And I wanna get next to you

Oh, baby.”

Final Thoughts 💭

If I’ve failed to mention it, Al Green is one of my all-times favorite soul musicians.  I’m a fan of his most renowned hits, but I also like deeper cuts like “I’m a Ram” which get far less attention.  Would it be far-fetched to say that Green was a bit, um, horny? Those ram horns and all, I mean!

🎙 Al Green • 💿 Gets Next to You • 🏷 Hi Records • 🗓 1971

 Al Green, “I’m a Ram”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 78 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash,  The Musical Hype, Trace Hudson]