Marvin Gaye, “I Met a Little Girl” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

On the 18^th edition of Throwback Vibez, we recollect and reflect on “I Met a Little Girl” by Marvin Gaye.   

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he 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 their ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! On the 18^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶, we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “I Met a Little Girl” performed by 🎙 Marvin Gaye.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

Sometimes, the best albums – the crème de la crème of a musician’s career – are painfully underrated.  That’s the case with the 1978, underappreciated masterpiece by 🎙 Marvin Gaye, 💿 Here, My Dear.  Critically acclaimed, Here, My Dear didn’t sell well, peaking at a modest no. 26 on the Billboard 200 in February 1979, and has yet to be certified gold or platinum by the RIAA, north of 40 years later.  Nonetheless, it’s an incredible album that oozes with emotion and soul.  Also, worth noting, it’s one of those D-I-V-O-R-C-E LPs. This is Gaye at his best, particularly on the gem, 🎵 “I Met a Little Girl.”  

On “I Met a Little Girl,” Gaye reminisces on a once mighty, unbreakable love that has since gone awry. “I met a little girl, sure was fine,” he sings at the beginning, continuing, “Pretty little thing just about blew my mind / She took me home, and made love to me / I knew right then and there this is where I wanted to be.” So, things were on the up-and-up.  Gaye and his lover (Anna Gordy Gaye) had a great emotional and physical connection, eventually getting married.  “Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife / To love, hold, and cherish for the rest of your life?” We know the answer to this, and how it went down.  Marvin and Anna were husband and wife for 14 years.   Perhaps the more interesting is the contrast of times, which Gaye highlights over this lush backdrop (that bass line is marvelous).  In 1964, things are ‘all good.’ But by 1976, “As I sing this song right now, I wonder today / If you’re a friend of mine.” Divorce, divorce, divorce, baby.  Gaye and Gordy would divorce in 1977, a year before Hear, My Dear was released.

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Final Thoughts 💭 

Marvin Gaye does a fabulous job of contrasting the honeymoon phase of his relationship to the ugly ending on “I Met a Little Girl.” “I Met a Little Girl” is idiomatic of 70s soul, finding Gaye in his best voice.  He sings with incredible authenticity, truly selling the plight of love.  It’s sad that this song and Here, My Dear haven’t received far more attention.

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🎙 Marvin Gaye • 💿 Here, My Dear • 🏷 Motown • 🗓 1978
Marvin Gaye, “I Met a Little Girl”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 18 [📷: Brent Faulkner, cotton bro,  Motown The Musical Hype]

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