Come See About Me Lyrics — Ain't Too Proud

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• Where it sits onstage: Act I, folded into the Supremes medley ("You Can't Hurry Love" - "Come See About Me" - "Baby Love").
• Original identity: 1964 Motown single by the Supremes, written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland.
• What it does in the show: a brisk shift of focus from the Temptations to the label world around them - a reminder that Motown was a whole company of stars, not a solo act.
• Why it plays theatrically: the chorus is built like a stage cue - short, repeated, and impossible to miss even when staged as a snippet.

Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations (2019) - stage medley segment - non-diegetic, presented as a performance collage rather than a literal, in-story private moment. In a jukebox bio-musical, the temptation is to treat every famous track like a full stop. This one works better as a comma. It keeps the evening moving while widening the historical frame.

On record, the song is the Detroit beat in a tailored suit: tidy, exacting, and forward-leaning. Onstage, its value is contrast. The Temptations numbers often sell charisma through swagger and synchronized precision. The Supremes cameo sells it through sparkle and directness. Different tools, same factory, same audience appetite.

• Key Takeaways: hook-first writing; bright rhythmic drive; chorus phrasing that reads clearly in a large theater.
• Listen for: the way the backing voices keep the lead buoyant - it is pop architecture, not decoration.
• Watch for: how the show uses the medley as a time machine: one quick montage and you are back in 1964 radio land.

Creation History

The Supremes recorded the song during the same burst of studio productivity that also produced "Baby Love". Motown released it as a single in 1964, and it went on to become a Hot 100 chart-topper. Critics at the time heard the craft plainly: Billboard described the "Detroit beat" as pronounced and steady, while Cash Box emphasized its stomp-like commercial punch. Those old trade-paper takes still map onto why directors like it - the track is built to travel through noise and still land.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

The speaker is lonely, anxious, and direct. She asks her lover to show up, to check in, to prove she matters. There is no mystery and no metaphor maze - just a clean request that repeats until it becomes the whole scene.

Song Meaning

The meaning is reassurance as necessity. The lyric frames love as an action item: do not say it, come demonstrate it. In the stage show, that idea lands as period texture more than character revelation. The Supremes cameo is not there to deepen the Temptations plot; it is there to deepen the Motown world, the social orbit, the sense of a label pumping hits into the culture at industrial speed.

Annotations

I've been crying (ooh, ooh) cause I'm lonely (for you).

The opener does the job fast: state the wound, then let the groove carry it. In performance, keep it conversational. The track is already dramatic. You do not need to add weight with extra sob.

So come see about me.

That line is a theater director's gift. It is an imperative that can be staged as a literal entrance cue, a blocked path, a door that will not open, or a spotlight that demands attention.

See about your baby.

The phrase sounds cute, but it is also a claim. The speaker is asserting a relationship and asking to be treated like a priority, not an option.

Rhythm and style fusion

Motown pop-soul at full efficiency: bright tempo, repeated hook, and choral support that functions like an engine. That is why a medley excerpt still works. Even a short slice carries the identity and the message.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

• Song: Come See About Me
• Artist: The Supremes (original single); appears in the stage show within the Supremes medley
• Featured: Lead vocal with girl-group backing harmonies
• Composer: Brian Holland; Lamont Dozier; Eddie Holland
• Producer: Holland-Dozier-Holland (production team credit)
• Release Date: 1964 (single year)
• Genre: Motown pop-soul; R&B
• Instruments: Lead and backing vocals; drums; bass; guitar; keys; orchestral accents (typical Motown palette)
• Label: Motown
• Mood: Bright; pleading; forward-moving
• Length: About 2:43 (common audio listings); Supremes medley on the cast album is 2:32 for all three songs combined
• Language: English
• Album (if any): Where Did Our Love Go
• Music style: Hook-first chorus with tight ensemble responses
• Poetic meter: Accentual pop phrasing with chorus repetition

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this performed as a full number in the Broadway production?

No. It appears inside the Supremes medley on the cast album and in Act I song lists.

Why include a Supremes hit in a Temptations bio-musical?

Because the story is also about Motown as an ecosystem. The cameo helps you hear the label era, not just one group.

Who wrote and produced it?

It is credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland as writers and the primary Motown production team behind the recording.

What does the speaker want, in plain terms?

Reassurance through action: show up, prove you care, do not leave her alone with doubt.

What makes the chorus stage-friendly?

It is an imperative line that reads instantly, even when the arrangement is shortened for a medley.

How did it perform on the charts?

It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also placed strongly on the soul chart.

What is the main acting trap for singers?

Overplaying sadness. The track is built to smile while it pleads, so the best delivery stays bright and urgent.

Is the Broadway cast recording a separate track?

It is part of one combined medley track on the cast album rather than a standalone listing.

Awards and Chart Positions

The single is a scoreboard classic: it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (for two non-consecutive weeks) and reached No. 3 on the Billboard soul chart. Billboard later included it among the Supremes highest-performing Hot 100 titles, which tracks with how the chorus still triggers instant recognition in a theater audience.

How to Sing Come See About Me

Common practice anchors put the tempo around 126 BPM in 4/4, and one widely used piano-vocal arrangement lists an A3 to D5 vocal range with an original published key of D major. The stage challenge is not range. It is breath and diction at speed while still sounding charming.

1. Tempo: Start at 110 BPM until consonants stay crisp, then move toward 126 without tightening the jaw.
2. Diction: Keep the "see" and "about" vowels forward so the hook reads. Fast does not mean mushy.
3. Breath: Take quick, planned breaths between short phrases. The track is a sprint, not a long swim.
4. Placement: Aim for a bright mix and speech-like tone. Heavy belting fights the style.
5. Blend: In ensemble, match vowel shapes on "ooh" responses first. Once vowels match, tuning gets easier.
6. Acting: Play urgency, not despair. Think: impatient optimism at the doorway.
7. Pitfalls: Rushing the lead into the chorus. Let the groove stay steady and let the chorus feel inevitable.

Additional Info

One little industry wrinkle makes the song even more "Motown": a different singer, Nella Dodds, issued a version first, and Motown responded by releasing the Supremes single, which then eclipsed the earlier release. That is label strategy as plot, and it fits the world that Ain't Too Proud keeps showing you: hits were art, but they were also timing, competition, and muscle.

Key Contributors

Sources

Sources: Billboard, Wikipedia (song history and charts), Apple Music, Spotify, Discogs, Musicnotes, SongBPM