Slow Hand

Album

Black & White

Label

Planet Records

Genre

Soul

Composer(s)

John Bettis;Michael B. Clark

Entered Chart

May 30, 1981

Peak Date

Aug 29, 1981

Released

May 1981

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Planet 47929

In the early '80s, Karen Carpenter wanted her lover to Touch Me When We're Dancing and Olivia Newton-John wanted to get "Physical," but The Pointer Sisters made it clear that slow, sensual love was their priority. The songs were all written by men - this one by John Bettis and Michael Clark. This song followed in the vein of "Fire," a 1978 hit for The Pointer Sisters that was written by Bruce Springsteen. That one finds them boiling over with passion for the man who is pulling them close, presumably with a slow hand. Conway Twitty showed that this song has a great deal of country appeal when he recorded it in 1982. His version went to #1 on the Country chart. >> The lyricist John Bettis also wrote the words to several Carpenters' hits including "Top Of The World" and "Goodbye to Love" as well as Whitney Houston's "One Moment In Time." This was featured in a Schick razor commercial in the late '80s when more and more songs were being used to promote products in exchange for hefty compensation or corporate sponsorship. It was a thorny issue for industry veterans and artists who turned their noses at "selling out." Not so for John Bettis. "In a way it's the ultimate compliment. It's like your song is part of the culture, so recognizable that it's a kind of celebrity. As long as these commercials are tasteful - and I think the Schick one is - it's fine," he told BAM magazine. But, he warned, there's a catch: "By allowing a song to be used in a commercial, you're cutting off any immediate follow-up cover possibilities. For instance, 'Slow Hand' was a #2 hit for the Pointers. A year later, Conway Twitty recorded it and had a #1 country hit. Had I allowed it to be used in a commercial right after the Pointers had a hit with it, Twitty would never have covered it. So you've got to be careful."

As the midnight moon, was drifting through
The lazy sway of the trees
I saw the look in your eyes, lookin' into mine
Seeing what you wanted to see
Darlin' don't say a word, cause I already heard
What your body's sayin' to mine
I'm tired of fast moves
I've got a slow groove...
On my mind

I want a man with a slow hand
I want a lover with an easy touch
I want somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I want somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand

On shadowed ground, with no one around
And a blanket of stars in our eyes
We are drifting free, like two lost leaves
On the crazy wind of the night
Darlin', don't say a word, 'cause I already heard
What your body's sayin' to mine
If I want it all night
You say it's alright
We got the time

'Cause I got a man with a slow hand
I got a lover with an easy touch
I found somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I found somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand

If I want it all night
Please say it's alright
It's not a fast move
But a slow groove
On my mind

'Cause I got a man with a slow hand
I got a lover with an easy touch
I found somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I found somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand
"Slow Hand"
by the Pointer Sisters.

As the midnight moon, was drifting through
The lazy sway of the trees
I saw the look in your eyes, lookin' into mine
Seeing what you wanted to see
Darlin' don't say a word, cause I already heard
What your body's sayin' to mine
I'm tired of fast moves
I've got a slow groove...
On my mind

I want a man with a slow hand
I want a lover with an easy touch
I want somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I want somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand

On shadowed ground, with no one around
And a blanket of stars in our eyes
We are drifting free, like two lost leaves
On the crazy wind of the night
Darlin', don't say a word, 'cause I already heard
What your body's sayin' to mine
If I want it all night
You say it's alright
We got the time

'Cause I got a man with a slow hand
I got a lover with an easy touch
I found somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I found somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand

If I want it all night
Please say it's alright
It's not a fast move
But a slow groove
On my mind

'Cause I got a man with a slow hand
I got a lover with an easy touch
I found somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I found somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand