The cleverest bit about this catchy song is the “Say you, say me” refrain. It sounds like Tarzan trying to speak English. In fact its sheer vagueness forces us to imagine what the singer is trying to say.
“Say you…”
— love me? - you are my friend? - you trust me? - you believe in me? etc.
“Say me” - means I’ll say the same thing to you.
It can’t be anything nasty because the music and the voice quality fills in the gaps for us — very daring song writing!
![Cover art for Say You, Say Me [Live] lyrics by Lionel Richie](https://images.songmeanings.com/311a350b-f4c2-4c7a-b072-c4e16c2ffa25.webp)
The cleverest bit about this catchy song is the “Say you, say me” refrain. It sounds like Tarzan trying to speak English. In fact its sheer vagueness forces us to imagine what the singer is trying to say.
“Say you…” — love me? - you are my friend? - you trust me? - you believe in me? etc.
“Say me” - means I’ll say the same thing to you.
It can’t be anything nasty because the music and the voice quality fills in the gaps for us — very daring song writing!