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Wikipedia: "Love Potion No. 9" is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by the Clovers,[1] who took it to number 23 on the US as well as R&B charts that year.[2][3]

The song was recorded by the Searchers in 1964. Their version reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Cash Box during the winter of 1965.[4]

Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass did an instrumental version (side 2, track 1) on his 1965 album Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

The Coasters released a version in December 1971 with "D. W. Washburn" on the B-side. It reached No. 76 on the Billboard Pop chart and No. 96 on the Cash Box chart.

History
The song describes a man seeking help to find love. He enlists the help of a gypsy who determines, by means of palmistry, that he needs "love potion number 9". The potion, an aphrodisiac, causes him to fall in love with everything he sees, kissing whatever is in front of him, eventually kissing a policeman on the street corner, who breaks his bottle of love potion.

In one recorded version of the ending of the song, the Clovers used the alternative lyrics:[1]

I had so much fun that I'm going back again,
I wonder what'll happen with Love Potion Number Ten?
The narrator describes himself as being "a flop with chicks ... since 1956"; later recordings of the song have often changed the year to suit the year of recording or the age of the performer. An exception is the Australian alternative rock band Tlot Tlot's recording, which leaves the year in the song as 1956. It also uses the alternative "Love Potion No. 10" lyrics. The recording by the Searchers also leaves the year as 1956.

The song was the basic premise of the 1992 film of the same name starring Sandra Bullock and Tate Donovan."

lyrics

I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine
I told her that I was a flop with chics
I've been this way since 1956
She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign
She said "What you need is Love Potion Number Nine"
She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink
She said "I'm gonna make it up right here in the sink"
It smelled like turpentine, it looked like Indian ink
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
I didn't know if it was day or night
I started kissin' everything in sight
But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
I didn't know if it was day or night
I started kissin' everything in sight
But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine
Love Potion Number Nine
Love Potion Number Nine
Love Potion Number Nine
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller

credits

from Theodore Frederickson, We Sing, We Dance. You Run Away., released July 9, 2021
Performed by The Drifters, The Clovers, The Searches and written by Leiber & Stoller

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Starburst Records Boston, Massachusetts

StarburstRecords represents 57 indie artists from 9 Countries including USA, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Argentina, Canada, Australia & Lebanon. We've published over 600 songs, available at digital media platforms everywhere. We offer wide genre diversity including pop, folk, rock, country, electronic (both ambient & industrial), Latin, LoFi jazzy Hip-Hop instrumentals, etc. ... more

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