Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” Lyrics Meaning

The late Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) was very-successful during his day. And besides for those types of socially-conscious, intellectual classics, such as 1971’s “What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me“, what he is also primarily remembered for is dropping of couple of quintessential sex songs, such as “Sexual Healing” (1982) and of course “Let’s Get it On”, which itself was released on 15 June 1973.

There is actually an entire Marvin Gaye LP, his 13^th studio album, named after this track, with the song accordingly serving as the project’s lead single. And to note, there is also a reprise found thereupon which is titled “Keep Gettin’ It On”.

The Team Behind “Let’s Get It On”

Gaye produced “Let’s Get It On” and co-wrote the tune with Ed Townsend (1929-2003). Townsend, as with many African-American R&B artists, traced his origins back to the church. That may explain why, as he originally conceived it, this piece possessed religious undertones though more specifically was meant to be indicative of his desire to defeat alcoholism.

Eventually, by the time all was said and done, the final product of his composition, which ended up being “Let’s Get It On”, was put out through Tamla, aka Motown, whom Gaye was formally down with from 1960 until 1982, i.e. the throughout the heyday of Motown Records. In fact he stands as one of the label’s most famous artists – so much so that one of Gaye’s well-known nicknames was “the Prince of Motown”.

“A Motown Classic”

This song came out at a time when music charts were not as comprehensive as they have become since.  As such it apparently only charted in three countries, which are Canada, the UK and Marvin’s homeland of the United States.

It performed most impressively in the latter, where it topped the Hot 100 and what is now known as Billboard’s Hop R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.

To further note, this track has also been certified platinum stateside and across the pond. “Let’s Get It On” is an extremely influential song and is considered “a classic Motown single”. As such, it has been covered by a number of artists. This is in addition to being featured on a plethora of TV shows and movies throughout the years.

The Heirs of Ed Townsend Vs. Ed Sheeran

Despite its enduring popularity, we are not currently compelled to write about “Let’s Get It On” solo due to its notoriety and influence. Rather, this track has been heavily in the news as of late as the result of the heirs of the aforementioned Ed Townsend suing A+ list British musician Ed Sheeran for plagiarism, claiming that he unscrupulously replicated certain elements from “Let’s Get It On” onto his 2014 track “Thinking Out Loud“.

This debate has been going on for a while, ever since Sheeran was first sued in that regard in 2016, until the matter was finally resolved in mid-2023, a few days prior to this writing.

Throughout that time, there have been various independent studies by musicologists who went about comparing the two songs.

And one of those studies which appears to be as honest and objective as possible did come to the conclusion that there are in fact instantly-noticeable similarities between the tunes, but such that many other songs also possess the same type of chords, and, all things considered, possessing such would not constitute a copyright violation.

And ultimately a NYC jury concluded along the same lines, that Sheeran was not guilty and therefore did not owe anything to Townsend’s heirs.

Lyrics of “Let’s Get It On”

As far as dropping sex songs go, Marvin Gaye once stated that his goal is to come off as “a subtle exhibitionist”, a designation which reads like an oxymoron. But effectively achieving that standard is in large part what makes “Let’s Get It On” such a classic.

That is to say that there isn’t a single actual NSFW term present in this entire song. Rather, what is more or less boils down to is how the listener interprets the phrase “let’s get it on”, which, to some degree, is ambiguous.

Or let’s say that in context, the vocalist is able to convince the audience as to what he’s referring to in two ways. First is by this song being imbrued with romantic lingo. In other words, the lyrics aren’t overtly sexual, but they blatantly point to the idea of Marvin’s desire to physically “love” the addressee.

And the bridge especially insinuates that he’s seeking an experience in that regard which transcends a simple kiss on the cheek, if you will.

That is made most evident in Marvin touting himself as someone who “ain’t gonna worry [or] push” the apple of his eye. Or put alternatively and more simply, he’s not going to rush her into doing something she does not want to do. And within the context of romantic relationships and especially a man addressing a woman, such an ideal would undoubtedly be related to sex.

The reason we’re calling that an ideal in this case is because virtually all of the other lyrics are dedicated to encouraging the addressee to “get it on”. Or let’s say that the wording, coupled with Gaye’s delivery leave no ambiguity as to what he’s insinuating.

“Let’s get it on, oh baby
Let’s get it on, let’s love baby”

And that is the second way in which Marvin is able to let the listener know exactly what it is he’s referring to without actually saying it. His delivery is very impassioned, not as if the vocalist is bursting out his pants but, in us knowing that the addressee is a romantic interest, forceful enough to convince the audience that he really wants her in a carnal kind of way.

Before we close out, it should also be acknowledged that the refrain/outro strongly suggests that this is an illicit relationship we’re dealing with here. That is one aspect of this song, due once again to its overall effectiveness, that is often overlooked or not really noticed by the listener, the fact that the vocalist is assuring the addressee that “she don’t have to worry that it’s wrong”.

Logically, the “it” he’s referring to would be the two of them having sex. And Marvin’s argument is that “if the spirit moves” her, then she too should give into the urge regardless.

Janis Hunter

And the above is a very-interesting observation because first off of all, there’s a widely-accepted legend that Gaye’s muse behind “Let’s Get It On” was Janis Hunter. He would eventually marry Hunter in 1977. But at the time of this track’s recording in early 1973, Janis was only 17, compared to Marvin’s 33 – the type of age difference some people would definitely deem inappropriate.

Secondly, as it currently stands, here and now we regularly come across songs by other artists based on that same theme, i.e. the notion of the vocalist and addressee hooking up being a controversial or flat-out forbidden one, but the former finding the latter too attractive to resist.

In fact just a couple of days ago we came across at least two tracks from Bebe Rexha’s new album that are premised on that idea. So we can close by reiterating that “Let’s Get It On” has proven a trendsetter, arguably one of the most-influential pieces in American music industry history. And this is so for a number of reasons – clever lyrics, hot-blooded amorous delivery and espousing a bonking which is apparently wrong but the vocalist strongly desires nonetheless.