[Intro]
Not just what you say...Not just what you say
Not just what you say...Not just what you say
Then we can act like we know what love is...
[Verse 1]
When you say how are you doin'
Do you really wanna know
And are you concerned, yeah
And if you had the solution
But it took some of your time or some cash or whatever
Are you willing
[Chorus]
Not just what you say {It's mostly what you do}
Not a game that you play {To keep the winning hand with you}
Not just wasting time {With empty words that don't mean much}
Not just how you feel {When others need your tender touch}
So can you take out some time {To help somebody else in need}
And when this is done {The love of God is truly seen}
Then above all {We need to cover and forgive}
Then we can act like we know what love is
[Verse 2]
Love is compassion
That makes you reach way down
And help your fellow man
So if there's a need
And you can be the one
Go and help someone
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Love is all, all in all
Forgiving faults great and small
Patient and willing to
Cover me, cover you
Love is kind don't you know
And will not seek its own
God is love forever more
Act like you know go handle yours
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[Outro]
Not Just What You Say
Song Meaning
Fred Hammond states his entire argument in the title before the first verse even begins in "Not Just What You Say" — repeating the phrase four times as an intro before finishing the thought: "then we can act like we know what love is."
"When you say how are you doin', do you really wanna know" exposes a common social script as hollow, and "if you had the solution but it took some of your time or some cash or whatever, are you willing" makes the test specific and costly rather than abstract. The chorus answers each half-claim with a parenthetical correction — "not just what you say (it's mostly what you do), not a game that you play (to keep the winning hand with you)" — building the whole argument out of contradiction and correction rather than straightforward statement.
"Love is compassion that makes you reach way down and help your fellow man" states the positive case plainly after the chorus's list of what love isn't, and the vamp's closing borrowing from 1 Corinthians — "love is all, all in all, forgiving faults great and small... will not seek its own" — grounds the whole song's argument in scripture's own definition rather than the singer's opinion of it.