Keep It Inside
Cherrelle (born Cheryl Norton in Los Angeles, California in 1958) is a soul… Read Full Bio ↴Cherrelle (born Cheryl Norton in Los Angeles, California in 1958) is a soul singer who rose to fame as one of the premier female R&B divas of the mid-to-late 1980s. Cousin of pop singer and TLC founder Perri "Pebbles" Reid, Cherrelle began her music career shortly after being discovered by Tabu Records founder Clarence Avant, who signed her to his label in 1983. Cherrelle got her name after her boss from a job hollered "Cher-relle, you're late again!" In 1984, under the production of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, she released her debut, "Fragile", which went gold, thanks to the Top Ten R&B single, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On". She released her best-selling album in 1985 with "High Priority", which featured the hits "You Look Good to Me", "Will You Satisfy?" and "Artificial Heart" and her seminal duet with Alexander O'Neal in the #2 single, "Saturday Love". In 1988, she released her third album, "Affair", which featured the #1 R&B single, "Everything I Miss at Home". On that strength, it was her third consecutive gold record. She released her last chart-topper with 1991's "More than a Woman", which was a departure from her Jam & Lewis productions. She reunited with the producers eight years later with her album, "The Right Time", which was released in 1999. Since then, Cherrelle has been performing at venues in America and all over the world. Pop singers Robert Palmer and Mariah Carey have each covered her "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" while "Saturday Love" has been heralded as one of the greatest soul duets in history.

Keep It Inside
Cherrelle Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I never knew how hard it would be
Living without you
Oh!

Ooh, oh-oh

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh, yes

I just feel like I'm losing you

I have that feeling too

Me too

You know something?

It's all over, and I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
Tears are falling from my eyes
And I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside

Felt hurt so many times
And kept it all inside myself
Thought this would be the same
But now I'm feeling something else

My friends tell me I'll get over you
And I still feel like such a fool
I thought this day would never come
And now it's here
I don't know where the tears keep coming from

It's all over and I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
(Whoo!)
Tears are falling from my eyes
And I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside

No more stiff upper lip
My pride has took a beating

I only use to cry in private
Behind closed doors
Now it doesn't even matter
If I'm in public anymore

It's all over, and I can't
(And I can't, I can't)
Keep it inside, keep it inside
Tears are falling from my eyes
And I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)

It's all over, and I can't
(I can't, I can't, girl, no)
Keep it inside, keep it inside
(Well)
Tears are falling from my eyes
And I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
(And I can't)
(Keep it, keep it)

Keep it inside, keep it inside
Keep it inside, keep it inside

Mistake, maybe, breaking up, baby
Mistake, maybe, breaking up, baby

Baby, I'm a man of pride
But this time I can't keep the pain inside

Oh, I just can't deny the emptiness
That's so clear
So I guess I'll keep crying
Till I run fresh out of tears

No, no, I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
Tears are falling
Ooh, my tears keep falling down, girl
Crying all the time
'Cause I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

It's all over
I can't, I can't
Keep it inside, keep it inside

Let's sing it together

I can't, I won't
I can't, I won't
Keep it inside
Ah-ah-ah





It's all over

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Cherrelle's song "Keep It Inside" are about the struggle of dealing with a breakup and not being able to keep the pain and emotions inside anymore. The song starts with the singer admitting that she never anticipated how difficult it would be to live without her ex-partner. She expresses her feelings of loss, and her friend agrees with her. Cherrelle's pride has taken a beating, and she's been hurt so many times before but chose to keep it all inside, thinking that this time would be the same, but she's feeling something different now.


Her friends try to console her by telling her she'll get over him, but she still feels foolish for believing that it would never come to this. She doesn't know where the tears keep coming from, and she can't keep them inside anymore. The song's lyrics suggest that the pain of heartbreak is so intense that it's impossible to hide. She admits that she can't keep the pain inside anymore and that the tears are falling uncontrollably from her eyes. She doesn't care whether she's in public or behind closed doors. Her emotions are out of control.


Cherrelle sings that she is a man of pride, but this time, she can't keep the pain inside. She confesses that the emptiness she feels is so overwhelming that she can't deny it anymore. She concludes that she'll keep crying until she runs fresh out of tears. The song ends with Cherrelle admitting that it's all over, and she can't keep it inside anymore.


Line by Line Meaning

I never knew how hard it would be
I didn't realize how difficult it would be to live without you.


Living without you
Existing in your absence.


I just feel like I'm losing you
I sense that I'm losing you.


It's all over, and I can't
Our relationship has ended, and I cannot...


Keep it inside, keep it inside
Repress my emotions any longer.


Tears are falling from my eyes
I'm crying.


Felt hurt so many times
I've experienced pain before.


And kept it all inside myself
But I've always hidden my pain from others.


Thought this would be the same
I expected this experience to be similar.


But now I'm feeling something else
But now I'm experiencing a different kind of pain.


My friends tell me I'll get over you
My friends assure me that I'll eventually move on from you.


And I still feel like such a fool
But I still feel foolish for losing you.


I thought this day would never come
I never thought we would break up.


And now it's here
But now it has happened.


I don't know where the tears keep coming from
I'm not sure why I keep crying.


No more stiff upper lip
I will no longer try to remain stoic.


My pride has took a beating
My ego is damaged.


I only use to cry in private
I used to only cry alone.


Behind closed doors
When no one was around to see or hear me.


Now it doesn't even matter
But now I don't care if others see me cry.


If I'm in public anymore
Even if others are around.


Mistake, maybe, breaking up, baby
Maybe breaking up was a mistake, baby.


Baby, I'm a man of pride
I typically have a lot of pride.


But this time I can't keep the pain inside
But this time I can't hide my emotional pain.


Oh, I just can't deny the emptiness
I can't pretend that I don't feel empty inside.


That's so clear
It's obvious to me.


So I guess I'll keep crying
So I suppose I'll keep crying.


Till I run fresh out of tears
Until I have no more tears left to cry.


Let's sing it together
Let's sing the chorus together.


I won't
I refuse to.




Contributed by Brody M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@sekhemasaru5718

As a Major Cherrelle Fan💯......I bought this album when it was first released......I played it over and over....."Keep it inside" was my favorite then and now. This is relationship therapy music.....Cherrelle and Alexander are music/vocal therapists!

@Chalky52

I don't care about crying out in public..

@bertrellakajadox

You're not wrong, Fam!! #IConcur

@buffalosoldier4045

Facts

@LBJTV

this record takes me back man, that mid-80s sound is pure ecstasy

@anitakos1375

A warm thank you to Jimmy and Terry for this tingling sound that warms my heart!! 80’s girl forever!! Xoxo 💋❤️🌹

@aconater

Yes!!❤️💯

@donmiles3927

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis = My FAVORITE producers of all-time! It's like of each we look at our top 10 favorite Soul/R&B songs, from the 80's especially, at least HALF of them had SOMETHING to do... with Jam and Lewis! Case in point: My favorite song of all-time is New Edition's "Can You Stand The Rain". (No explanation needed.) But my second?......"Human" by Human League! And who ELSE but Jam and Lewis can make a song half SYNTH-POP, half R&B, to equal100% masterpiece!😮 Again, nuff said! 🙌

@bp6329

@@donmiles3927 really? who says?

@buffalosoldier4045

Facts

More Comments

More Versions