Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and … Read Full Bio ↴Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer, most notable for the hits "U Know What's Up", "Where I Wanna Be" and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet".

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Jones' upbringing was rough. He struggled between wanting to be a musician and to be a member of a street gang. After a brush with death, Jones left the gang and focused on a music career forming the group Porscha. However, Jones was gaining notice as a writer penning songs for established R&B acts such as Usher, producing the singer's 1995 hit, "Think of You", 702's "Get It Together" and also wrote for groups such as Brownstone and Silk.

In 1996, he signed with LaFace Records and released his debut album, My Heart, which included his hit cover of Stevie Wonder's 1976 ballad "Knocks Me Off My Feet". It wasn't until 1999 however that Jones began to establish himself as a R&B hit maker with the album, Where I Wanna Be. The album yielded the number-one hits such as "U Know What's Up", which featured TLC member Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes and the title track. Other hits included "Shorty (Got Her Eyes on Me)" and "This Luv".

In 2002, Jones released the gold-selling Life Goes On album, which featured the hits, "You Know That I Love You" and "Put Me Down" featuring Styles P.. Four years later, he released his fourth album, Journey of a Gemini, which featured the Tim & Bob hit, "I'm Gonna Be", which became a big hit on Urban AC. Jones is currently writing songs for Usher, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey on their upcoming albums.

Put Me Down
Donell Jones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Chorus]
If I lace you, would you lace me back
If I blaze you, would you blaze me back
Spending big faces on the things you like
When ya gonna put me down

If I ride for you, die for you
If I floss at any cost for you

Shorty, all I want to know from you
Is when ya gonna put me down

First time I saw you, I was breathless
Looking flawless, fifty on the necklace
And I had to add you to my guest list
Let you pass, I had to put it down
We sipped and kicked a little convo'
It's time to head back to the condo
And I know what we both came here for
Let me know what you're feeling now

Do you want to open up and show me your love
Stop playing around and putting me down
Stop holding back, you gotta react
When ya gonna hold me down

You're perking, plus we're working
All this flirting got me hurting
When you know I don't deserve this girl
Why ya gonna hold me down

[Chorus]

Shorty I'm not trying to put a rush on you
Can't keep leaving me with my love on blue
Nobody's here, we better make our move
I want to get into you

You won't have to floss, I want to cop that
Fronting on my love, now shorty stop that
What's it gonna be
When are we gonna put it down
I need to know right now

Do you want to open up and show me your love
Stop playing around and putting me down
Stop holding back, you gotta react
When ya gonna hold me down

[Chorus]

On the top floor in the president's suite
Hit the tinted windows in the back of my jeep
Or your friend's house on the living room couch
If you let me hit it, I'ma blaze it out

Won't you open up, let me come on in
And I'll never stop, we can do it again
Cause you take it right where I want to be
You got me in ecstasy

I want to know
I gotta know when you're gonna let me see it
When you goin' let me hit it
'cause girl you know I'm gonna get it

I want to know
I gotta know when you're gonna let me see it
When you goin' let me hit it
'cause girl you know I'm gonna get it

[Chorus: x2]

I want to know
I gotta know when you're gonna let me see it
When you goin' let me hit it
Cause girl you know I'm gonna get it

I gotta know
If you're spending my dough

I gotta know
Spending my dough

Overall Meaning

In Donell Jones's song "Put Me Down," the singer asks the person he's interested in if they will reciprocate the physical and financial care he is providing. The lyrics suggest that Jones is willing to go to great lengths to prove his affection, including dying and flaunting his wealth to get their attention. He wants to know if they feel the same and will "put him down" by reciprocating his acts of love.

The first verse portrays the awkwardness surrounding the first meeting of two people who are interested in each other. Jones expresses the nervousness and excitement he felt when he saw the person he is interested in for the first time. The chorus repeats the theme of reciprocation, with Jones asking the person if they'll "lace him back" by returning the physical and financial care he is providing.

The second verse of the song goes on to describe Jones's increasing frustration with the relationship. He is hurt by the person's reluctance to let their guard down and show their love. The song ends with Jones pleading for a response, asking the person to "let him hit it" and spending his money only if they will reciprocate.

Line by Line Meaning

If I lace you, would you lace me back
If I do something for you, will you do the same for me?

If I blaze you, would you blaze me back
If I share something with you, will you share something with me?

Spending big faces on the things you like
You're spending a lot of money on things you enjoy

When ya gonna put me down
When are you going to show me some love and reciprocate?

If I ride for you, die for you
If I'm willing to go through anything for you

If I floss at any cost for you
If I show off and spend money for you

Shorty, all I want to know from you
I just want one thing from you, and that is to know when you'll reciprocate

First time I saw you, I was breathless
You took my breath away when I first saw you

Looking flawless, fifty on the necklace
You looked perfect and had an expensive necklace

And I had to add you to my guest list
I had to invite you to come hang out with me

Let you pass, I had to put it down
I let you pass but I still had to make a move

We sipped and kicked a little convo'
We drank and chatted a bit

It's time to head back to the condo
It's time to go back to my place

And I know what we both came here for
I know we both came here for the same thing

Let me know what you're feeling now
Tell me how you're feeling at the moment

Do you want to open up and show me your love
Are you willing to be honest and reveal your feelings for me?

Stop playing around and putting me down
Stop teasing me and not reciprocating my feelings

Stop holding back, you gotta react
Stop holding your feelings inside and respond to me

You're perking, plus we're working
You're showing interest and we're making progress

All this flirting got me hurting
All this teasing is making me feel pain

When you know I don't deserve this girl
When you know I don't deserve to be treated this way

Shorty I'm not trying to put a rush on you
I'm not trying to make you do something too quickly

Can't keep leaving me with my love on blue
You can't keep making me feel unloved and ignored

Nobody's here, we better make our move
We're alone, so we should take advantage and do something together

I want to get into you
I want to have a deeper connection with you

You won't have to floss, I want to cop that
You don't need to show off to impress me, I want to get to know the real you

Fronting on my love, now shorty stop that
You're pretending like you don't like me, but you need to stop that

What's it gonna be
What decision are you going to make?

On the top floor in the president's suite
We're staying in a fancy hotel room

Hit the tinted windows in the back of my jeep
We're driving around in a car with tinted windows

Or your friend's house on the living room couch
We could be at your friend's house, sitting on the couch

If you let me hit it, I'ma blaze it out
If we have sex, I'll make sure it's great

Won't you open up, let me come on in
Won't you let me in emotionally and physically?

And I'll never stop, we can do it again
If we have a connection, I won't stop trying to be with you

You take it right where I want to be
Being with you is exactly where I want to be

You got me in ecstasy
Being with you makes me feel amazing

I gotta know if you're spending my dough
I need to know if you're using my money

Spending my dough
Using my money for things I don't know about

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLIFF LIGHTY, DARREN LIGHTY, KEIR GIST, BALE'WA MUHAMMAD, EDWARD FERRELL, JAMIE WILSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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