Pitchfork included the song in their Top 200 80's Songs of All-time list at number 48.[1]
The song was resurrected in 1995 when released on two limited-edition CD single formats in the United Kingdom, one containing remixes by Deep Dish and Heller & Farley, and the other containing remixes by David Morales. That same year these remixes were included on certain releases of "Runaway". "When I Think of You" has been included in each of Jackson's greatest hits albums: Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995), Number Ones (2009) and Icon: Number Ones (2010).
When I Think of You
Janet Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Anytime my world gets crazy
All I have to do to calm it
Is just think of you
It's when I think of you, baby
Nothin' else seems to matter
It's when I think of you, baby
I just get more attached to you
When you hold me in your arms and squeeze me
And you leave me making me blue
It's when I think of you, baby
Nothin' else seems to matter
It's when I think of you, baby
All I think about is our love
So in love (so in love)
Ooh (so in love)
With you (so in love)
Baby (so in love)
Ooh (so in love)
Yeah (so in love)
With you (so in love)
(So in love)
When I think of you (when I think of you)
When I think of you (when I think of you)
Bass
I'm so in love
I just think of you
When you're not around, I
When I think of you
So in love, ooh (so in love)
So in love (so in love)
With you (so in love)
Baby, you (so in love)
Ooh (so in love)
So in love (so in love)
With you (so in love)
Break
Feels so good
When I think of you
Yeah, yeah
In "When I Think of You," Janet Jackson describes how thinking about the person she loves can help her calm down when things get chaotic. She is so deeply attached to her lover that nothing else seems to matter but their love. When she is held and squeezed by this person, she gets even more attached to them, and becomes sad when they leave.
This song encapsulates Jackson's feelings of being hopelessly in love and relying on her partner to bring her peace and happiness. The lines, "When you're not around, I... When I think of you" indicate that her thoughts of this person fill an absence in her life whenever they're away.
Overall, "When I Think of You" is a sweet ode to the power of love in someone's life, and how thoughts of a person one loves can be a source of comfort, joy, and emotional stability.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, baby
Expressing affection and endearment towards their romantic partner
Anytime my world gets crazy
Implying that life can be hectic and they rely on their partner to ground them
All I have to do to calm it
Suggesting that their thoughts of their partner can soothe their anxieties
Is just think of you
Concluding that the person can find comfort in thinking of their romantic partner
It's when I think of you, baby
Highlighting the importance of the person’s romantic partner
Nothin' else seems to matter
Implying that thoughts of their partner are what truly matter in their life
All I think about is our love
Suggesting that the person’s thoughts constantly revolve around the love they share with their partner
I just get more attached to you
Implies that the person’s love and attraction towards their partner only grows stronger with time
When you hold me in your arms and squeeze me
Conveys the physical affection the person receives from their partner that further deepens their feelings
And you leave me making me blue
Potentially expressing that the person’s partner can disappoint them or make them feel sad from time to time
So in love (so in love)
Expresses the intense feelings of love and affection the person has for their partner
When I think of you
Repeated phrase emphasizing the central importance their partner has in their life
Bass
Instrumental break
I'm so in love
Continued expression of the intensity of the person’s love for their partner
When you're not around, I
Implies that the person misses their partner when they are apart
Feels so good
Expressing the positive emotions the person experiences when they think of their partner
When I think of you
Reiterated phrase highlighting the recurring focus of the song
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James Samuel Harris, Terry Steven Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@theactualtruth4951
@@zairemoorer9666 Even Janet was selling sex, let's not kid ourselves. Just look at the lyrics for Janet's song "All for You":
[Refrain]
"All my girls at the party, look at that body
Shakin' that thing like you never did see
Got a nice package alright, guess I'm gonna have to ride it tonight
All my girls at the party, look at that body
Shakin' that thing like you never did see
Got a nice package alright"
The fact of the matter is, sex is normal, and singing about it doesn't mean you don't have talent. Songs can be about anything, it's still a song. But the issue is that too many make sex the focal point of their music, and become too vulgar with it. And the song quality starts dropping.
@stopwrongway718
Almost in tears...things have changed so much. Sometimes you have to go back in time to keep your sanity. Loved theses days.
@edreid7872
Ditto..in tears...1987, Chicago...simpler times..
@islandgirl1793
Stop Wrong Way....
Your exaclty Right! I wish there was a time machine where we could go back to the 80's
Happy Times ✨🌟✨✌🏼️
@brentcanfield8883
Completely agree. I feel the same.I hate what the world has become in a lot of ways compared to the way it used to be.
People will try to say,"Oh, you just don't like change. You're just getting older."
But that's not it; There's something 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 with the world today.And the children of the 80's feel it especially.
@cyrisserussell6938
Big fun
@charcoke3585
I agree. Somebody build a time machine so we can all go back
@bossyboo29
I am in this video. I’m at the 3:25 mark. The guy dressed in black arguing with the girl in the red dress. I was Paula Abdul‘s apartment manager at a time in Hollywood. She did the choreography for Janet Jackson’s videos at the time. Was at the studio for two days for me to get all of one or two seconds on screen..😆 It was so much fun!
@simoncww
Brian Hughes, very good. I wish I had more opportunity to perform.
@rachelledonovan9953
Wow! Very lucky! I absolutely love this vid. Loved the 80s so much.
@ms.772
I see you how cool right I had to rewind three times but I see it nice