At an early age, Price's musical talents began to dominate her life. While most babies have to be taken from the crib and calmed from crying in the middle of the night, Price's mother has told of the times when the entire house would be awakened by the sound of a young Price singing out in her crib while the rest of the family tried to sleep. As a young child, Price knew that music was more than just something that happened on the radio, in church, or even during the commercials on TV. For her it was a part of life that quickly became a necessity. She became emotionally dependant on the music inside of her and quickly learned how to use music as an outlet to express what she was feeling even when she couldn’t speak about it. One day after experiencing deep sadness from a book she read for a Black history project in school, Kelly wrote a song to express her unexplainable emotions; this was her first song at only 7 years old.
Price sang on her first recording before the age of 10 and by the time she was 18, Price was recording and touring the world with multi-platinum pop diva Mariah Carey. Always a quick study, Kelly watched and learned the intricacies of studio and production work and soon after began to expand into areas other than just background singing. It was during these early years of her professional career that Price refers to as her formal education. While her classmates attended college to prepare for their careers, she went to work everyday and studied with the entertainment industry’s best to prepare for what would soon be her own music career. During these years and beyond, Price has shared her multiple musical gifts with many artists and reached the number one spot on Billboard several times before anyone even knew what the woman behind the voice and the pen looked like. Throughout her career, Price has sung for, recorded with, toured with, wrote songs for, arranged and produced music for George Michael, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight, LL Cool J, Ben Tankard, Mary J. Blige, Puff Daddy, Brandy, The LOX, Donnie McClurkin, The Williams Brothers, Faith Evans, Karen Clarke-Sheard, Yolanda Adams, MASE, Whitney Houston, Mary Mary, The Notorious B.I.G, Richard Smallwood, R. Kelly, Eric Clapton, Wynona Judd, Gerald Levert, Angela Winbush, The Isley Bros and the legendary Ronald Isley just to name a few. Though many record labels initially pursued Price as a recording artist, it was her connection with Isley and his relentless persistence that convinced her to begin to use her musical talents for herself resulting in a formal alliance between Isley and Price that birthed her solo career with the album Soul of A Woman in 1998 that featured the #1 hit women’s anthem of the year “Friend of Mine”, penned by Price herself.
She would follow with the platinum success of Mirror Mirror in 2000, One Family: A Christmas Album in 2002 and the critically acclaimed Priceless in 2003.
In October 2005, Price recorded her first live gospel project. The This Is Who I Am album was released on October 24, 2006 on her own label, EcclecticSounds Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Gospel Charts and peaked at #9 on the R&B album chart.
Price was inducted as an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. in July 2006.
In early 2007, Price kicked off a tour with the "Sisters in the Spirit 2007".
In 2006, she recorded the song "Why?" for the soundtrack Why Did I Get Married?, a film version of the stage play of the same name she once acted in, playing the role of Sheila.
In early 2009, Price was featured on Coko's gospel album entitled The Winner In Me on the track "Oh Mary".
In June 2010, Price promoted her single "Tired" on The Jazz Joy and Roy syndicated radio show as "some of the best work of my career to date."
In September 2009, it was announced she would be joining Deborah Cox and Tamia to form the super group The Queen Project. The women seek to empower women of all ages, races and backgrounds by doing a number of community service projects. In September 2010, Kelly announced via her official Twitter profile that her new solo album Kelly will be released in 2011. Her second single "Not My Daddy" debuted on R&B charts at #87.
At Least
Kelly Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm on way back to Atlanta
About to start a new life
Cause I can't take it here
It seems the more we fight
The more the pressure
I'm in this lonely house
Sitting high up on a hill
Flipping through channels on TV
Wondering when you're coming home
And take care of family
At least you can call and say I'm busy
At least you can say I'm running late
At least you can give some kind of notice
Let somebody know that you're okay
At least you can take some time to phone
At least you can just one day stay home
At least you can take me out to eat
If you love me, you would've done those things
You won't miss me till I'm gone
Impossible to drink from a well that's gone dry, yeah
And every night you come in singing the same old song
How could you do me wrong?
When you know it ain't right
Pressin' the buttons on the control
Flipping through channels on TV
Wondering when you're coming home
And take care of family
At least you can call and say I'm busy
At least you can say I'm running late
At least you can give some kind of notice
Let somebody know that you're okay
At least you can take some time to phone
At least you can just one day stay home
At least you can take me out to eat
If you love me, you would've done those things
Take in a movie show, a carnival
A place to go, we can be alone
But instead I'm staring at these matching walls
The weekends spent, a compliment
Flowers sent would've kept me at home
But now instead I'm packing my bags and I'm gone
At least you can call and say I'm busy
At least you can say I'm running late
At least you can give some kind of notice
Let somebody know that you're okay
At least you can take some time to phone
At least you can just one day stay home
At least you can take me out to eat
If you love me, you would've done those things
At least you can call and say I'm busy
At least you can say I'm running late
At least you can give some kind of notice
Let somebody know that you're okay
At least you can take some time to phone
At least you can just one day stay home
At least you can take me out to eat
If you love me, you would've done those things
All I wanted was a smile
For you to stay a little while
It's too late for it
Cause you forgot the little things, whoa, oh
At least you can call and say I'm busy
At least you can say I'm running late
At least you can give some kind of notice
Let somebody know that you're okay
At least you can take some time to phone
At least you can just one day stay home
At least you can take me out to eat
If you love me, you would've done those things
The song "At Least" by Kelly Price depicts the story of a woman who is tired of her partner's neglect towards her and their family. She has been waiting for her partner to come home and take care of their responsibilities, but he keeps giving excuses and not following through with his promises. She has decided to leave for Atlanta to start a new life because she cannot take the pressure anymore. She is fed up with his behavior and is tired of being taken for granted. She lists all the little things that she wished her partner had done for her, such as taking her out to eat or just spending time with her, and reminds him that if he truly loved her, he would have done those things. The song highlights the importance of showing love and care towards the people we love, especially through small gestures, as they could hold great significance in a relationship.
The lyrics convey a sense of sadness, frustration, and disappointment. The use of the metaphor of a dry well illustrates how the woman feels emotionally drained after continuously trying to make the relationship work. She is hoping for a change, yet it seems unlikely. The repetition of the phrase "at least" emphasizes the woman's low expectations of her partner, which is a reflection of how little effort he puts into their relationship.
Kelly Price has a powerful and soulful voice that adds depth and emotion to the lyrics. The slow and melancholic melody complements the mood of the song, making it more impactful. The song's message resonates with many people who have experienced neglect or unfulfilled expectations in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm on way back to Atlanta
I am leaving this place to start a new life in Atlanta
About to start a new life
I am leaving everything behind to start over again
Cause I can't take it here
I cannot stay here any longer
It seems the more we fight
Our fights have been increasing lately
The more the pressure
The more tense the situation becomes
I'm in this lonely house
I feel alone in this empty house
Sitting high up on a hill
This house has a beautiful view, but it doesn't make me happy
Pressin' the buttons on the control
I'm mindlessly flipping through channels on TV
Flipping through channels on TV
I'm searching for something to entertain me, but nothing satisfies
Wondering when you're coming home
I miss you and I want you to come back
And take care of family
I need you here to take care of our family
At least you can call and say I'm busy
You could at least call me and let me know you're occupied
At least you can say I'm running late
You could at least tell me that you're delayed
At least you can give some kind of notice
You could at least tell me in advance
Let somebody know that you're okay
Please let someone know you're safe
At least you can take some time to phone
Please take time to talk to me
At least you can just one day stay home
Please spend time with me instead of going out every day
At least you can take me out to eat
Please take me out on a date and show me you care
If you love me, you would've done those things
I feel like you don't love me because you haven't been doing these things
You won't miss me till I'm gone
You won't realize how much you need me until I leave
Impossible to drink from a well that's gone dry, yeah
It's impossible to sustain a relationship when it lacks nourishment
And every night you come in singing the same old song
You keep repeating the same excuses, and it's getting old
How could you do me wrong?
I trusted you, but you've let me down
When you know it ain't right
You know what you're doing is wrong
Take in a movie show, a carnival
Let's go out and do something fun together
A place to go, we can be alone
Let's find a place where we can be alone and talk
But instead I'm staring at these matching walls
I'm stuck here alone, thinking about what could have been
The weekends spent, a compliment
You used to be so thoughtful and romantic, but that's disappeared
Flowers sent would've kept me at home
A small gesture of love like sending flowers would have made me happy
But now instead I'm packing my bags and I'm gone
Because you haven't been treating me right, I'm leaving
All I wanted was a smile
All I wanted was your love and attention
For you to stay a little while
Please stay with me and spend time with me
It's too late for it
It's too late to fix our relationship
Cause you forgot the little things, whoa, oh
You stopped caring about the small things that matter
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBERT S. KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Garry Edmonds, Jr.
One time for R.Kelly for his penmanship on this track 🔥🔥
Odessa Gordon
Love this song
the boi
Classic...
Jake Davis
@Garry Edmonds,Jr. 2 times for R.Kelly
Garry Edmonds, Jr.
@Jake Davis facts!!
Yezmir Sheppard-Halika
WHAT!! R KELLY wrote this. Damn he really is the Goat!
Teeee
Impossible to drink from a well that’s gone dry.. felt that in my soul. ❤❤ forever a classic still listening in 2022.
Gale Brown
Love this song still in 2021
Rod C
Favorite song from this album, thanks for sharing! I lost my CD and am pissed! 😂
Jake Davis
That Cd is her classic.