In 1998, she was cast as the lead in The Hot Mikado, a jazzy production based on Gilbert and Sullivan's opera. She also appeared in several Irish television shows, using the opportunity to be recognised as a singer.
At the age of 15, Mumba was discovered in a night club by Irish svengali Louis Walsh (manager of Boyzone and Westlife). Walsh was impressed by her talent and she was signed to Polydor Records, subsequently spending several months moving between Denmark, Sweden, England and Ireland, where she co-wrote and recorded her debut album, Gotta Tell You. She eventually dropped out of school to focus on her music career, citing that it was becoming a difficult task for her to stay in school and work on her music.
Mumba's first hit, Gotta Tell You, was released in 2000 and shot to the #1 spot on three Irish charts, later reaching #2 on the United Kingdom charts. She also scored American success with her debut single, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album stayed on the charts for a staggering 6 months and eventually certified Platinum for shipments of 1 million copies. Five more Top 10 hits followed in the UK and another top 50 hit in the US, leading some to call her the "black Britney Spears" of pop music, although she has rejected this title. To date, her album has sold over 4 million copies world-wide. Mumba was nominated for a 2002 Grammy award for her song Baby, Come Over (This is our night) in the 'best remixed recording, non-classical' category, but did not win.
In 2002, Mumba prepared to release her follow-up album, entitled Woman, but with the poor sales of the lead single, "I'm Right Here," in both the US and UK, she was dropped from her label and the album was cancelled.
In 2012, she married Charles Porter.
In 2006, she collaborated with Filipino artist Jay-R on a new song, "Just The Way You Are", which will be featured on his upcoming album, scheduled to be released later in the year. It was stated in an article in PC World magazine that Samantha is working on her follow up album with a new label. In October 2008, three new songs "Candyland", "Turn The Beat Up" and "Bad Boy" were posted on her MySpace and YouTube profiles. In a January 2009, Mumba suggested a new would be released in 2010. She also resumed her career as an actress. She will star in the Irish Horror film "Loftus Hall" due for release in October 2010.
Gotta Tell You
Samantha Mumba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your love for me came as a waterfall
Flowin' inside me like never before
Your love for me, somethin' I didn't see
But baby, I know better now
When you walk in the room that very night
It was only you, nobody else
But baby, I know better now
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And now you're back inside my house again
I'm tryin' deeper to explain
'Cause baby, I want to get it on
And baby, you're the one for me
But now that I have got you all alone
After all this talkin' on the phone
I should be strong, there's nothing wrong
I'll tell you this is where you belong, where you
Belong
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
It was just something in your eyes
That made me realize
But now I hear voices deep inside
Tellin' me, tellin' me
It's you
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
In Samantha Mumba's song "Gotta Tell You," the artist tells the story of realizing her love for someone after failing to see it at first. The chorus, "Don't want to love you if you don't love me, don't want to need you when you won't need me too," conveys the importance of mutual feelings in a relationship. This message is emphasized in the second verse when Mumba sings about wanting to "get it on" with the person, but only if they feel the same way.
The song's first verse describes how the person's love flowed inside Mumba like a waterfall, but she didn't see it until they walked into the room one night. The special feeling that burst inside of her made it clear that it was only the person in front of her that she wanted. The pre-chorus and chorus follow, expressing the need for reciprocation and honest communication in their relationship. The third verse describes the struggle with internal voices telling her that the person is the right one for her, but she still declares that it wouldn't be right to not confess her feelings.
Overall, "Gotta Tell You" is a song about the importance of speaking up about your feelings and not settling for a one-sided relationship. It also stresses the significance of truly seeing and appreciating the people we care about.
Line by Line Meaning
Your love for me came as a waterfall
Your love for me was intense and powerful, like a waterfall.
Flowin' inside me like never before
Your love for me filled me up completely and in a way that was entirely new to me.
Your love for me, somethin' I didn't see
I didn't realize how much you loved me until recently.
But baby, I know better now
But now I understand and appreciate your love for me.
When you walk in the room that very night
The night you walked into the room,
A special feelin' just burst inside
I felt a unique and strong emotion come over me.
It was only you, nobody else
That emotion was specifically caused by you and not by anyone else.
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
I don't want to be in love with you if you don't feel the same way about me.
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
I don't want to rely on your presence if you don't also rely on mine.
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
I don't want to say this now, but it wouldn't be fair
Right
the right thing to do.
If I didn't tell you this tonight
if I didn't express my feelings now.
And now you're back inside my house again
And now that you're back in my home, in my life,
I'm tryin' deeper to explain
I'm trying to articulate myself more effectively to you.
'Cause baby, I want to get it on
Because, my dear, I want to have a romantic connection with you.
And baby, you're the one for me
And, my love, you are the perfect one for me.
But now that I have got you all alone
But now that I have you to myself,
After all this talkin' on the phone
After all of our conversations on the phone,
I should be strong, there's nothing wrong
I should be confident and firm in my feelings; there's nothing incorrect about them.
I'll tell you this is where you belong, where you
I'll tell you that this is where you belong - with me.
Belong
It was just something in your eyes
There was just something about the look in your eyes
That made me realize
That helped me realize how I truly feel about you.
But now I hear voices deep inside
But now I am hearing inner voices speaking to me
Tellin' me, tellin' me
They're telling me, they're telling me,
It's you
that you are the one for me and my heart.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BAGGE, A. BIRGISSON, S. MUMBA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jyna Jelly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Your love for me came as a waterfall
Flowin' inside me like never before
Your love for me, somethin' I didn't see
But baby, I know better now
When you walk in the room that very night
A special feelin' just burst inside
It was only you, nobody else
But baby, I know better now
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And now you're back inside my house again
I'm tryin' deeper to explain
'Cause baby, I want to get it on
And baby, you're the one for me
But now that I have got you all alone
After all this talkin' on the phone
I should be strong, there's nothing wrong
I'll tell you this is where you belong, where you
Belong
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be
Right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
It was just something in your eyes
That made me realize
But now I hear voices deep inside
Tellin' me, tellin' me
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
Don't want to love you if you don't love me
Don't want to need you when you won't need me too
Don't want to tell you this now, but it wouldn't be right
If I didn't tell you this tonight
zo zo psychic tarot and lyrics
It's 2023 and I'm still listening to this song I love it I won't ever get bored of this song
Liz’s music and other things
Same
onmyown007
Exactly!
Lorna
😂
mcmaximon1
Because you have good taste x
Lisa Franks
Same here !!
Kolegate
This era of pop-music was so good. The era between 97-05. There were a lot of one hit wonders, but they were good songs.
Kolegate
Nichole Holloway True, but early 90's artists weren't 1 hit wonders. A lot of artists in the early 90's like Mary J, Mariah Carey, Whitney, Madonna...all had/have long lasting careers.
Summer Breezey
Thomas Canolio She isn't a 1-hitter tho!
Kolegate
Denise Jessee I didn't say she was. Although she did only have 2 popular songs at that time. 'Baby Come On Over' was popular, but not as popular as 'Gotta Tell you' since it was her break out song.