Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. Hit singles from the albums, including "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", established her as a catalyst in the acceptance of black female artists on MTV. Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage.
Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. It generated multiple hit singles, including "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You"; the latter won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, spent a then-record 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Subsequently, she went on to star in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996), and she recorded their respective soundtracks; the former scored her last Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced multicultural movies and series such as Cinderella (1997) and The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls.
Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love (1998), spawned several hit singles, including the title track, "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and the Academy Award-winning Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe". Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began to overshadow her career. Her 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009). In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally. Her life and career were dramatized in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston
Discography
Whitney Houston (1985)
Whitney (1987)
I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990)
My Love Is Your Love (1998)
Just Whitney (2002)
One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003)
I Look to You (2009)
Get It Back
Whitney Houston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It all began
We were all in love
Then came the friends
Telling you when
Your time for me was good enough
I constantly
Had to compete
Remembering
Back in the day
I used to mean everything
(If we could just get it back)
To the way it used to be
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back
Now tell me why
So many nights
You had so much to do
When you said bye
Sometimes I tried
I tried to make you choose
Now tell me how
You can allow
You boys to control
The time we shared
It was unfair
But now you need to know
(Now if I told you)
That I'm moving on
(Boy what would you do)
Things just ain't the same
(We were supposed to)
Conquer everything yeah
(Boy let me tell you)
You've got to make a change
(If we could just get it back)
To the way it used to be
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back
(If we could just get it back)
To the way it used to be
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back
The lyrics of Whitney Houston's song "Get It Back" revolve around the theme of lost love and reminiscing about the good old days. The song seems to describe a relationship that started off strong with a deep love for each other. However, things started to change when the friends of the partner got involved and began dictating the time that they should spend together. The singer had to compete for the attention of her partner with their group of friends who always had their own plans with them.
The chorus of the song shows the singer's desire to go back to the way things used to be- when their love was strong and their relationship was unbreakable. She wishes that nothing changes and that they can go back to the times when they were in deep love. The second verse of the song highlights the lack of consistency in the relationship as the partner is always busy with their friends, leaving the singer feeling abandoned. She tries to make her partner choose between their friends and their relationship but to no avail.
Towards the end of the song, the singer makes it clear that she is moving on and if the partner wants to save their relationship, they need to make a change. The song ends with the chorus reiterating the singer's desire to get back to the way things were before.
Overall, "Get It Back" is a heart-wrenching song that showcases Whitney Houston's vocal prowess and her ability to convey emotions through song. It is a relatable song that speaks to anyone who has gone through a breakup or a rough patch in their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Remember when
Think back to a time in the past
It all began
Everything started
We were all in love
We felt strong feelings for each other
Then came the friends
The people around us changed
Telling you when
Advising you on the timing
Your time for me was good enough
The amount of time you had for me was satisfactory
I constantly
Repeatedly
Had to compete
Had to strive to win
With your crew and their schemes
Against your group of friends and their secret plans
Remembering
Recalling
Back in the day
In the past
I used to mean everything
I was very important to you
(If we could just get it back)
(If we could just go back to how it was)
To the way it used to be
To the old ways
(My only wish would be that)
(My one desire is that)
Nothing would change for you and me
Things would remain as they were between us
(I remember how it was)
(I recall how it used to be)
And I know that for a fact
I am sure of this
(We were oh so deep in love)
(Our love was very strong)
Now tell me why
Explain the reason
So many nights
Numerous occasions
You had so much to do
You were very busy
When you said bye
When we parted ways
Sometimes I tried
I made an effort at times
I tried to make you choose
I tried to make you decide
Now tell me how
Tell me in what way
You can allow
How can you permit
You boys to control
Your male friends to have power over
The time we shared
Our time together
It was unfair
It was not just
But now you need to know
But now it is important for you to understand
(Now if I told you)
(If I were to tell you now)
That I'm moving on
That I have decided to move on
(Boy what would you do)
(What would your response be)
Things just ain't the same
Things have changed
(We were supposed to)
(We were meant to)
Conquer everything yeah
Succeed in everything we do
(Boy let me tell you)
(Let me tell you)
You've got to make a change
You need to make a change
(If we could just get it back)
(If we could just return to how it was)
To the way it used to be
To the way it was before
(My only wish would be that)
(My strongest desire is that)
Nothing would change for you and me
Our relationship would remain the same
(I remember how it was)
(I have fond memories of how it was)
And I know that for a fact
I am confident that this is true
(We were oh so deep in love)
(Our love was incredibly strong)
If we could just get it back
If we could just go back to how things were
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DANIELS, ESTES, JERKINS, JERKINS III
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind