Anita Baker

Released: October 18, 1988

Songwriter: Maggie Ryder Phil Nicholl Graham Lamb

Producer: Michael J. Powell

[Verse 1]
Love was meant to be loving
So many times we don't give, we take
Love has really no conception of this rule
Days you gave me were numbered
And as a rule they were hard to take
All it took was the number of a fool

[Chorus]
Rules were made to be broken (Rules were made to be)
So many hearts break the same way too
Ah, baby
I said that you ain't no exception to the rule
Yes, sir

[Verse 2]
Your answer begging my question
It seems I left you too late to ask
Was this really your intention from the start?
The nights you left me are empty, baby
As for the answer that changed the past
I tried to let you explain your change of heart
How could you change your mind?

[Chorus]
Rules were made to be broken (Rules were made to be)
So many hearts break the same way, too
Ah, honey
I said that you ain't no exception to the rule

[Bridge]
Now, tell me, how could you say
It would be better this way
Without you
When by the usual rules
I kept presuming that you would stay with me, baby

[Chorus]
(Rules were made to be)
So many hearts break the same way too
Now, mister
I said that you ain't no exception to the rule

[Outro]
You...gonna get on my bad heart
(Rules were made to be)
Just like everybody asks you
(No exception to the rule)
You've got a heart, baby
You've got a heart that can break too
(Rules were made to be)
You better hear what I'm telling you
(No exception to the rule)

Anita Baker is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter known for her distinct low contralto vocals. She started out in the band Chapter 8, which had the hit song “I Just Wanna Be Your Girl” that was later sampled by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony for their hit song “1st of tha Month.” “Anita” went on to become a big name in ‘80s R&B alongside “Luther” and “Whitney” as she began to rack up #1 hits.

Her debut album, The Songstress, was released in 1983 on independent label Beverly Glen and featured the hit song “Angel.” She left Beverly Glen and signed with Elektra Records, releasing her second album Rapture in 1986, which went on to sell over 5 million albums and peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart thanks to the hits “Sweet Love,” “Same Ole Love,” and “Caught Up in the Rapture.”

Her third album, Giving You the Best That I Got, was released in 1988 and hit #1 on the Billboard 200, and the title track hit #1 on both the Billboard R&B and Adult Contemporary Singles charts. Rapture and Giving You the Best That I Got accounted for five of her eight Grammy Awards, with her sixth in that time frame coming from her gospel collaboration with The Winans on the song “Ain’t No Need To Worry” in 1988.

more tracks from the album

Giving You the Best That I Got

From the album

Giving You the Best That I Got (1988)

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