Aretha Franklin

Released: March 23, 1998

Songwriter: Aretha Franklin

Producer: Aretha Franklin Michael J. Powell

[Verse 1]
Darling, the question has been answered
And you tried hard not to say
It would have come out anyway
What did you do?
How could you have meant it, oh, when you told me
I was so deep, so deep in your heart
Now think about the times we spent apart
It wasn't true
I believed in you
Wanted to be the one at your side, oh baby
I'm not someone you can hide
Yeah

[Chorus]
A woman and a woman and a woman
Through and through
And I ain't ever loved nobody
The way I loved you

[Verse 2]
We're moving further from each other
Every day and with your every game
And it's for sure, baby, that it can't stay the same
I really deserve more
Two and two still makes four
I would have given all of my love to you
Just for the love, hey, for the love of a man
And I wasn't even—listen to this
I wasn't even in your plan
A little plan will never, never, never, never make me stay
I wanted to be the woman at your side
There's one thing I've got, baby
Baby, I've got my pride

[Chorus]
A woman and a woman and a woman
Through and through, oh yeah
But I ain't ever loved nobody
Hey, I ain't never needed a man
I ain't never loved a man the way I loved you

[Bridge]
I wish you love, I wish you well
I love you more than I can tell
This is good, boy, and I won't be bad
It's now or never, boy, and that's a fact
I'm starting over and I think of you
And remember the things we said and used to do
How could you choose to be so small
With a greater love who heard your call
I wish love, I wish you well
I loved you more than I can tell
Oh baby
I ain't ever loved nobody
I ain't never, never, never, never needed nobody
Oh yeah, I ain't ever loved nobody
The way, never loved a man the way I loved you
Ooh, oh baby, I ain't lying
I ain't ever loved a man the way I loved you
Oh sweet thing, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

[scatting]

[Outro]
You can tell everybody that I love you, yeah...
I love you with your sensitive ways
I love you, love you, love you, love you, baby
With your courageous ways, I love you, yes I do
I love you, love you, love you, love you, baby
With your strong sly sighs and your sweet lies
I love you
Anybody new in your life?
And with anybody new, really want you to love
Truly, I won't refute...
You can tell everybody...

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

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