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How Come, How LongBabyface

Released: October 29, 1996

Featuring: Stevie Wonder

Songwriter: Babyface Stevie Wonder

Producer: Babyface

[Verse 1: Babyface]
There was a girl I used to know
She was oh so beautiful
But she's not here anymore
She had a college degree
Smart as anyone could be
Had so much to live for

[Pre-Chorus]
But she fell in love
With the wrong kinda of man
He abused her love and treated her so bad
There was not enough education in her world
That could save the life of this little girl

[Chorus]
How come, how long?
It's not right, it's so wrong
Do we let it just go on?
Turn our backs and carry on?
Wake up, it's too late
Right now, we can't wait
She won't have a second try
Open up your hearts
As well as your eyes

[Verse 2: Stevie Wonder]
She tried to give a cry for help
She even blamed things on herself
But no one came to her aid
'Nothing was wrong as far as we could tell'
That's what we'd like to tell ourselves
But no, it wasn't that way

[Pre-Chorus]
So she fell in love
With the wrong kinda of man
And she paid with her life
For loving that man
So we cannot ignore
We must look for the signs
And maybe next time we might save somebody's life

[Chorus]
How come, how long?
It's not right, it's so wrong
Do we let it just go on?
Turn our backs and carry on?
Wake up, it's too late
Right now, we can't wait
She won't have a second try
Open up your hearts
As well as your eyes

[Harmonica solo]

[Bridge: Babyface + Stevie Wonder]
Oh, I on occasion met that guy
He stirred a feeling deep inside
Someth'n' about him wasn't right
Oh, the way he proves himself a man
By beating his woman with his hands
I wish that she had seen the light
How can someone like this call themselves a man?
(He's not a man)
'Cause in reality he's far more less than
And we cannot ignore whenever we see the signs
'Cause any kind of abuse God knows is a crime

[Chorus]
How come, how long?
It's not right, it's so wrong
Do we let it just go on?
Turn our backs and carry on?
Wake up, it's too late
Right now, we can't wait
She won't have a second try
Open up your hearts
As well as your eyes

[Harmonica solo]

Babyface

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (born April 10, 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a Grammy Award-winning producer, singer, and songwriter responsible for a string of hits in the 1980s and 1990s. He has written and produced more than 20 number-one hits and won 11 Grammys—including three for Producer of the Year—for his work with Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, and Toni Braxton, as well as his own work as an artist.

Babyface got his nickname from funk legend Bootsy Collins after joining his backing band in the 1970s. He joined the group Manchild in the late ‘70s—a group that also included his frequent collaborator Daryl Simmons—before moving out West and working with the group The Deele in the early 1980s, forming a bond with his bandmate and future production partner L.A. Reid. After producing the hit “Two Occasions” for The Deele, L.A. & Babyface broke off and became one of the biggest superproducer duos in R&B, rivaling the hits of fellow superproducer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

L.A. & ‘Face had their hands in a string of #1 R&B hits in the late '80s and early '90s from artists such as Pebbles (“Girlfriend”), Karyn White (“Superwoman”), The Whispers (“Rock Steady”), Johnny Gill (“My, My, My”) and many more. They were also instrumental in the success of post-New Edition era Bobby Brown as they produced his #1 hits “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step,” “On Our Own,” and “Humpin' Around.” They made history with Boyz II Men in 1992 as they wrote and produced “End of the Road,” which spent a record-breaking 14 consecutive weeks atop the pop chart.

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