En Vogue

Released: May 23, 2000

Songwriter: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Michael Mani

Producer: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Michael Mani

[Verse 1: Maxine Jones]
I had a love (I had a love)
And I had pain (And I had a pain)
Best believe (Best believe)
They come hand in hand (Hand in hand)
'Cause I'm a soldier (I'm a soldier)
For the love brigade (Love brigade)
I'm prepared to do battle (Battle, battle)
With anything

[Chorus: En Vogue]
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out

[Verse 2: Maxine Jones]
I had to be (Had to be)
A fool indeed (A fool indeed)
To let someone (Let someone)
Break me down to my knees (Down to my knees)
I was wreckless (I was wreckless)
With my heart you see (My heart you see)
There's no room for that in my world (My world)
And yet there's the man

[Pre-Chorus: Maxine Jones & En Vogue]
Say bye-bye to the teary brown eyes
And the big sad face with an upside down smile
It's so beneath me, it's so beneath me
Say bye-bye to the meaningless days
And the loneliest nights just wasting my mind
It's so beneath me, it can't control me

[Chorus: En Vogue]
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out

[Bridge: En Vogue]
Won't take me out, won't take me out
Won't take me out, won't take me out
Won't take me out, won't take me out
Me out, me out, me out

[Verse 3: Maxine Jones]
Time to rise (Time to rise)
Time to shine (Time to shine)
Never again (Never again)
'Cause I decline ('Cause I decline)
To be a victim (To be a victim)
Of a broken heart (Of a broken heart)
'Cause I found the goddess in me
And now I leave my mark

[Chorus: En Vogue]
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out
I have control of my life you see
Let's keep it real not to make believe
I won't get caught with my foot in my mouth
And I won't let love take me out
I have the power to do as I please
I take the blows and I do it with ease
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out

[Outro: En Vogue]
Love...
I have the power to do as I please
I won't let it take me out
I dish it out very hard there's no doubt
And I won't let love take me out

Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones, and Dawn Robinson are the original members of the R&B girl group En Vogue. The group was put together by producers Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster after a talent search in Oakland, California in 1989. Their debut album Born to Sing was released in 1990 and featured the #1 R&B hits “You Don’t Have To Worry,” “Lies,” and their platinum debut single “Hold On,” which also peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won a Billboard and Soul Train Music Award. Their 1992 follow-up album Funky Divas hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on its way to triple platinum status. The lead single, “My Lovin' (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” helped propel that success as it hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured the #1 R&B hit cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” as well as the Top 10 pop single “Free Your Mind.”

In 1993, they released the EP Runaway Love and made appearances on the TV shows In Living Color, Roc and A Different World. In 1994, they collaborated with Salt-N-Pepa on their Top 3 platinum single “Whatta Man” and in 1996 they contributed to the Set It Off soundtrack with their hit single “Don’t Let Go (Love)” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the R&B Singles chart.

While working on their third album, Dawn Robinson decided to leave the group due to issues with management. The group decided to go on as a trio and released their third platinum album EV3 in 1997 featuring the Top 10 R&B/Top 20 pop hit “Whatever,” which was produced and co-written by Babyface. They went on to release three more albums—Masterpiece Theatre in 2000, The Gift of Christmas in 2002, and Soul Flower in 2004. During that time, Maxine Jones left the group in 2001 and was replaced by Amanda Cole, and Cole was later replaced in 2003 by Rhona Bennett. While the original four members have reunited for performances throughout the years, the current lineup consists of Herron, Ellis, and Bennett, and they released the single “Déjà Vu” in 2016 and released their album Electric Café in 2018.

more tracks from the album

Masterpiece Theatre

From the album

Masterpiece Theatre (2000)

En Vogue popular songs

Love Won’t Take Me OutEn Vogue

En Vogue

Masterpiece Theatre