En Vogue

Released: May 23, 2000

Songwriter: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Michael Mani

Producer: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Michael Mani

[Verse 1]
It's a winter day
Five years too late
I'm feelin' cold inside
Holding on to what I don't know
No more reasons, no more whys
Just my life
And my love I worked so hard to keep

[Chorus]
Ooh, sad but true
Sad but true, it will be
A very different world without him
So I can't just up and let him go
What would my children say?

[Verse 2]
Mad, just a little sad
Just a little bad, just a little had
Just a little time for me (Ooh)
Not good you see
I need just a little more, just a little lot
Just a little love, just a little fun you see
There's more to me

Ooh, when you're creepin' out at night
Always try to cry myself to sleep

[Chorus]
Sad but true (Sad but true)
It's not worth no more
I must tell him so
Goodbye is so hard to say
So sad but true
So sad but oh so true

[Verse 3]
A world of make believe
It's a place I've lived
Joyous all the time
Never knew my world could cave in
Fallin' right before my eyes
I was blind
I would only see the signs I wanted to see

[Chorus]
Ooh ooh ooh, sad but true
Sad but true and it's real
You must take the time to deal with it
Before you fall too deep in it
Can't find your way back home, ooh ooh

[Verse 4]
Ooh, can't change his ways
Can't change my ways
If things stay the same
No one wins the game
I deserve better
He needs it better
I'm not so happy
He can't be happy
Aah, and the feeling in my soul
Our love has come to an end

[Chorus]
Sad but true (Sad but true)
It's not worth no more
I must tell him so
Goodbye is so hard to say
So sad but true
So sad but oh so true

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

Sad But TrueEn Vogue

En Vogue

Masterpiece Theatre