Released: September 3, 1998
Songwriter: Lonnie Jordan B. B. Dickerson Jimmy Jam Janet Jackson Papa Dee Allen Charles Miller Harold Brown Lee Oskar Terry Lewis René Elizondo Jr Howard Scott
Producer: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Janet Jackson
[Spoken]
Here I am in your face
Tellin truths and not your old lies
Seems to me that you care
And I know that you're runnin out of time
See ya can't get away
I'll be here forever and again
Whisperin in your ear
Do believe cause you know you cannot win
[Verse 1]
Spent most your life pretending not to be
The one you are but who you choose to see
Learned to survive in your fictitious world
Does what they think of you determine your worth?
If special's what you feel when you're with them
Taken away you feel 'less than' again
That's right
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
[Spoken]
There's a feeling inside
No you cannot change it right away
Gotta make a try
And with time it'll start to go away
I'll be here when you need
That one to sit and cry to
Cause I'm the you you forgot
The only one you know you cannot lie to
[Verse 2]
Bitter you'll be if you don't change your ways
When you hate you you hate everyone that day
Unleash this scared child that you've grown into
You cannot run for you can't hide from you
Can't hide from you
That's right
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
[Breakdown]
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody but)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody but you)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(aw that's right)
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
Here I am in your face
Tellin truths and not your old lies
Seems to me that you care
And I know that you're runnin out of time
See ya can't get away
I'll be here forever and again
Whisperin in your ear
Do believe cause you know you cannot win
[Verse 1]
Spent most your life pretending not to be
The one you are but who you choose to see
Learned to survive in your fictitious world
Does what they think of you determine your worth?
If special's what you feel when you're with them
Taken away you feel 'less than' again
That's right
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
[Spoken]
There's a feeling inside
No you cannot change it right away
Gotta make a try
And with time it'll start to go away
I'll be here when you need
That one to sit and cry to
Cause I'm the you you forgot
The only one you know you cannot lie to
[Verse 2]
Bitter you'll be if you don't change your ways
When you hate you you hate everyone that day
Unleash this scared child that you've grown into
You cannot run for you can't hide from you
Can't hide from you
That's right
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
[Breakdown]
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody but)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody but you)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(you can't blame nobody)
E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C
(aw that's right)
[Chorus]
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
You gotta mean what you say
You gotta say what you mean
Tryin to please everyone
Sacrifice your own needs
Check in the mirror my friend
No lies will be told then
Pointin the finger again
You can't blame nobody but you
more tracks from the album
The Velvet Rope
- Got ’Til It’s Gone
- Interlude: Online
- Empty
- Interlude: Speaker Phone
- Interlude: Full
- Can’t Be Stopped
- Anything
- Special
- Go Deep
- You
- Every Time
- I Get Lonely
- What About
- Interlude: Twisted Elegance
- Velvet Rope
- Interlude: Memory
- My Need
- Tonight’s the Night
- Interlude: Sad
- Interlude: Fasten Your Seatbelts
- Rope Burn
- Together Again
- Free Xone
From the album
- The Velvet Rope (1997)
Janet Jackson popular songs
- No Sleeep
- If
- Nasty
- Would You Mind
- All for You
- Together Again
- BURNITUP!
- Got ’Til It’s Gone
- Any Time, Any Place
- That’s the Way Love Goes
- Dammn Baby
- I Get Lonely
- Doesn’t Really Matter
- Black Cat
- Control
- Again
- No Sleeep (Single Version)
- Unbreakable
- Rhythm Nation
- What About
- Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)
- Feedback
- Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)
- Call on Me