Mary J. Blige

Released: October 14, 1994

Songwriter: Poke Mary J. Blige Diddy Curtis Mayfield Chucky Thompson Arlene DelValle

Producer: Poke Diddy

[Verse 1]
How can I love somebody else
If I can't love myself enough to know
When it's time
Time to let go
Sing

[Chorus]
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy (I wanna be happy, yeah)
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet

[Verse 2]
I asked for a sign
From my sweet Lord above
I know the answer is in front of me, but when
You think you're in love
You only see what you wanna see
And all I see is me for you
And you for me

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, I cannot hide the way I feel inside
(No, I don't know why)
I don't know why but every day I wanna cry
(Every day I wanna cry)
But if I give you one more try
To these rules, will you abide?
And if I mean anything to you
Would it make everything all right?

[Chorus]
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
(I said I wanna be happy)
All I really want
Is to be happy (Oh, I wanna be...)
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
(To find a love that's mine...)
All I really want
(...oh, it'll be so fine)
Is to be happy (Wanna be happy)
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
(It would be so sweet...)
All I really want (...if only we could be...)
Is to be happy (We can be happy)
And to find a love that's mine (I wanna be happy)
It would be so sweet

[Bridge]
I just wanna be so, so, happy
But the answer lies in me
I do believe
That we can be happy
I said I wanna be happy, yeah yeah yeah
Now let it breathe

Life is too short to be tryin' to play some games
Now take some time and think about
If it's really worth losing me
Why must it be this way?
Why do you have to play with my mind
All the time?
Help me sing it

All I really want is for me to be happy
(Ohhh, just help me sing it)
All I really want is for me to be happy
(Yeah, yeah yeah)
All I really want is for me to be happy
(Oh, you know I wanna be happy, yeah, yeah)
All I really want is for me to be happy

[Chorus]
All I really want
Is to be happy
(I don't wanna have to worry about nothin' no more)
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
(Said I wanna be, said I wanna be, said I wanna be)
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
(Said I wanna be happy if it's all right with you and me...)
All I really want (...it'll be all right with me)
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
(Won't you help me sing, just help me sing it)
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet
All I really want
Is to be happy
And to find a love that's mine
It would be so sweet

Mary Jane Blige (b. Jan 11 1971) grew up in the projects of Yonkers, New York. A random decision to record a cover of “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker in a pop-up recording booth at a mall led MJB to getting signed by Uptown Entertainment. After providing background vocals on Father MC’s hit single “I’ll Do 4 U” in 1990, a young intern at Uptown named Sean “Puffy” Combs ended up executive producing Mary’s 1992 debut album What’s The 411?. Fusing hip-hop beats with Mary’s soulful voice earned her the nickname “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”.

She followed up her debut with a string of critically acclaimed albums, including 1994’s My Life and 1997’s Share My World, as well as hit singles such as “Not Gon' Cry,” “Family Affair,” “Be Without You,” and “Just Fine.”

She also collaborated with rappers on a number of tracks, including Jay-Z’s “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” Ghostface Killah’s “All That I Got is You,” Wyclef’s “911,” Common’s “Come Close,” and Method Man’s “I’ll Be There for You/All I Need to Get By,” which was a platinum hit and won the two of them a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.

more tracks from the album

Reflections (A Retrospective)

From the albums

Mary J. Blige popular songs

Be HappyMary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige

Reflections (A Retrospective)