Released: August 24, 2004

Songwriter: R. Kelly

Producer: R. Kelly

[Spoken Intro]
Yeah, I know, you know, what a calling is
I mean, we all have a calling in our life, I believe
You know I'm from the dirt, man
I come up in these streets
Went without eatin', you know what I'm sayin'?
Saw my mom go without eatin', and I got tired of that
I had to go out there in them streets and hustle, you know?
I mean, you know what I'm sayin'?
I mean, it's easy for y'all to say, you know (I surrender)
Surrender your life, you know what I'm sayin'? (I surrender)
Give your life to God and all that
Y'know, that's good and I believe in God (I surrender to you Lord)
But when you got bills at your front door all the time
You know what I'm sayin'?
Kids screamin' "Daddy, Momma, where the food at?" (I surrender)
Man, it makes it kinda hard to believe in (I surrender)
You know, and have faith in something that you can't see
(I surrender to your Lord)
Even though you wanna believe
Y'all just gonna have to just pray for me, you know what I'm sayin'?
'Cause uh...

[Verse 1]
Constantly my mind and my heart is racing (yeah)
All by myself, trying to solve all these problems I'm facing
(oh yeah)
Looking to man trying to find hope (uh-huh)
But man will never know the depth of my struggles (oh)
I was depending on myself (on myself)
To give myself a hand (oh, but)
But when depending on myself (I...)
Fail time again (that's why)
And that's why I'm standing here alone (all alone)
With no one else
Lord, I realized that I can't fight these battles by myself

[Chorus]
I surrender
I surrender (oh I)
I surrender to you, Lord
I surrender
I surrender (oh I)
I surrender to you, Lord
I surrender (I surrender)
I surrender (Lord, to you)
I surrender to you Lord
Coming out with both hands up
I surrender

[Verse 2]
I tried everything I could to make it work (mmm-hmm)
But everything I seemed to try just made it worse (ohh)
And every road that I'd go down, there were no signs (signs)
Destination lonely with no peace of mind (yeah, ohh)
I was depending on myself (on myself)
To give myself a hand (but when)
But when depending on myself (I would feail time and time again)
Fail time again (that's why)
And that's why I'm standing here alone (standing all alone)
With no one else
Lord, I realized that I can't fight these battles by myself
I surrender

[Chorus]
I surrender
I surrender (oh, I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (said I surrender)
I surrender (ohh I)
I surrender (surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (I done tried everything and now I)
I surrender (surrender yeah)
I surrender (to you Lord)
I surrender to you Lord
Coming out with both hands up
I surrender (ohh)

[Bridge]
Won't you guard the place around it
(There's nowhere for me to go)
Joy, I have tried to find (whoo)
(See, I've searched high and I've searched low)
Said you walked throughout the building
(So come and rescue me from this hell)
'Cause I can't do it by myself (I can't do it by myself)

[Chorus]
I surrender (hey, I surrender)
I surrender (ohh) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (I surrender) (I surrender...to you Lord)
(yes I do)
I surrender (I surrender) (I surrender) (to you)
I surrender (yeah)
I surrender to you Lord ('cause I'm sick and tired of going through)
I surrender (I need your help, need your help)
I surrender (to find my may) (to find my way)
I surrender to you Lord (I'm here and willing) (here and willing)
(to make a change) (make a change, yeah)
I surrender (I surrender all my darkness) (hey) (I surrender)
I surrender (now you give me your light) (yes sir) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (I surrender all my wrongs) (yes I do)
(and Lord you make it right) (make it right) (I surrender)
I surrender (I surrender my situation) (I surrender) (I surrender)
I surrender (and Lord fix it for me) (fix it for me) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (no more hesitation) (hey)
(here I am on my knees) (I surrender)
I surrender (I surrender) (I surrender) (I surrender)
I surrender (I surrender) (I surrender) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (I surrender) (I surrender) (woo, hey)
(I surrender)
I surrender (I surrender myself, my house, my kids, my wife) (yeah) (I surrender)
I surrender (my dog, my car, my love, my life) (yes sir) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord (Lord, I surrender my soul) (oh-ho)
(I surrender)
I surrender (you have got complete control) (ha ha) (I surrender)
I surrender (of the situation) (I surrender)
I surrender to you Lord...

R. Kelly

Robert Kelly is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, where he first started performing under the “L” subway tracks as a teenager. This led into his first album, Born Into the 90’s, being released in 1992 as a collaboration between R. Kelly and Public Announcement. R. Kelly wrote and produced the entire album, which contained the #1 R&B hits “Honey Love” and “Slow Dance,” along with the Top 10 R&B hits “She’s Got That Vibe” (#7) and “Dedicated” (#9). The following year, Kelly went on to become a solo act.

In 1993, he released his first solo album, 12 Play, featuring the hits “Bump N' Grind” and “Your Body’s Callin'.” He released a self-titled album in 1995 featuring the hits “Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)” and “You Remind Me of Something,” while his 1998 double album, R., featured a string of hits, including “I Am Your Angel” with Celine Dion, “When a Woman’s Fed Up,” and his Grammy Award-winning song “I Believe I Can Fly” from the Space Jam soundtrack.

The success of these albums led to him becoming an in-demand producer in the ‘90s, writing and producing #1 hits for Aaliyah (“Back & Forth”), Janet Jackson (“Any Time, Any Place (Remix)”), Changing Faces (“G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T”), Maxwell (“Fortunate”), and Michael Jackson (“You Are Not Alone”).