En Vogue

Released: April 3, 1990

Songwriter: Chuck Jackson Marvin Yancy

Producer: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy

[Intro]
Ooh ooh ooh, won't you come close to me now, now
Ooh ooh ooh, won't you come close to me now, now, now, now

[Verse 1]
Here I am, baby
Right back in your arms, yeah, oh yeah
What is it 'bout your love
That draws me to you?
And though this is not the first time, baby
I ever wanted to get away, no
Oh, but the magic of your love
Just would not let me stray

[Chorus]
So I find that I just can't
Stay away from you, baby, you, yeah
You see, I just can't (Just can't, just can't)
Stay away from you
Let me tell ya
I've been through a lot of changes

[Verse 2]
See, my mama scorned me, oh, yes she did
And my closest friends, oh Lord
You know they warned me
They said you're no good for me
But I just ignored it, yes I did
'Cause I didn't have time, no time, no time
No time to sit around and decide what to do, no
When someone controls your mind
There's not much you can do

[Chorus]
So you see that's why
I can't stay away
I don't wanna, from you
It's not in my power to leave you
You control the soul in me
Just can't, just can't, just can't stay away from you
You've been so good to me
I just love that man
Just can't, just can't, just can't
Don't want to, I can't, no way
Feels so good to me, my baby, from you
Oh, don't wanna go
No no, no no, no no, no no, baby, oh oh
Just can't, just can't, just can't
Feels so good to me, my baby, from you
I can't stay away from you, baby
Down on my knees, hold me, darling
And begging you please, hold me, darling
'Cause I just can't stay away from you, baby
No no no no no no, no no, no no, no no, hoo hoo hoo
Just can't stay away from you
I just love that man, hoo hoo hoo

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

Born to Sing

From the album

Born to Sing (1990)

En Vogue popular songs

Just Can’t Stay AwayEn Vogue

En Vogue

Born to Sing