En Vogue

Released: April 3, 1990

Songwriter: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy En Vogue

Producer: Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy

[Verse 1 - Cindy, Maxine]
Rain, such a simple thang
Every drop, a different stop
But they all come from the same
God is the cloud
And we are the rain
That's why I sometimes feel
That somehow we are the same

[Pre-Chorus - Dawn, Terry]
Whenever I lay my head to sleep
There's a strong thought that keeps haunting my mind
Careless whispers of a nation
That somehow was caught trapped in the dark
And nowhere to go
I know my thoughts are tellin' me

[Chorus - En Vogue Terry]
Gotta be a part of me
I can feel it
Gotta be a part of me
In my heart, in my soul
Gotta be a part of me
The world must be callin' me
And my world comes from within

[Verse 2 - Cindy, Maxine]
Life has no guarantees
That you'll keep what you have
Even though you're blessed with then
That's why I'm feeling
Some fear for the world
With all the grief and misery
How much real time is there?

[Pre-Chorus - Dawn, Terry]
The sooner I take more responsibilities
I can truly say
I am grateful for my world
The irony of tryin' to do the right thing
Is whatever you do, some will undo
And sometimes destroy
And there's someone still left in darkness
And you say

[Chorus - En Vogue Terry]
Gotta be a part of me
I can feel it
Gotta be a part of me
In my heart, in my soul
Gotta be a part of me
Callin' me from the depths of my soul
Gotta be a part of me
Making it part of you, part of me
Everything must combine to be fine

[Bridge - Dawn]
The world is what we make it
What we see today
Are the results of the mistakes they made yesterday
And what we see tomorrow
Will be the results of what we do today
It's a shame that peace and respect
Have been replaced with money and power
The children, they are the futures
So teach them how to love themselves
And they will love others
Don't you see, love - that's the key

[Chorus - En Vogue, Maxine]
Gotta be a part of me
I can feel it
Gotta be a part of me
In my heart and my soul
Gotta be a part of me
And my world is callin' me
Gotta be a part of me
'Cause my world comes from within
Gotta be a part of me
Making me, making me, making me a part of the whole
Gotta be a part of me
I can feel it
Gotta be a part of me
You're a part of me, they're a part of me
Gotta be a part of me
We're a part of each other, you and me, yeah
Gotta be a part of me
They're a part of me
Gotta be a part of me
Oh, oh, oh
Gotta be a part of me

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

Part Of MeEn Vogue

En Vogue

Born to Sing