Hi-Five

Released: August 11, 1992

Songwriter: William Walton Carl Bourelly

Producer: Carl Bourelly

[Opening]

(Chorus)
Whenever you say you want me
Whenever you say you need me

Whenever you say you want me, ya gonna get all of me

[Verse 1:]
I want you to want me
But I don't wanna rush you
So baby, let's take it nice and slow
And wait
Until you know just what you wanna do
Take your time and think it over 'cause its never too late

(Pre-Chorus)
We patient as I can be, but in all honesty
I don't want our love to go 'round and 'round, oh no
But I respect ya baby
So take as long as you want
Girl

(Chorus)
Whenever you say you want me (Whenever you say you want me)
Whenever you say you need me
(I'm) Gonna be there for you
(And I'll never say that time's been wasted)
('Cause) Whenever you say you want me, ya gonna get all of me

[Verse 2:]
I don't take pride in being the kind
To move too fast
Overnight love ain't the type of love to last
And I will never pressure you
'Cause there's more to makin' love than one night can do

(Pre-Chorus)
I'm patient as I can be, but in all honesty
I don't want our love to go 'round and 'round, oh no
But I respect ya baby
So take as long as you want
Girl

(Chorus)
Whenever you say you want me (Whenever you say you want me)
Whenever you say you need me
(I'm) Gonna be there for you
(And I'll never say that time's been wasted)
('Cause) Whenever you say you need me, ya gonna get all of me

(Aw yeah) Whenever you say
Whenever you say
Whenever you say you want me (Whenever you say, girl)

Whenever you say
Whenever you (Say you want me)

Whenever you say
Whenever you say
Whenever you say you want me

Whenever you say you want me, (Ya gonna get all of me)

[Bridge]
Honey you got a man
Willing to understand
That us loving eachother ain't somethin' thats gotta
Happen overnight
Baby you got my love
Tony don't ask for much
And I'll wait right here for you
(Until the time is right)

Whenever you say
Whenever you say
(Whenever you say, girl) Whenever you say you need me

Whenever you say
Whenever you say you want me (Whenever you want me)

Whenever you say
Whenever you say
(Whenever you say, girl) Whenever you say you want me

Whenever you say you want me, ya gonna get all of me

Whenever you say (Whenever you say)
Whenever you say (All you have to do is call)
Whenever you say (Whenever you say, girl)
Whenever you say (Yeaaaah)

Whenever you say (Aw darling, aw sugar)
Whenever you say (Yeaaa-aaa-aaa-aa-aaah)
Whenever you say (Whenever you say)
Whenever you say

(I'll be right there for you)

Whenever

(Youuuuu) Whenever

(Ho, yeah)

Whenever

(Whenever you say)

Hi-Five is an R&B group from Waco, Texas, originally consisting of lead singer Tony Thompson, Russell Neal, Roderick Clark, Marcus Sanders, and Toriano Easley, who was later replaced by Treston Irby. They released their self-titled debut album in 1990, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and was certified Platinum. This album featured the #1 R&B/Top 10 Pop hit “I Can’t Wait Another Minute,” and “I Just Can’t Handle It,” which peaked at #3 on the R&B Singles chart, as well as their biggest hit, the Teddy Riley-produced “I Like the Way (The Kissing Game),” which hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles chart.

Their follow-up album Keep It Goin' On was released in 1992 and featured the hit songs “She’s Playing Hard To Get,” which peaked at #2 on the R&B Singles chart and #5 on the Pop chart, as well as the R. Kelly-produced single “Quality Time,” which peaked at #3 on the R&B Singles chart. Their third album Faithful was released in 1993 and contained the hit singles “Unconditional Love” and “Never Should’ve Let You Go”, which were also featured on the soundtracks to Menace II Society and Sister Act 2, respectively.

The group disbanded in 1994 and Tony Thompson went on to release his solo album Sexsational in 1995. Thompson re-formed Hi-Five with four new members and released the album The Return independently in 2005 but he was issued a cease-and-desist order by the original members of the group to halt sales of the album. As discussions of putting the original group back together were taking place, Tony Thompson passed away on June 1, 2007 in his hometown of Waco, Texas. Treston Irby and Marcus Sanders have carried on with the Hi-Five name, continuing to make music and tour.

more tracks from the album

Keep It Goin’ On

From the album

Keep It Goin’ On (1992)

Hi-Five popular songs

Whenever You SayHi-Five

Hi-Five

Keep It Goin’ On