Released: February 18, 2003

Songwriter: R. Kelly

Producer: R. Kelly

[Spoken Intro]
This song is dedicated to all the ladies, from all of the men
You know what I mean
Simply because y'all go through so much
And we want y'all to know that we recognize that

[Verse 1]
There are so many answers to the question what y'all do for us
And so many reasons for the word why we love on y'all
For instance, how ya' just take us and lift us up
And give us chance after chance and we still find a way to F' things up
And sometimes y'all go and blame yourselves for things we do
'Cause you love us so much our lies become the truth
Y'all try so so hard to make things work
Finding a way to smile just to keep from showing you're hurtin'

[Pre-Chorus]
(It's) Your mind versus
(It's) Your hearts versus
(It's) Your soul versus
(Your) Your body versus our bullshit
(And) our egos (and) our pride

[Chorus]
(That's why) That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
Y'all are so tough, y'all put up with so much
That's why I love the word "woman", uh-huh (Oh, I love, I love)
And y'all so full of trust, and besides y'all know us
That's why I love the word "woman"
Time and time again y'all let's us back in
Man, I love y'all so much, I gotta spell it out
W-O-M-A-N, that's what's it's all about, yeah

[Verse 2]
Sometimes I think that we're the reason why y'all be stressing out and smoking cigarettes
Mmm, yes I do
And sometimes I think we're the reasons y'all be snapping off on your kids and having fits Somebody feel me
Ladies, when it's that time of the month and y'all really don't feel like being bothered
And sometimes we take y'all hearts for granted
I know y'all got to ask y'allself sometimes
"Why do I even put up with it?"

[Pre-Chorus]
(It's) Your mind versus
(It's your) Your hearts versus
(It's your) Your soul versus
(It's your) Your body versus our bullshit
(And) our egos (and) our pride

[Chorus]
(That's why) That's why I love the word "woman"
Said I love the word, yeah (Oh, I love, I love)
'Cause y'all are so so tough, and you put up with so so much
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
Mmm, mmm, mmm, and y'all are so full of trust, and besides, y'all know us
That's why I love the word "woman"
Time and time and time again y'all let us back in
And I love you so much, I've got to spell it out, W-O-M-A-N

[Bridge]
Fellas, just swallow your pride for a minute
And grab your lady by the hand and sing:
Baby, I'm sorry for the drama that I caused you
Y'all are the backbone of every family, this much is true, sing it
I recognize being a woman, the things y'all go through
And I appreciate every single one of you, yes I do
Baby, I promise from this day I will show respect
I promise to love y'all, yeah, with all of my might, yeah
I'll even burn a candlelight
Because we are here cause y'all paid a price

[Chorus]
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
Oh, y'all put up with so much yeah
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
And you're so so full of trust, and y'all know us, yes sir
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
You're soul survivors, yeah, all the love battles, oh oh
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
Sistas, y'all cook our meals, y'all wash our clothes
Hey, y'all are the love seeds planted in our souls, hey hey
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
When I think about the woman, I just get joyful inside
Where I just want to break down and cry
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)

[Outro]
Listen, ladies, like a sister, lover, cousin, mother, auntie, friend
My joy within, my reason seasons, you're so pleasing
You're the lock and we're the keys, created by the Almighty
Forever as the birds and bees, we love y'all until we stop breathing
That's why I love the word "woman" (Oh, I love, I love)
I dedicate this to every woman around the world
Love y'all

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”).