Released: November 17, 1998

Songwriter: Rodney Jerkins Fred Jerkins III LaShawn Daniels Toni Estes

Producer: Rodney Jerkins

[Intro]
Y'all ready
Uh, Whitney
Darkchild
Uh uh, back
Couldn't get it back, couldn't get it back
Oh no, uh
Yeah, ooh
Check it out, c'mon

[Verse 1]
Remember when it all began
We were all in love, uh
Then came the friends
Telling you when
Your time for me was good enough
I constantly had to compete
With your crew and their schemes
Remembering back in the day
I used to mean everything

[Chorus]
(If we could just get it back)
To the way it used to be
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change with you and me
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back

[Verse 2]
Now tell me why so many nights
You had so much to do, baby
When you said bye
Sometimes I tried
I tried to make you choose
Now tell me how you can allow
Your boys to control, darling
The time we shared
It was unfair
But now you need to know

[Bridge]
(Now if I told you)
That I'm moving on
(Boy, what would you do?)
Oh, things just ain't the same, nah nah na-nah
(We were supposed to)
Oh baby, conquer everything, yeah yeah now
(Boy, let me tell you)
You've got to make a change, oh boy

[Chorus]
(If we could just get it back)
Oh darling, to the way we used to be
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back

[Chorus]
(If we could just get it back)
Can we do it, can we do it, can we do it, can we do it now, baby?
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me, boy
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back, babe

[Interlude]
Remember how we used to dance?
I liked the way we used to dance
Girl, let me see you dance
Just dance with me, dance with me
Remember how we used to dance? (can we do it, uh?)
I liked the way we used to dance (can we do it, boy?)
Girl, let me see you dance
Just dance with me, dance with me
If we could just get it back

[Chorus]
(If we could just get it back)
Oh-ooh, come on now
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me, boy
(I remember how it was)
And I know that for a fact
(We were oh so deep in love)
If we could just get it back

[Chorus]
(If we could just get it back)
Oh, to the way we used to be, baby
(My only wish would be that)
Nothing would change for you and me
(I remember how it was)
Back to the way we used to be, baby
(We were oh so deep in love)
I remember, I remember, ooh-oh
If we could just get it back

[Interlaced Chorus]
(If I told you)
(If we could just get it back)
Oh Lord, just get it on back to the way it used to be

(Boy what would you do)
(My only wish would be that)
If we could just get it back, uh

(Now if I told you)
(I remember how it was)
Ooh baby, come on now

(Boy what would you do)
(We were oh so deep in love)
Show me, show me, show me, show me
If we could just get it back

[Outro]
If we could just get it back
If we could just get it back

Whitney Houston

Known across the pop culture spectrum as the “Queen of Pop” and “The Voice” for her mezzo-soprano octave, Whitney Elizabeth Houston left an indelible impression upon pop culture. She is one of the most successful artists of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold worldwide.

Born August 9, 1963, Houston grew up singing as part of the gospel choir at her local church. She was surrounded by powerful voices in her own family (mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, godmother Darlene Love, honorary aunt Aretha Franklin). After working as a model and commercial actress in the early 1980s, Whitney was discovered during a New York City nightclub performance, which led to her signing a contract with Clive Davis at Arista Records. Whitney’s first song was a duet in 1984 with Teddy Pendergrass on “Hold Me.”

She released her self-titled début album the following year, which catapulted her into superstardom as the album topped the Billboard 200 for 14 non-consecutive weeks before becoming the top-selling album of 1986, eventually achieving diamond status in the US and selling over 22 million copies worldwide. The singles “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” and “Greatest Love of All” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved platinum status. The music video for “How Will I Know” received heavy rotation on MTV, which was uncommon for Black women at the time. She took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for “Saving” in 1986; her performance at the Grammys of “Saving” later won her an Emmy award. She also won seven American Music Awards between 1986 and 1987.