Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Janet Jackson - Black Cat

Janet Jackson - Black Cat Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rhythm Nation 1814
Released: 1990

Black Cat Lyrics

One, two, three, four
All the lonely nights I spend alone
Never 'round to love me
You're always gone
'Cause you're hangin' out

Breakin' the rules
Oh the man has come
Lookin' for you

You're a rebel now
Don't give a damn
Always carrying on
With the gang

I'm tryin' to tell ya boy
It's a mistake
You won't realize
'Til it's too late

Don't understand
Why you insist
On ways of living such a dangerous life
Time after time you stay away
And I just know that you're telling me lies

Black Cat nine lives
Short days long nights
Livin' on the edge
Not afraid to die
Heart beat real strong
But not for long
Better watch your step
Or you're gonna die

You're so together boy
But just at a glance
You'll do anything
If given the chance

Scheming, plannin' lies
To get what you need
So full of promises
That you never keep

Don't you tell yourself
That it's okay
Sick and tired of
All of your games

And you want me to stay
(Aww) Better change
Makes no sense to me
Your crazy ways

Don't understand
Why you insist
On ways of living such a dangerous life
Time after time you stay away
And I just know that you're telling me lies

Not afraid to die

Black cat
Black cat
Short days long nights
Livin' on the edge
Don't understand
Why you insist
On ways of living such a dangerous life
Time after time you stay away
And I just know that you're telling me lies

Black cat nine lives
Short days long nights
Livin' on the edge
Not afraid to die
Heart beat real strong
But not for long
Better watch your step
Or you're gonna die

Black cat nine lives
Short days long nights
Livin' on the edge
Not afraid to die
Heart beat real strong
But not for long
Better watch your step
Or you're gonna die

Writer/s: JANET JACKSON
Publisher: JANET JACKSON DBA BLACK ICE
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Black Cat

This was the only song on the Rhythm Nation album to be written entirely by Jackson. It was produced by guitarist Jellybean Johnson, who also performed on the track.

The song finds Janet warning her bad-boy boyfriend that he needs to shift his priorities before he loses both her and his life. Two superstitions/folk tales come into play on the track: cats having nine lives and black cats being a sign of bad luck. Janet sees her man as someone whose lives are quickly running out, and also a negative influence on her.

Although she didn't win the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance with this song (she lost to Alannah Myles for "Black Velvet"), Janet became the first artist to earn nominations across Pop, Dance, Rock, Rap, and R&B categories when "Black Cat" was nominated.

Jimmy Jam, another of her producers, encouraged Jackson to tap into her Rock side with this song. "One night I told her I wanted her to sound like a Rock and Roll queen on it - she usually uses one of her other voices to sing R&B funk. This, you wanted to be funky, but more rocked out. That was what I was trying to get her to do, and she did it in one or two takes."

Jackson employed a real black leopard during her concerts until some fans became concerned about the cat's welfare. She announced: "While the illusion with the cat was appreciated by most of the audience, if it caused even a few people to worry about the safety of the cat, it's not worth keeping it."

But there was really nothing to worry about, she added. "I know how well the animal was treated by its trainer and my production staff. I love animals and would never do any harm, or allow anyone to do any harm, to one. Rather than let my fans worry, I would rather do without the cat."

For a more frightening black cat mishap, check out the Songfacts for Hall & Oates' "Maneater."

This song was featured in the 1991 action-thriller The Taking of Beverly Hills.

Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately

Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Control
Released: 1986

What Have You Done For Me Lately Lyrics

Used to be a time when you would pamper me
Usta brag about it all the time
Your friends seem to think that you're so peachy keen
But my friends say neglect is on your mind - Who's right?

What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Ooh ooh ooh yeah
What have you done for me lately?
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

Used to go to dinner almost every night
Dancin' 'til I thought I'd lose my breath
Now it seems your dancing feet are always on my couch
Good thing I cook or else we'd starve to death - Ain't that a shame?

What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah
What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

I never ask for more than I deserve
You know it's the truth
You seem to think you're God's gift to this earth
I'm tellin' you no way

You 'ought to be thankful for the little things
but little things are all you seem to give
You're always putting off what we could do today
Soap opera says
you've got one life to live
Who's right, who's wrong?

What have you done for me lately
Ooh ooh ooh yeah...

Ooh ooh ooh yeah...

Get wit it...Uh
What have you done for me lately Ooh ooh ooh yeah
Ooh ooh ooh yeah

This is wild, I swear

Writer/s: LEWIS, TERRY / HARRIS III, JAMES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

What Have You Done For Me Lately

Janet Jackson thought she was done recording the Control album and returned home to Los Angeles only to be summoned back to Minneapolis to belt out one more: "What Have You Done For Me Lately." A&M label exec John McClain wanted one more uptempo song to round out the album. When she got back to the studio, songwriters/producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had the song cranked at full blast. Jam remembered: "She was sitting outside in the lounge and said, 'Man, that's a funky track. Who's that for?' And we said, 'It's for you,' and she said, 'Oh, cool.' I think she was very pleased when she heard the track."

This song was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1987: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.

The song cuts to the crux of many relationship problems: the inertia that sets in once you are established as a couple. The guy who used to take the lady out for sushi and dancing finds himself on the couch watching football once he gets comfortable.

The song found its way into the cultural lexicon, and Eddie Murphy used it as the basis for a comedy bit in his 1987 Raw concert film. Murphy gave his interpretation of the song: You better have money, or you won't get any loving from the ladies (Eddie used a different term, but we'll keep it clean). He points out that women love this song, as its encourages women to keep wanting more from their men - and sweet talk won't cut it.

The music video for this song features a few notable cameo appearances. Paula Abdul, who choreographed the video, appeared as Janet's friend, along with Tina Landon, who later became a choreographer on the world tours for janet. and The Velvet Rope. Actor-dancer Rudy Huston, who played Janet's boyfriend, knew the singer from when they both worked on the Fame TV series a few years earlier. Huston was a familiar face on other videos of the decade, including R&B singer Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and "Mercedes Boy."

Although this was the last song recorded for the album, it was the first song to be released as a single. Jimmy Jam thought it was the perfect set up: "I think it was very representative of the sparseness and the funkiness that the rest of the album had and the attitude Janet had about being in control, being mature to the point where she had definite opinions about what she wanted to say."

La Toya Jackson ironically chose to sample her sister Janet's song on an album called No Relations (1991) on the track "Wild Side."

Janet Jackson - Control

Janet Jackson - Control Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Control
Released: 1986

Control Lyrics

This is story about Control
My control Control of what I say
Control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready?
I am 'Cause it`s all about control,
And I've got lots of it

When I was 17 I did what people told me
Did what my father said,
and let my mother mold me
But that was a long ago,

I'm in Control - Never gonna stop
Control - To get what I want
Control - I like to have a lot
Control - Now I'm all grown up

First time I fell in love, I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive, I thought it would be easy
Now I know I got to take

Control - Now I've got a lot
Control - To get what I want
Control - I'm never gonna stop
Control - Now i'm all grown up

Jam, woo woo...
Rebel, that's right
I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots
Thank you

Got my own mind
I want to make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control

So let me take you by the hand,
and lead you on this dance (Control)
Is what I've got, because I do with chance
I don't wanna rule the world,
just wanna run my life (ooh
So make your life a little easier ...
When you get the chance just take control

Control - Now I've got a lot, ooh
Control - To get what I want, oww!
Control - I'm never gonna stop
Control - Now I'm all grown up, ohh!

Free...at last
Out here on my own
Ooh ooh ooh yeah, hee
Now control this...

Uh Control - That's right
Control - Career moves
Control - I do what's right for me
Control - And me wants to groove, Is that ok?
Yeah...Oooh, Control

I've got own mind
Ooh baby
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah
I've got my own mind
Wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life
I wanna be the one in control

Hop to it
I'm in control, and I love it, hahaha... thats right
Control
Now I've got a lot
Control
Now I'm all grown up Aahh!
I'm in control - Uhhh
I'm in control - Ahhhh I'm in control
Uhhh Don't make me lose it!

Writer/s: Lewis, Terry / Harris Iii, James Samuel
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Ultra Tunes
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Control

In the title song of her breakthrough album, Janet proclaims her independence for the first time in her life. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to figure out the whole album represents a break from her famous family, including superstar brother Michael and father, Joe, who was primarily interested in being a manager rather than a dad. "'Control' came from the heart," she told the Los Angeles Times. "It was all about stepping out, taking control of your life... a certain point in your life when you ask yourself who you are and what you want to do."

The album hooked her up with producers/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who helped her create a sexy and funky image. Jam and Lewis went on to write and produce most of her hits, including this one (Janet also has a writing credit on the track).

Although Janet wanted a fresh start, she didn't want to forget about her past or her old friends. Ja'net Dubois, her former co-star from the '70s sitcom Good Times, played her mother in the music video for this song.

The unique break in this song came about by accident during the production of "Nasty," another hit from the album. Jimmy Jam explained: "When you program drum machines, you program a lot of different patterns in. But the way we do it, we never put the programs in a sequence. We play and change the sequences by hand. So at one point in 'Nasty,' I changed to the wrong sequence and it made this weird drum break. A lot of times when that happens, we leave it and figure out what to do with it musically later. That's what happened on 'Control.' There are two or three breaks where it stops and there's a little 'do-do-do-do-do,' and that was the creation of hitting the wrong drum program at the wrong time. But it worked."

Producing the music video for this song was one of the worst experiences in Sharon Oreck's career. Behind the scenes, Janet's soon-to-be-fired manager Joe Jackson was trying to sabotage the project by making wild demands (which were last-ditch efforts to control his daughter). He angrily insisted Janet be insured for $1 million before she was allowed to be lowered onstage via trapeze. Meanwhile, the live footage was being recorded at the Grand Olympics Auditorium in Los Angeles in front of an audience who expected a free Janet Jackson concert, not "50 takes of Janet lip-synching," Oreck remembered. The crowd was disgruntled over that, but nearly rioted when white members of the audience, who had been scattered throughout, were slowly being moved to the front. An A&M label representative was able to calm everyone down when he explained the migration wasn't an act of segregation but a trick to make it look like the audience was more diverse. The video later won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Video, but Oreck called it her "worst nightmare."

Glee's Dianna Agron, Darren Criss and Kevin McHale covered this song on the season 3 episode "Hold On to Sixteen."

Janet Jackson - Escapade

Janet Jackson - Escapade Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rhythm Nation 1814
Released: 1990

Escapade Lyrics

As I was walkin' by
Saw you standin' there with a smile
Lookin' shy, you caught my eye
Thought you'd want to hang for a while
Well I'd like to be with you
And you know it's Friday too
I hope you can find the time
This weekend to relax and unwind

My mind's tired
I've worked so hard all week
Cashed my check
I'm ready to go
I promise you
I'll show you such a good time

Come on baby, let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me, we've got it made
Let me take you on an Escapade (let's go)

Escapade
We'll have a good time
Escapade
Leave your worries behind
Escapade
Well you could be mine
Escapade
An escapade

So don't hold back
Just have a good time, yeah yeah
We'll make the rules up as we go along
And break them all if we're not havin' fun

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade (let's go)

Escapade
We'll have a good time
Escapade
Leave your worries behind
Escapade
Well you could be mine
Escapade
An escapade

(My mind's tired I've worked
Worked so hard all week
I just got paid, we've got it made
Ready to go
I promise you I'll show you
Such a good time)

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade (let's go)

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Writer/s: HARRIS, JAMES SAMUEL III/LEWIS, TERRY / JACKSON, JANET DAMITA JO
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, JANET JACKSON DBA BLACK ICE
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Escapade

Jackson was going to do a remake of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' 1965 hit "Nowhere to Run," but Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who were her songwriters and producers, suggested they do an original song with a similar beat, which meant they would keep more of the songwriting royalties. Jam and Lewis pulled the word "Escapade" from a notebook they kept of song title ideas, and came up with the track while Jackson wrote the lyrics.

Former New Edition member Johnny Gill contributed finger snaps.

This album proved that Jackson's previous release, the breakthrough album Control, was not a fluke. Including this song, it brought her seven US Top-5 singles, an unheard of number of (Top-5) hits for one album.

Jackson embarked on her very first concert tour - "The Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990" - the same week this song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Jimmy Jam remembered how the song came together: "While [Janet] was sitting in one room coming up with lyrics, I put it on the 24-track. We hooked the drum machine up. On my left hand I played the bass, on the right hand I played the chord. And it was just enough for her to sing to, which we do a lot. Because we like to let her sing to as minimum of a track as we can do, then fill in the track around her so that her part is the main part of the song. With 'Escapade,' she sang it and we kept saying we'll go back and redo the track... we never redid the track."

Janet Jackson - Someone To Call My Lover

Hip Hop, ,
Janet Jackson - Someone To Call My Lover Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: All For You
Released: 2001

Someone To Call My Lover Lyrics

Someone To Call My Lover Song Chart

This uses the guitar riff from the 1972 America song "Ventura Highway." Jackson wrote it with her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Lifting a soft-rock hit from the '70s doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for a Dance-Pop act like Jackson, but Jimmy Jam told us that Janet loves many kinds of music and was always willing to try different ideas. Describing the construction of this song, he said, "For 'Someone to Call My Lover,' she hadn't heard the 'Ventura Highway' sample before. She hadn't heard those songs. So it's kind of fun to come up with stuff like that and play it for her. And she hasn't heard of it, but she still really likes it. So you have something that's going to appeal to people that haven't heard it before, it's going to catch them, but it's also going to catch the people who are nostalgic about it." (Check out our full interview with Jimmy Jam .)

This song was used in the animated series Neighbors From Hell on the episode "Country Club Hell" in 2010.

Jackson really was looking for someone to call her lover: she had just ended her ten-year marriage to Rene Elizondo Jr. while recording this album.

The loop played throughout the chorus was borrowed from the Classical piece "Gymnopédie No. 1" by French composer Erik Satie. Jackson first heard it on a TV commercial when she was a child and never forgot it.

Jackson first worked with So So Def producer Jermaine Dupri, who would become her longtime boyfriend, on a remix of this song. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2002, but lost to Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird."