I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
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Producers
I Just Can’t Stop Loving You Lyrics
Each time the wind blows
I hear your voice so I call your name
Whispers at morning, our love is dawning
Heaven's glad you came
You know how I feel, this thing can't go wrong
I'm so proud to say I love you
Your love's got me high, I long to get by
This time is forever, love is the answer
I hear your voice now
You are my choice now, the love you bring
Heaven's in my heart
At your call, I hear harps and angels sing
You know how I feel, this thing can't go wrong
I can't live my life without you
I just can't hold on, I feel we belong
My life ain't worth living if I can't be with you
[Chorus: Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett, Siedah Garrett]
I just can't stop loving you
I just can't stop loving you
And if I stop
Then tell me just what will I do
'Cause I just can't stop loving you
[Verse 2: Michael Jackson, Siedah Garrett & Both]
At night when the stars shine
I pray in you I'll find a love so true (Mmm)
When morning awakes me, will you come and take me?
I'll wait for you
You know how I feel (Ah), I won't stop until
I hear your voice saying, "I do" (I do)
This thing can't go wrong, this feeling's so strong
Well, my life ain't worth living if I can't be with you
I just can't stop loving you (Woah-oh)
I just can't stop loving you (If I stop)
And if I stop (Uh-huh)
Then tell me just what will I do (Woah-oh)
I just can't stop loving you
[Bridge: Siedah Garrett, Michael Jackson & Both]
We can change all the world tomorrow
We can sing songs of yesterday
I can say, "Hey, farewell" to sorrow
This is my life and I want to see you for always
[Chorus: Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett, Siedah Garrett, Michael Jackson]
I just can't stop loving you (No, baby, oh)
I just can't stop loving you (If I can't stop)
And if I stop (Oh, oh)
Then tell me just what will I do (Oh, oh, what will I do?)
I just can't stop loving you (Hee-hee-hee, love you, girl)
I just can't stop loving you (I know I do)
And if I stop (Oh, oh, oh)
Then tell me just what will I do
About
“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” is a smooth ballad that expresses the strong attachment and infatuation that often accompanies falling in love.
It was the first single released from Bad and the first of five singles from the album to chart at #1, reaching that coveted spot on the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and R&B charts.
Michael had initially wanted Whitney Houston or Barbara Streisand to appear on the song with him, but they declined the offer.
Siedah had no idea that she was being considered to appear on the song, stating that she found out by surprise when reporting to what she thought was a Man In The Mirror session:
….we had finished with the choir and everything and all the vocals for “Man in the Mirror,” and then a couple of days later we were back in the studio and I thought we were going to do more work on that song, but that wasn’t the song that was playing in the studio, so I just decided to sit back and chill. I was knitting, Quincy sort of talking to me over his shoulder, saying, do you like this song that’s playing? And I sort of look up towards the heavens, I go, yeah, yes, nice song. He said, well, can you sing it? I’m like, yeah. So I put my knitting down and I go into the booth and I hear Quincy, he says, Siedah, go in the vocal booth. Michael, go on in there with Siedah. And Michael is following me. And I go into the booth and I see two mic stands, two music stands, two lyric sheets. And on the lyric sheet that I’m looking at it says, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” Michael, Siedah, Michael, Siedah. And it was, Michel, it was in that moment that I realized, oh my god, I’m doing a duet with the king of pop. Lord have mercy. Help me, Jesus. But he was so cool and I found it so refreshing.
Siedah revealed that Michael had a lot of fun during the recording sessions, often displaying his humorous side
While in the studio recording our duet “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, Michael recorded his part, but when it came to me singing my verses, he began tossing popcorn in my face in an effort to make me mess-up. Producer Quincy Jones, not seeing this, began to chastise me for flubbing the takes. Michael, on the other hand, was just CRACKING UP!
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
According to Songfacts, Garrett told SongTalk magazine:
It came as a total surprise. Quincy called me after I had worked with him doing the background vocals for ‘Man In The Mirror’ to come back to the studio to do more work, but when I got there, I was surprised to discover that there was nobody else in the studio but Quincy, Michael and me. And the song they were working on wasn’t ‘Man In The Mirror.’ It was a song that Quincy had given me a tape to learn. But I had no idea – I do lots of vocals on demos for Quincy, so this was nothing unusual.
So Quincy said, ‘You got the tape, right? Did you learn the song?’ I said, ‘Sure, I know the song.’ He said, ‘Well, go in there and sing it.’
I go into the booth: there’s two music stands. Michael Jackson is standing at one of them in front of a microphone and there’s another microphone for me. This is the first time I realized what was happening. On the sheet music it said, ‘Michael, Siedah, Michael, Siedah, etc.’ I said, ‘Wow! I get it.’
She also said:
Michael is funny. He has a real keen sense of humor. Which surprised me, because you hear all these stories about how strange he is. I guess he felt relaxed with me because I wasn’t in awe of him when we met. I was kind of, ‘Yo, Michael, what’s up?’ I think he found that refreshing.“If I was talking to Quincy and we were serious for some reason, Michael would toss cashews and peanuts at us. I would be talking to Quincy and these peanuts would fly by. [Laughs]
You know, the duet is a very serious love song. And when I was doing my verse, Michael was making these faces at me so that I would mess up. Quincy would say, ‘Siedah – come on! You’re holding up the whole album!’ And I would get in trouble!
Michael wrote in his 1987 autobiography Moonwalk:
Several people have asked me if I had anybody in mind when I wrote “Can’t Stop Loving You.” And I say that I didn’t, really. I was thinking of somebody while I was singing it, but not while I was writing it.
On September 28, 1987, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” was certified gold by the RIAA.
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