Released on September 16, 1997, Butterfly debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 after selling over 235,000 copies in the United States. It maintained that position for one week and remained in the Top 20 for twenty-one weeks. Butterfly was certified 5x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 15, 1999.
Butterfly was released right after Mariah's separation from Sony Music's chairman and CEO Tommy Mottola. “People are going to be so analytical about a lot of it because of what's been going on in my personal life, but even beyond that, it almost feels like I'm letting go of a part of me,” Mariah explained. “This album is probably the most personal album I've written. Lyrically, there are a bunch of songs on there that relate to me personally, where as before I'd imagine certain scenarios or write about other people's situations — this is more about me.”
“I feel like I'm in a very good place, creatively and personally. My life is in disarray right now, but I feel like I'm at the best and most creative place that I've ever been in,” Mariah explained. “I threw myself into this album in that way. There were peaks and valleys emotionally, and each time I went through those peaks and valleys, I put it into the music. Because there wasn't a day I wasn't recording. I've come into my own as an artist, and at this point I feel free enough to express what I'm really feeling, without using a smoke screen. I feel good about it because there are so many things that are real on it. It's definitely an evolution for me.”
Critics accused Mariah of going into a more urban direction. Even the record label considered Butterfly harder to market because of it being what they perceived as a “hip hop record.” “I don't think it's in any way obvious which things on this album are influenced by R&B, because in the end, it's my voice on top of a track that has a harder edge or a hip-hop loop, something I've done even as far back as ‘Dreamlover,’ which was a loop of a song by Big Daddy Kane,” Mariah said. “I knew I always wanted to go in that direction anyway but it was sort of always a struggle because when record companies see that they can have success with you as one thing, it gets very frightening and unsure for them to see you do something else. I'm still known for songs like ‘Hero,’ and I don't think that I've shunned that on this album at all. I think that in a sense people were trying to project this image on me, that ‘she's gone left-of-centre, she's made a hip hop record,’ but it's not a hip hop record. I collaborated with people I wanted to collaborate with, I worked with producers I wanted to work with, but it's basically the direction I was going in on ‘Fantasy,’ on the ‘Always Be My Baby’ remix, it's the 1997/98 version of where I wanted to be on Daydream.”
Only two songs saw a commercial release in the United States, both of them topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “I remember having so many meetings with my record company about releasing more of an illustration of my work in order to show fans who maybe only bought singles what I'm about, especially with the ballads doing so well. But their thoughts were that stylistically different singles would ‘confuse’ the core audience. I know how rounded I am musically but it was everyone else that was banging on about the pop diva. Unfortunately there were only two singles commercially released from that album, and they were seven months apart.”
“Honey,” which Mariah produced with Sean “Puffy” Combs, The Ummah (Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and Jay Dee) and Stevie J., was released as the lead single on August 26, 1997. “Q-Tip, from A Tribe Called Quest, came up with the idea to use the ‘Body Rock’ loop,” Mariah said about creating the song. “He played it to me over the phone and I knew immediately that this was the happy, light summer vibe I needed. Then we thought it out and put ‘Hey DJ’ on top of it and Puffy came in with all his ideas, so it was a collaborative effort. That's what I'm about. I don't just get a producer to come in and invent or reinvent me.” “Honey” became Mariah's third single to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and only the sixth to do so in the history of the chart. “Honey,” which sold over 135,000 units in its first week, was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on March 27, 2022.
The album's title track, co-produced with Walter Afanasieff, was sent to radios as an airplay-only single on September 29, 1997, and peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart during the week of November 15. The song started as a collaboration with dance producer David Morales. “When I first wrote the song it was just gonna be a house record with David. As I wrote it, I decided that it should be a ballad and so I decided to do another version,” Mariah explained. “‘Butterfly’ was a wish list of things I hoped somebody would say to me, but I wrote it as though I were talking to someone else. The lines ‘Spread your wings and prepare to fly / For you have become a Butterfly / Fly abandonedly into the sun’ is like someone saying, ‘Do your thing.’ There's another line: ‘Wild horses run unbridled / Or their spirit dies.’ You can't restrain a free spirit — either you're going to break them or they're going to leave and never come back.”
Mariah worked with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on the song “Breakdown,” which was sent to radios in February 1998. “It's a completely different type of singing for me, I love what they do and I think their style is so unique.” Mariah said back in 1997. “You can tell in a lot of R&B their style is starting to penetrate. I was very inspired by them when I came up with the song and I told Puffy ‘Let's do a Bone Thugs type track.’ We got Stevie J. to lay down the track and I wrote the melody over it. I wrote the song to fit in with that type of style they do and I realized it's really hard to sing those types of rhythm. They make it sound so easy. Now, having experienced the difficulty at first hand. I respect them even more.”
In the United States, “My All” was commercially released as a double-sided single with “Breakdown” on April 21, 1998. “‘My All’ is one of the more passionate songs in my catalog.” Mariah wrote about the song on the #1 To Infinity liner notes. “I really love singing it! It takes me back to a really specific moment in my life where I fell in love with love.” After selling 122,000 copies, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number two. Two weeks later, it became Mariah's thirteenth number-one song on the chart, tying her with Michael Jackson for third place among acts with the most number-one singles. “My All” spent twelve consecutive weeks inside the Top 10 and was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 17, 2022.
Mariah worked with the Trackmasters on “The Roof,” which is based on a sample of the song “Shook Ones Part II” by Mobb Deep and got a very limited release in Europe and the United Kingdom as the album's third single. “It's my favorite song on this record,” she said. “I've been wanting to use that sample for a really long time. Just having the sample of when he's saying, ‘I got you stuck off the realness.’ Two years ago, people would have had a heart attack if I said I wanted to leave that voice on the record.”
Butterfly also saw Mariah collaborating with Missy Elliott for the first time on the song “Babydoll.” “Missy to me is on the cutting edge of where R&B is going today. I think, because she's a rapper, her lyrical sense is different from someone who's just a singer and a writer. She uses references only a rapper would use. So I called her and went to Virginia. I already had the idea for the chorus of ‘Babydoll’ and I asked Missy what melody ideas she had for the verses, which I never usually do but I wanted her flavor. So she came up with that skipping, choppy approach. She's really talented. I think we complemented each other musically, because her philosophy to writing is just write it and not to be obsessive over it. For me, though I have people scrutinize what I do. She had one line, ‘You can beep me 911 and I'll come running quick as the cops’ and I told her that I didn't think that particular line was working too well for my particular song. That's how we came up with ‘I'm gonna leave my cellphone turned on in my purse by the bed’ line, which is like ‘what?’ on a Mariah Carey record. It's kind of a reality song of what people go through when they're waiting for that special someone to call.”
“Close My Eyes,” is a song included on Butterfly that, as Mariah told VH1 in 1997, she first started writing in 1993. “I had just done my first concert for a TV special in Schenectady, NY. I hadn't done anything other than Unplugged and little one-off shows with a piano player, so it was like my first real concert. I got off stage and went home to this really pretty farm in upstate New York. I was taking a bath and looking out the window — one of my favorite things. The moon was out and I was reflecting on my life. It was the first time I really sat and took it all in. It's almost like I watched my whole career go by. I took a breath and said, ‘I've really accomplished something. What did it take to get here?’ That started the concept for the song. I wrote the whole first verse and kept it in the back of my mind — I didn't even write it down — for like four years. Fast forward to '97, and while writing Butterfly, I picked up where I left off after the first chorus.”
Mariah closed the album with “Outside.” “A lot of people could relate to it for a lot of different reasons,” Mariah told Molly Meldrum in 1997. “For me it was basically about being multiracial and feeling like I come from another planet because I never knew anyone in the exact same position as me in that way. And I know other people that are mixed, but somehow because of the way I look — because I'm kind of ambiguous looking, I could be anything really — the experiences that I've had made me feel like an outsider in a lot of ways in every situation that I'm in. Less now, but then things will turn up that will just kind of reinforce that inner feeling that rises every now and then.”
International editions of the Butterfly album include two remixes of “Honey” as bonus tracks. In 1998, the album was reissued in Latin America to include “Mi Todo,” the Spanish version of “My All.”
Track #
Song
Run time
Bonus
Honey (So So Def Radio Mix feat. Da Brat & JD)
Written by Mariah Carey, Bobby Robinson, Stephen Hague, Ronald Larkins, Larry Price, Malcolm McLaren, Freddie Perren, Alphonso J. Mitzell, Berry Gordy Jr., Dennis Lussier.
Produced by Jermaine Dupri. Co-produced by Manuel Seal.
3:59
Bonus
Honey (Def Club Mix)
Written by Mariah Carey, Bobby Robinson.
Produced by David Morales and Mariah Carey.
6:17
Bonus
Mi Todo (Spanish Version)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff. Spanish translation by Manny Benito.
To commemorate Butterfly's 25th anniversary, the digital version of the album was updated to include eight new bonus tracks: the duet version of “Whenever You Call” featuring Brian McKnight, a newly-recorded version of “The Roof” featuring Brandy, the live version of “Butterfly” from Mariah's 1997 appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, the live version of “My All” from the 1998 VH1 Divas Live concert, the previously-unreleased acapella versions of “Fourth Of July” and “Outside” and two brand new remixes: the Amorphous Anniversary Club Remix of “Butterfly” and the Another Taste Of Honey David Morales Remix of “Honey.”
Track #
Song
Run time
13
Whenever You Call (feat. Brian McKnight)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
4:22
14
The Roof (When I Feel The Need) feat. Brandy
Written by Mariah Carey, Jean Claude Oliver, Samuel Barnes, Cory Rooney, Albert Johnson, Kejuan Muchita.
Produced by Mariah Carey.
4:54
15
Butterfly (Live from The Late Show with David Letterman)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
4:14
16
My All (Live from VH1 Divas Live)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
5:28
17
Fourth Of July (Acapella)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
4:16
18
Outside (Acapella)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
4:16
19
Butterfly (Amorphous Anniversary Club Remix)
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Amorphous.
6:06
20
Honey (Another Taste Of Honey David Morales Remix)
Written by Mariah Carey, Sean Combs, Kamaal Fareed, Steven Jordan, Stephen Hague, Bobby Robinson, Ronald Larkins, Larry Price, Malcolm McLaren.
Produced by Mariah Carey and David Morales.
7:55
Releases
Standard Edition
In the US, Butterfly was issued on CD, Cassette and MiniDisc. A specially priced value pack was also available, including the album on both CD and Cassette. International editions of Butterfly include two remixes of “Honey” as bonus tracks: the So So Def Radio Mix and the Def Club Mix. Europe also saw the album released on 12" Vinyl.
Butterfly was also issued with an alternate album cover. The limited edition of the Butterfly album in Japan comes in a slipcase including an additional photo booklet with pictures from Mariah's visit to Japan during her 1996 Daydream tour.
Butterfly was re-released in Latin America in 1998 to include “Mi Todo,” the Spanish version of “My All.” In 2015, Sony Music Japan released in album on Blu-Spec CD2. In 2022, to commemorate the album's 25th anniversary the album was re-released on cassette.
In 2017, to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary, a special edition was released in a picture disc Vinyl. Butterfly was also re-released in vinyl in 2020, in two different variants: black vinyl and a Gold vinyl, sold exclusively by Urban Outfitters. Three new variants were issued in 2022, sold exclusively by Vinyl Me, Please: a double LP on Champagne Wave vinyl and a 4 LP Deluxe Edition in a premium textured slipcase with a lyric + photo booklet. The first edition, limited to 1,000 copies, is pressed on Gold Nugget vinyl, while the second edition is pressed on Cream vinyl.
Honey you can have me when you want me
If you simply ask me to be there
And you're the only one who makes me come running
Cause what you got is far beyond compare
And it's just like honey
When your love comes over me
Oh baby I've got a dependency
Always strung out for another
Taste of your honey
It's like honey when it washes over me
You know sugar never ever was so sweet
And I'm dying for you, cryin' for you, I adore you
One hit of your love addicted me
Now I'm strung out on you darlin', don't you see
Every night and day I can hardly wait
For another taste of honey
Honey I can't describe
How good it feels inside
Honey I can't describe
How good it feels inside
I can't be elusive with you honey
Cause it's blatant that I'm feeling you
And it's too hard for me to leave abruptly
Cause you're the only thing I wanna do
And it's just like honey
When your love comes over me
Oh baby I've got a dependency (So addicted to you, honey)
Always strung out for another
Taste of your honey
It's like honey when it washes over me
You know sugar never ever was so sweet
And I'm dying for you, cryin' for you, I adore you (I need you bad)
One hit of your love addicted me (Boy your love addicted me)
Now I'm strung out on you darlin', don't you see (I can't wait for another)
Every night and day I can hardly wait
For another taste of honey
Honey I can't describe (Baby I can hardly wait)
How good it feels inside (Gotta have another taste)
Honey I can't describe (I gotta have it now, come on baby, I need your loving right now)
How good it feels inside (Come sweeten me with your honey)
Oh, oh, every little thing you do
Oh, oh, honey got me hooked on you
It's like honey when it washes over me (Honey it's like)
You know sugar never ever was so sweet (Like sugar, you know)
And I'm dying for you, cryin' for you, I adore you (I need your love oh, right now baby)
One hit of your love addicted me
Now I'm strung out on you darlin', don't you see
Every night and day I can hardly wait (I need a taste of honey)
For another taste of honey
It's like honey when it washes over me
You know sugar never ever was so sweet (I need it)
And I'm dying for you, cryin' for you, I adore you (Honey, I)
One hit of your love addicted me (I need it, need it, need it)
Now I'm strung out on you darlin', don't you see
Every night and day I can hardly wait (Oh honey I, honey I)
For another taste of honey
It's like honey when it washes over me (I need it, need it, need it)
You know sugar never ever was so sweet
And I'm dying for you, cryin' for you, I adore you (I need it, need it, need it)
One hit of your love addicted me (I need it, need it, need it)
Now I'm strung out on you darlin', don't you see
Every night and day I can hardly wait (I need it, need it, need it)
For another taste of honey
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Sean Combs, Kamaal Fareed, Steven Jordan, Stephen Hague, Morgan Robinson, Ronald Larkins, Larry Tyrone Price, Malcolm McLaren, Mohandas Dewese.
Produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs, The Ummah, Stevie J. and Mariah Carey.
When you love someone so deeply they become your life
It's easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside
Blindly I imagined I could keep you under glass
Now I understand to hold you I must open up my hands and watch you rise
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly (Oh yeah)
Oh fly abandonedly into the sun (Fly…)
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
I have learned that beauty has to flourish in the light
Wild horses run unbridled or their spirit dies
You've given me the courage to be all that I can
And truly I feel your heart will lead you back to me when you're ready to land
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Fly…)
For you have become a butterfly
Oh fly abandonedly into the sun (Fly… to the sun)
If you should return to me (And if you should return to me)
We truly were meant to be (We were meant to be)
So spread your wings and fly (Spread your wings)
Butterfly (Butterfly)
(I can't pretend these tears) I can't pretend these tears aren't overflowing steadily
(I can't prevent this hurt) I can't prevent this hurt from almost overtaking me (But I will stay) But I will stand and say goodbye
(Stay and say goodbye)
For you'll never be mine
Until you know the way it feels to fly (Fly, fly, fly)
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Oh fly abandonedly into the sun (Fly… to the sun)
If you should return to me (I will know you're mine)
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly (Spread your wings and fly)
Butterfly (My butterfly)
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Fly…)
For you have become a butterfly
Oh fly abandonedly into the sun (Oh… into the sun)
If you should return to me (You)
We truly were meant to be (You and I)
So spread your wings and fly (Spread your wings)
Butterfly (Butterfly)
So flutter through the sky
Butterfly
Fly…
Spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
I am thinking of you
In my sleepless solitude tonight
If it's wrong to love you
Then my heart just won't let me be right
Cause I've drowned in you
And I won't pull through
Without you by my side
I'd give my all to have
Just one more night with you
I'd risk my life to feel
Your body next to mine
Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all for your love tonight
Baby can you feel me
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes
I can see you clearly
Vividly emblazoned in my mind
And yet you're so far
Like a distant star
I'm wishing on tonight
I'd give my all to have
Just one more night with you
I'd risk my life to feel
Your body next to mine
Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all for your love tonight
I'd give my all to have
Just one more night with you
I'd risk my life to feel
Your body next to mine
Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all for your love tonight
I'd give my all for your love
Tonight
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
It wasn't raining yet
But it was definitely
A little misty on that warm November night
And my heart was pounding (Pounding)
My inner voice resounding (Hello)
Begging me to turn away
But I just had to see your face to feel alive
And then you casually walked in the room
And I was twisted in the web of my desire for you (And I was twisted)
My apprehension blew away
I only wanted you
To taste my sadness as you kissed me in the dark
Every time I feel the need
I envision you caressing me
And go back in time (I go back, I go back)
To relive the splendor of you and I
On the rooftop that rainy night
And so we finished the Moët and
I started feeling liberated
And I surrendered as you took me in your arms (You took me in your arms)
I was so caught up in the moment
I couldn't bear to let you go yet (So I…)
So I threw caution to the wind
And started listening to my longing heart
And then you softly pressed your lips to mine (And I…)
And feelings surfaced I'd suppressed for such a long time (And I was lifted)
And for a while I forgot the sorrow and the pain
And melted with you as we stood there in the rain
Every time I feel the need
I envision you caressing me (Envision you caressing me)
And go back in time (Back…)
To relive the splendor of you and I (You and I, you and I)
On the rooftop that rainy night
Every time I feel the need (Every time)
I envision you caressing me (Envision you)
And go back in time
To relive the splendor of you and I (You…)
On the rooftop that rainy night (And I)
Last night I dreamed that I
Whispered the words I love you (That I loved you boy)
And touched you so very
Subtly as we were kissing goodbye (Kiss, kiss)
(Pretty baby — How I'm missing you)
(Every time)
Every time I feel the need
I envision you caressing me (Envision you caressing me)
And go back in time
To relive the splendor of you and I (I go back)
On the rooftop that rainy night (On the roof that rainy night)
Every time I feel the need (When I feel the need)
I envision you caressing me (I envision you over and over and over again)
And go back in time
To relive the splendor of you and I (It was oh so sweet, you and I)
On the rooftop that rainy night (On that rainy night)
Every time I feel the need (Last night I had the strangest dream…)
I envision you caressing me (It was actually quite symbolic)
And go back in time (And I whispered… That I loved you)
To relive the splendor of you and I (…very subtly)
On the rooftop that rainy night
Every time I feel the need
I envision you caressing me
And go back in time
To relive the splendor of you and I
On the rooftop that rainy night
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Cory Rooney, Albert Johnson, Kejuan Muchita.
Produced by Poke and Tone and Mariah Carey.
Trembling
Starry eyed
As you put your hand in mine…
It was twilight on the Fourth of July
Sparkling colors were strewn across the sky
And we sat close enough that we just barely touched
While roman candles went soaring above us and baby
Then you put your hand in mine
And we wandered away
I was trembling inside
But I wanted to stay (Stay)
Pressed against you there and leave the world behind
On that Fourth of July
So starry eyed on the flowery hillside
Breathless and fervid amid the dandelions
As it swept over me like the wind through the trees
I felt you sigh with a sweet intensity and baby
Then you put your hand in mine (Your hand in mine)
And we floated away (Floated away, away)
Delicately lay entwined
In an intimate daze (Intimate daze)
A crescent moon began to shine
And I wanted to stay (Stay)
Tangled up with you among the fireflies
On that Fourth of July
Thunder clouds
Hung around
So threateningly
Ominously hovering
And the sky
Opened wide
Showering
Oh yeah yeah
Then you put your hand in mine (You put your hand in mine)
And we ran from the rain (In the pouring rain)
From the rain (Baby)
Tentatively kissed goodnight
And went our separate ways (Ways)
And I've never truly felt the way that I
Felt that Fourth of July
Fourth of July
Truly I have never felt the same inside
Like that Fourth of July
Fourth of July
Truly I could never feel the same as I
Felt that Fourth of July
Oh baby
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony:
Break, break down
Steady breakin' me on down
Break, break down
Steady breakin' me on down
Break, break down
Steady breakin' me on down
Break, break down
Steady breakin' me on down
Mariah:
You called yesterday to basically say
That you care for me but that you're just not in love
Immediately, I pretended to be feeling similarly
And led you to believe I was O.K.
To just walk away from the one thing
That's unyielding and sacred to me
Well, I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my mind
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside (Underneath the guise of a smile)
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly
Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night
And turn down all the lights and then I break down and cry
So, what do you do when somebody you're so devoted to
Suddenly just stops loving you and it seems they haven't got a clue
Of the pain that rejection is putting you through
Do you cling to your pride and sing ‘I will survive’
Do you lash out and say ‘How dare you leave this way’
Do you hold on in vain as they just slip away
Well, I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my mind (Losing my mind under my smile)
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly (How do you feel?)
Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night
And turn down all the lights and then I break down and cry
Break down, break down (Gotta get control)
Break down, break down (Roll roll roll on, gotta get control)
Break down, break down (Roll roll roll on, gotta get control)
Break down, break down (Roll roll roll on, gotta get control)
Wish Bone:
It will break you down
Only if you let it
Every day crazy situations rocking my mind
Trying to break me down
But I won't let it
Forget it
Krayzie Bone:
I be feeling like you're breaking me down
Kicking me around, stressing me out
I think you better go and get out
And let me release some stress
Wish Bone:
Don't ever wanna feel no pain
Hoping for the sun but it looks like rain
Lord, I just want to maintain
Krayzie Bone:
Yeah, I can feel the pressures y'all
But nevertheless Krayzie won't fall
It's over, it's ending here
Well, I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it (I'm trying)
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my mind (I'm gradually dying inside of my heart as I cry)
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly (How do I feel)
Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering (I'm losing my mind)
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night
And turn down all the lights and then I break down and cry (Break down and cry)
Well, I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my mind
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly (How do I feel)
Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering (What do you think? You gotta know I'm suffering)
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night (And so I turn down the lights)
And turn down all the lights and then I break down and cry
Well, I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my mind
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly
Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night
And turn down all the lights and then I break down and cry
Lyrics: Mariah Carey, Anthony Henderson, Charles Scruggs. Music: Mariah Carey, Stevie J.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Stevie J. and Sean “Puffy” Combs.
It's 2:11 and I'm stressing
Watching TV in my hotel suite
I check my service every second
At 2:10 you still hadn't called me
So, I'm gonna leave my cell phone
Turned on in my purse by the bed
And before I fall asleep
I guess I'll just check my machine
Again and again because, I'm
Obsessing on you
I wanna be your babydoll
Wrap me up nice and tight
Love me all through the night
Come lay me down
Enfold me in your arms
Cover me with velvet kisses
Rock me on and on
And whisper softly to me
You wanna be my babydoll
Zoning out thinking about
You and me between the sheets
I want to get intimate
But you're not within my reach
So I'll have a little more wine
And I'll try to drink you
Out of my head
And I'll lie awake awhile
'Til I'm high enough I can
Forget about you until
I wake up again
I wanna be your babydoll
Wrap me up nice and tight
Love me all through the night
Come lay me down
Enfold me in your arms
Cover me with velvet kisses
Rock me on and on
And whisper softly to me
You wanna be my babydoll
Slipping into dreams
I feel my love surround you
My subconscious seems
To weave itself around you
Do you care for me
Beyond idolization
Tell me how you feel
But don't keep me at bay
'Cause I won't be waiting long
I wanna be your babydoll
Wrap me up nice and tight
Love me all through the night
Come lay me down
Enfold me in your arms
Cover me with velvet kisses
Rock me on and on
And whisper softly to me
You wanna be my babydoll
I wanna be your babydoll
Wrap me up nice and tight
Love me all through the night
Come lay me down
Enfold me in your arms
Cover me with velvet kisses
Rock me on and on
And whisper softly to me
You wanna be my babydoll
Lyrics: Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott. Music: Mariah Carey, Cory Rooney, Stevie J.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Cory Rooney.
I was a wayward child
With the weight of the world that I held deep inside
Life was a winding road
And I learned many things little ones shouldn't know
But I closed my eyes
Steadied my feet on the ground
Raised my head to the sky
And though time's rolled by
Still I feel like that child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Funny how one can learn
To grow numb to the madness and block it away
I left the worst unsaid
Let it all dissipate and I try to forget
As I closed my eyes
Steadied my feet on the ground
Raised my head to the sky
And the time rolled by
Still I feel like a child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Nearing the edge
Oblivious I almost fell right over
A part of me
Will never be quite able to feel stable
That woman-child
Falling inside was on the verge of fading
Thankfully I
Woke up in time
Guardian angel I
Sail away on an ocean with you by my side
Orange clouds roll by
They burn into your image and you're still alive
As I close my eyes (You're always alive)
Steady my feet on the ground
Raise my head to the sky (Guardian angel)
And though time rolls by
Still I feel like a child as I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up a little too soon
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
Love wandered inside
Stronger than you
Stronger than I
And now that it has begun
We cannot turn back
We can only turn into one
I won't ever be too
Far away to feel you
And I won't hesitate at all
Whenever you call
And I'll always remember
The part of you so tender
I'll be the one to catch your fall
Whenever you call
And I'm truly inspired
Finding my soul
There in your eyes
And you have opened my heart
And lifted me inside
By showing me yourself
Undisguised
And I won't ever be too
Far away to feel you
And I won't hesitate at all
Whenever you call
And I'll always remember
That part of you so tender
I'll be the one to catch your fall
Whenever you call
And I will breathe for you each day
Comfort you through all the pain
Gently kiss your fears away
You can turn to me and cry
Always understand that I
Give you all I am inside
And I won't ever be too
Far away to feel you
And I won't hesitate at all
Whenever you call
I won't ever be too far to feel you
And I won't hesitate at all
Whenever you call
I'll always remember
That part of you so tender
And be the one to catch your fall
Whenever you call
Whenever you call
Whenever you call
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
Don't be afraid to fly
Spread your wings
Open up the door
So much more outside
Don't be afraid to fly
Come spread your wings
And just fly away and you'll see that it's alright to
Fly
Just fly
Don't be afraid
Don't let your spirit die
She said
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Don't be afraid, don't be afraid)
For you have become a butterfly (Don't be afraid to fly)
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Fly so much more outside)
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Come spread your wings and just fly away into the sun)
For you have become a butterfly
Don't be afraid to fly
Don't be afraid to just fly
You
You have become a butterfly
Don't be afraid to just fly (Spread your wings)
Butterfly
Butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, bye bye
Butterflies are free to fly (You have become a butterfly)
Fly away, bye bye (Butterfly)
Bye bye
(Butterfly)
Butterflies are free to fly (Butterfly)
Bye bye (Butterfly)
(Butterfly)
(Butterfly)
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly (Spread your wings and fly)
For you have become a butterfly
Baby, baby, baby
What's it gonna be?
Oh baby, baby, baby
Is it him or is it me?
Don't make me waste my time
Don't make me lose my mind
Baby, baby, baby
Can't you stay with me tonight?
Oh baby, baby, baby
Come one, don't my kisses please you right?
You were so hard to find
The beautiful ones, they hurt you
Every time
Paint a perfect picture
And bring to life a vision in one's mind
The beautiful ones
The beautiful ones
Always smash the picture
Always, every time
If I told you baby
That I was in love with you
Oh baby, baby, baby
If we got married
Would that be cool?
You make me so confused
The beautiful ones
You always seem to lose
The beautiful ones
The beautiful ones
Listen, do you want him
Or do you want me?
Cause I want you
Cause I do, baby
I want you
I want you
I want you
Baby, baby, baby, baby, yeah
I may not know where I'm going baby
I may not know, said I may not know
See I may not know what I need
But I need, but I need, but I need
But one thing, one thing is for certain baby
I know what I want
And it's to please you baby
To please you baby
And I'm begging down on my knees
I want you, I want you
You're so bad to me
And I want you
Why oh why, why oh why
Why oh why
Baby I, oh baby, baby, baby
Need you, yeah
Do you wanna love me
Or do you wanna throw me away?
I gotta know, I gotta know baby
Gotta know, baby baby baby
I need you
I want you
Tell me why
The beautiful ones
They hurt you every time
Lyrics and music: Prince.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Cory Rooney.
It's hard to explain
Inherently it's just always been strange
Neither here nor there
And always somewhat out of place everywhere
Ambiguous
Without a sense of belonging to touch
Somewhere halfway
Feeling there's no one completely the same
Standing alone
Eager to just
Believe it's good enough to be what
You really are
But in your heart
Uncertainty forever lies
And you'll always be
Somewhere on the
Outside
Early on, you face
The realization you don't have a space
Where you fit in
And recognize you were born to exist
Standing alone
Eager to just
Believe it's good enough to be what
You really are
But in your heart
Uncertainty forever lies
And you'll always be
Somewhere on the
Outside
And it's hard (So hard)
And it's hard
And it's hard
Irreversibly
Falling in between
And it's hard
And it's hard
To be understood
As you are
As you are
Oh and God knows
That you're standing on your own
Blind and unguided
Into a world divided you're thrown
Where you're never quite the same
Although you try — try and try
To tell yourself
You really are
But in your heart — uncertainty forever lies
And you'll always be
Somewhere on the
Outside
You'll always be
Somewhere on the
Outside
Lyrics: Mariah Carey. Music: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff. Co-produced by Cory Rooney.
