Music Friday: ‘Some People Want Diamond Rings’ in Alicia Keys’ 2004 Hit ‘If I Ain’t Got You’
January 31st, 2014
Welcome to Music Friday when we regularly bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics.
Today, we welcome R&B artist Alicia Keys singing her 2004 Grammy-award-winning hit, “If I Ain’t Got You.”
The soulful song from Keys’ chart-topping album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, asks the listener to put into perspective what is really important in life. Surely one can dream of fortune, fame, eternal youth and diamond rings. “But everything means nothing,” Keys sings, “if I ain't got you.”
Keys revealed in a magazine interview that the song was inspired by the tragic passing in 2001 of Aaliyah, an up-and-coming singer, who died in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22. “It just made everything crystal clear to me,” Keys said.
“If I Ain’t Got You” earned two Grammy nominations is 2005 — one for Song of the Year and the other for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, with Keys winning the latter.
The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and was #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list for six weeks.
Here’s some little known Alicia Keys trivia: The soulful singer appeared on the Cosby Show when she was just four years old, playing the part of one of Rudy Huxtable’s sleepover guests in the 1985 episode titled “Slumber Party.”
Keys has sold more than 65 million records worldwide and was named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All time by VH1 in 2010.
We invite you to enjoy the video of Key’s live performance of “If I Ain’t Got You.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.
“If I Ain’t Got You”
Written and performed by Alicia Keys.
Some people live for the fortune
Some people live just for the fame
Some people live for the power, yeah
Some people live just to play the game
Some people think that the physical things
Define what's within
And I've been there before
But that life's a bore
So full of the superficial
[Chorus:]
Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, yeah
Some people search for a fountain
That promises forever young
Some people need three dozen roses
And that's the only way to prove you love them
Hand me the world on a silver platter
And what good would it be
With no one to share
With no one who truly cares for me
[Chorus:]
Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, you, you
Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, yeah
[Outro:]
If I ain't got you with me baby
So nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing
If I ain't got you with me baby
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