Heartbreak Hotel Lyrics

[Intro: Whitney Houston]
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (Oh)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (Yeah, oh yeah)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel

[Verse 1: Whitney Houston]
You said you'd be here by nine
Instead, you took your time
You didn't think to call me, boy
Here I sit, trying not to cry
Asking myself why, uh, you do this to me (Mm, oh baby)

[Pre-Chorus: Faith Evans]
Since you're not around for me
To tell you, baby, face to face
I'm writing you this letter
And this is what I have to say

[Chorus: All (Whitney)]
All I really wanted was some of your time
Instead, you told me lies when someone else was on your mind
What'd you do to me? What'd you do?
Look what you did to me (Oh, baby)
I thought that you were someone who would do me right
(Do me right)
Until you played with my emotions and you made me cry
(Made me cry)
What'd you do to me?
Can't take what you did to me
[Verse 2: Whitney Houston]
Now I see, that you've been doing wrong
Played me all along
And made a fool of me, baby (Ah)
You got it all wrong to think that I wouldn't find out, uh
That you were cheating on me, baby
How could you do it to me? Mm, oh, babe

[Pre-Chorus: Kelly Price & (Faith Evans)]
Since you're not around for me
To tell you, baby, face to face (Mmm)
I'm writing you this letter
And this is what I have to say, oh

[Chorus: All (Kelly & Whitney)]
All I really wanted was some of your time
Instead, you told me lies when someone else was on your mind
What'd you do to me? (All you did was lie to me, baby)
Look what you did to me (Can't believe what you did to me, yeah, yeah)
I thought that you were someone who would do me right (Ooh)
Until you played with my emotions and you made me cry
What'd you do to me? (Why'd you do it?)
Can't take what you did to me
(You didn't have to do it to me, baby)

[Bridge: Whitney (Whitney, Faith, Kelly)]
Heartbreak Hotel (Ohh-oh-ohh)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (Oh-oh-oh)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (I, I, I, why'd you do it? Yeah-ah)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (All I wanted!)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (This the heartbreak)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (Welcome to heartbreak)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel (Why, yeah, why'd you do it?)
This is the Heartbreak Hotel
[Chorus: All, Kelly (Kelly, Whitney, Faith)]
All I really wanted was some of your time (Oh, baby)
Instead, you told me lies when someone else was on your mind
What'd you do to me? (Ooh, all I really wanted, ah)
Look what you did to me (It's all I really wanted, baby)
I thought that you were someone who would do me right, do me wrong
Until you played with my emotions and you made me cry (Can't take it no more)
What'd you do to me?
Can't take what you did to me
(I wanted your love)
All I really wanted was some of your time (All I really want)
Instead, you told me lies when someone else was on your mind
What'd you do to me? (Do me right, can't take it no more)
Look what you did to me (Why did you do me that way?)
I thought that you were someone who would do me right
(Thought you'd do me right)
Until you played with my emotions and you made me cry
(But you made me cry)
What'd you do to me? (Oh-whoa-oh-oh)
Can't take what you did to me

[Outro: Whitney Houston]
I ain't gon' to take it, I ain't gon' take it no more
I ain't gon' to take it, boy
I ain't gon' to take it no more
Oh, everything that you said was a lie
Don't lie to me
Tell me what it is and I'll be alright

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About

Genius Annotation

Released on December 15, 1998 as the second single from [My Love Is Your Love], “Heartbreak Hotel” was the first introduction to Whitney’s new more Urban-oriented sound and the first non-soundtrack single she had released in years.

The song and accompanying video featured R&B singers Kelly Price and Faith Evans on vocals. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #2 on the Hot 100.

“Heartbreak Hotel” was originally offered to girl group TLC
for their third studio album “FanMail. The group passed on it, a move that was publicly critized my member Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes after it became a massive hit for Whitney.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What has Soulshock said about the song?
Genius Answer

We wrote that with Tamara Savage and that was her first song. We took the song to Clive and he instantly wanted it. We had some drama with that because TLC wanted it too. LA Reid wasn’t super happy with us because it was the second time we had done that because he also wanted “Before You walk out my life” for Toni Braxton. We flew to New York to record that song. We had been in with a lot of people, but going in with Whitney Houston was another level. We drove to this mansion in New Jersey where her and Bobby Brown lived. We drove to her place a few times and her assistant Robin would say “Sorry, she isn’t available today”. One day the gate finally opened and the house was incredible. There was an indoor swimming pool and a recording studio in one building and she lived in another. We stated setting up and we were just waiting for her. She had bought her neighbors estate just to make it her home studio. Her and Bobby came in and I was a little boy from Denmark. I was just so blown away. “Heartbreak Hotel” is a complicated song to sing because she has to bounce with her vocals. She just wasn’t used to that. She did one take and it was awful. I looked at Karlin and said “I’m not telling Whitney that the vocals were bad”. Whitney stopped and was like “Listen, you guys wrote this song .Just tell me how to sing it”. She went in again and it was horrible and then she left. Kelly Price came in the next day and blows everyone away. Faith comes in and her voice was so magical. We had the whole record, but the only problem was that Bobby Brown was doing the “This is the Heartbreak Hotel” part and Clive didn’t want him on it. Clive also told us “Don’t come back until I’m blown away by Whitney’s vocals”. We went back into the studio and told her what Clive said. We played the song and it was quiet after. Whitney went back in and nailed it. It was so incredible. At the end, I got Whitney to say “This is the heartbreak Hotel” once and looped it so Bobby wouldn’t be on it.

-From YouKnowIGotSoul

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