About The Song
“Come Back to Me” is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fourth studio album Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson in collaboration with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The R&B ballad talks about a lover trying to rekindle a romance that faded away a long time ago. It was released as the fifth single from the album in the United States on June 18, 1990, while in the United Kingdom, it was issued as the album’s third single on January 15, 1990. Jackson also recorded a Spanish version of the song titled “Vuelve a mí”.
The song received positive reviews from most music critics, who praised Jackson’s sweet delivery and the song’s instrumentation; it was also called a sexy and silky ballad. It became a commercial success on the charts, reaching the top three in Canada and the United States, while also reaching the top twenty in the United Kingdom. The music video for the song was directed by Dominic Sena and it was set in Paris. The romantic video features Jackson’s former husband René Elizondo Jr. Jackson has performed the track in all of her tours, with the exception of The Velvet Rope Tour (1998).
While writing for her fourth studio album, Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson felt a lot of pressure to follow up the success of previous album, Control (1986). Jackson enlisted previous collaborators and record producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to work with her on the album, and according to the duo, she was excited, and creative juices were flowing.”[3] Jam claimed, “It was me, Janet, Terry and [executive producer] John McClain — and Rene Elizondo also. Let me include him on the creative mix. If the ideas weren’t flowing from that group of people, they weren’t really being listened to.” The album’s concept was developed after Jackson, Jam and Lewis watched many social problems that were going on in the world on TV, such as racism, homelessness, drugs and illiteracy. However, the second half of the record is composed with love songs, with “Come Back to Me” being one of them
Following “Alright”, “Come Back to Me” was announced to be “Rhythm Nation”‘s fifth single and it was released on June 18, 1990. Its CD single contains the B-side “The Skin Game Pt. 1”, while “The Skin Game Pt. 2” is an instrumental which appears exclusively on selected releases. Jackson also recorded the song in Spanish, titled “Vuelve a mí” which also appears on selected releases. In the UK, the song was released as the third single from the album, in January 1990.
Video
Lyrics
Came across the letter you wrote
Said you needed time away
That was so long ago
All my life I’ve waited
To see your smile again
In my mind I hated
Not able to let go
Come back to me
I’m beggin’ you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me
I’m beggin’ you please
Come back to me
Lord knows that I have tried
To live my life as one
Friends tell me to hold on
Tough times don’t last for long
My abandoned heart
Just doesn’t understand
My undying love for you
Won’t let me wait
Come back to me
I’m beggin’ you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me
I’m beggin’ you please
Come back to me
I want you to
Come back to me
Come back
I want you to
Come back to me
Come back
Please come back to me
I miss you so much
Wherever you are I love you
All my life I’ve waited
To see your smile again
In my mind I hated
Not able to let go