Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell is a great song, and Campbell does an amazing job singing it.
Yet I want to just take a minute and appreciate the song writing behind it. Babyface and Daryl Simmons put in God tier work when they wrote this song.
"But just like a baby I could not talk
And I tried to come closer but could not walk"
Like WHY DO YOU HAVE A LINE THAT GOES THIS HARD IN A SONG ABOUT NOT MISSING YOUR CHANCE????!
I know it's a fairly popular song and even though it never reached #1 status back in the day everything about this song is exceptional.
If you take some of the lyrics out in a vacuum you'd think that Tevin was singing about something so much more serious.
But the beauty is that in context thinking of it as an young adult/teenager singing the song, missing your chance with dream girl/girl *IS* that serious.
Which is why when Tevin sings so damn hard, it's convincing.
I know part of it is that we are so much more aware in 2023/24 of how creepy guys can be, but there's also this pureness in the way he sings the song that him going so hard over just trying to to all to a girl and introduce himself transcends everything else.
This song perfectly encapsulates that wonderful moment where anything is possible, where dreams live for ever, where you haven't seen the others persons flaws and/or red flags yet.
The beauty is that it never tries to be more.
No going off into forever, no promising kids or marriage.
Just a guy begging to make a second first impression.
If you've never heard it, your never made it this far down my unexpected little mini thread. But if you are somehow reading this and never heard it, give it a listen.
Transport yourself back in time to when that introduction to the boy/girl was the most important thing in your life, - especially if you fumbled it.
Tell me this doesn't capture that moment perfectly.
-fin