[Intro] Look (Ooh) I know we've been friends for a while now (Hey, hey) But, I just feel like I can confess to you (Na-na-na-na-na, yeah) It's gon' be hard but (Oh) Alright, here it goes
[Verse 1] Imagine that the pillow that you cried on was my chest And the tissue that you wiped your face with was my hand Girl, imagine if you needed advice about some other guy I'm the one that comes to mind Not tryna hear you tell nobody that I'm just a friend Just tryna make sure I'm that body that you call your man And any time you need a shoulder It's yours, night or day, but what I'm tryna say is
[Verse 2] Would it be cool, would you mind if I called you my boo? What if the next whip you was pushing was the one I bought for you? Can I be the one that meets your pops and take your mama shopping? Be the only one they like Wait, have you thought about it Wait, really thought about it? Maybe you should take some time Call your girls and talk about it, yeah 'Cause I done already made up my mind (My mind) Don't need no more time to know if I wanna be with you
[Bridge] Put me on your screen saver, all over your MySpace And make me one of your top favorites, that's where I wanna be The one you crying for, stand up for and fighting for Wanna be your good, bad, love, hate, girl Cross my heart, hope to die, on everything that's good I'ma do you right, show you right, get this understood Cross my heart, hope to die, on everything that's good I'ma do you right, show you right, get this understood
[Outro] Oh, I wanna be yours Girl, I wanna be yours I wanna be yours Be yours I wanna be, be yours I wanna be, be yours
Embed
About
Genius Annotation1 contributor
In “I Wanna Be,” Chris musters up the courage to confess his true feelings to a girl he’s been friends with for a while. He wants to be this girl’s everything, including her right-hand man for advice, her boyfriend, and her soldier who will fight for her.
The track describes a high school relationship, with lyrics such as “last number you call late at night” and mention of being a top favorite on MySpace—which was a popular social network in the early 2000s.
Expand
+13
Share
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Ask a question
Has this song been sampled?
Genius Answer
1 contributor
Yes! Deer sampled “I Wanna Be” on his 2014 track “I Wanna Be (A Dick):”