Hard Habit To Break

Album

Chicago 17

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Soft Rock

Composer(s)

Steve Kipner, John Parker

Entered Chart

Aug 4, 1984

Peak Date

Oct 20, 1984

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Warner/Full Moon 29214

B-Side

Remember The Feeling

In this song, a man takes his wife/girlfriend for granted until she can't take it anymore and walks out. Now he's unable to cope with her rejection. Huey Lewis & the News had a hit the previous year with another song comparing a woman to an addiction: "I Want A New Drug." >> Chicago wrote most of their own songs, but they used outside writers on this one: Steve Kipner and Jon Parker. Kipner also wrote "Physical" and "Genie in a Bottle." Parker has written many songs as well as music for TV shows, including the game show Family Feud. This song makes great use of two very different voices in the band: Peter Cetera sings most of the verses, while Bill Champlin comes in for the chorus ("I'm addicted to you baby!"). David Foster produced this and the rest of the tracks on the Chicago 17 album. Foster had a longstanding relationship with Peter Cetera; when Cetera went solo, Foster continued to work with him, co-writing Cetera's hit "Glory Of Love." The Foster sound was hot, but it muted the band's famous horn section, which was a point of contention in the band and a disappointment to their longtime fans who were looking for an uptempo, brassy sound and not keyboard-driven ballads. Chicago were never MTV stars, but they did have a presence on the network. The video for this song was directed by Leslie Libman, who also did their clip for "You're the Inspiration."

I guess I thought you'd be here forever
Another illusion I chose to create
You don't know what you got until it's gone
And I found out a little too late
I was acting as if you were lucky to have me
Doin' you a favor, I hardly knew you were there
But then you were gone, and it all was wrong
Had no idea how much I cared

Now being without you takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it but I don't want to
Being without you is all a big mistake
Instead of getting easier, it's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to you babe, you're a hard habit to break

You found someone else you had every reason
You know I can't blame you for runnin' to him
Two people together but livin' alone
I was spreading my love too thin
After all of these years I'm still tryin' to shake it
Doin' much better, they say that it just takes time
But deep in the night, it's an endless fight
I can't get you out of my mind

Now being without you takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it but I don't want to
Being without you is all a big mistake
Instead of getting any easier, it's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to you babe, you're a hard habit to break

Can't go on, just can't go on, on
Can't go on, just can't go on, on

Now being without you takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it but I don't want to
Being without you is all a big mistake
Instead of getting any easier, it's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to you

You're a hard habit to break (you're a hard habit to break) (just can't go on)
Such a hard habit to break (such a hard habit to break) (just can't go on)
I'm addicted to you
You're a hard habit to break (you're a hard habit to break) (just can't go on)
Such a hard habit to break (such a hard habit to break) (just can't go on)
I'm addicted to you baby