Try Again

Album

Romeo Must Die: The Album

Label

Blackground Records

Genre

Stage & Screen

Composer(s)

Timothy Mosley;Stephen Garrett

Entered Chart

Mar 18, 2000

Peak Date

Jun 17, 2000

Released

March 21, 2000

Recorded

1999 Studio Manhattan Center (New York City)

Catalog #

Blackground 38722

B-Side

(3 versions)

This was featured in the movie Romeo Must Die. Aaliyah stared in the movie opposite Jet Li. It was her first film role, and a promising start to her acting career. Unfortunately, Aaliyah appeared in just one more movie: Queen of the Damned, which was released after her death. Timbaland produced this song and wrote it with Stephen Garrett; the pair had previously collaborated on the Ginuwine song "Pony" and on Aaliyah's first hit "Are You That Somebody?," which was used on the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack. Garrett, who was in a group called Playa, died in 2008 from a rare medical condition. He was 33. The "It's been a long time, we shouldn't have left you... without a dope beat to step to" line is a variation on a lyric from the 1987 Eric B. & Rakim song "I Know You Got Soul," where Rakim raps: "It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you... without a strong rhyme to step to." This was the first song to top the Hot 100 based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included. Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the chart (which is why songs like "Stairway To Heaven" and "Don't Speak" didn't place). "Try Again" wasn't released as a commercial single until it fell from #1 - if you wanted to own it before then, you had to buy the Romeo Must Die soundtrack. This won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video For A Film. This got a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. It lost to "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton. The video features Aaliyah's Romeo Must Die co-star, Jet Li. It was directed by Wayne Isham, whose many credits include "Piece Of Me" by Britney Spears and "All The Right Moves" by OneRepublic. This was used in a 2013 episode of The Mindy Project in a scene where the character Danny does a dance routine to it as a secret Santa gift for Mindy.

It's been a long time (long time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, step to, step to, freaky, freaky)
It's been a long time (time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, step to, freaky, freaky, freaky, baby girl, uh)

What would you do to get to me?
What would you say to have your way?
Would you give it up or try again?
If I hesitate to let you in?
Now would you be yourself or play a role?
Tell all the boys or keep it low?
If I say no, would you turn away
Or play me off or would you stay? Oh

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
Then dust yourself off, and try again
You can dust it off and try again, try again
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
You can dust it off and try again
Dust yourself off and try again, try again (again, again)

I'm into you, you into me
But I can't let it go, so easily
Not 'til I see, what this could be
Could be eternity, or just a week
You know our chemistry, it's off the chain
It's perfect now, but will it change?
This ain't a yes, this ain't a no
Just do your thang, we'll see how it goes, ohh

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
(Yeah) then dust yourself off, and try again (again)
You can dust it off and try again, try again (hey)
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed, ooh)
You can dust it off and try again (try again)
Dust yourself off and try again (yeah), try again

See you don't wanna throw it all away
I might be shy on the first day
What about the next day?
Huh, huh, huh, huh
I said, you don't wanna throw it all away (yeah)
I might be buggin' on the first day
But what about the next day (yeah)?
Huh (huh), huh, huh (huh), huh (ohh)

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
Then dust yourself off, and try again
You can dust it off and try again, try again
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
You can dust it off and try again
Dust yourself off and try again, try again (again, again)

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed, yeah)
Then dust yourself off (you can), and try again (again)
You can dust it off and try again, try again
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed, ohh)
You can dust it off and try again (again)
Dust yourself off and try again (yeah), try again (again, again)

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed, no)
Then dust yourself off, and try again (again)
You can dust it off and try again ('gain), try again
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed, baby)
You can dust it off (yeah) and try again (yeah)
Dust yourself off and try again, try again (again, again)

It's been a long time (time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, what? Step to, step to, freaky, freaky)
It's been a long time (time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, what? Uh, Step to, step to, freaky, freaky)
(It's been a long time)

And if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
Then dust yourself off, and try again
You can dust it off and try again, try again
'Cause if at first you don't succeed (first you don't succeed)
You can dust it off and try again
Dust yourself off and try again, try again (again, again)

It's been a long time (time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, what? Step to, step to, freaky, freaky, woo)
It's been a long time (time) we shouldn't left you (left you)
Without a dope beat to step to
(Step to, step to, step to, what? Step to, step to, freaky, freaky)
We out
One more thing
The new millennium, baby
And we out
You guess who it is