Rock Your Body

Album

Justified

Label

Jive Records

Genre

Disco

Media Type

CD

Composer(s)

Chad Hugo;Justin Timberlake;Pharrell Williams

Entered Chart

Mar 22, 2003

Peak Date

May 10, 2003

Released

March 17, 2003

Recorded

2002

Catalog #

Jive Album Cut

B-Side

Worthy Of

Similar to the 1979 Michael Jackson hit "Rock With You," this song finds Timberlake getting it on with a girl on the dance floor. But while Jackson's song makes just opaque reference to what might happen at the end of the night, "Rock Your Body" gets a lot more saucy, with some cocky flirtation by Justin. When it girl looks like she's going to make her exit, he tells her, "Don't be so quick to walk away." He drops a few more lines, then goes for the big finish, telling her, "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song." This was produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, who were known as The Neptunes. In addition to their group N.E.R.D, they worked on songs for Jay Z, Kelis, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Nelly and many others. This song helped Timberlake transform from a teen idol to a legitimate R&B/pop star. As a member of The Mickey Mouse Club and the group 'N Sync, he had a very clean image and appealed to a very young audience. "Rock Your Body" has a slinky dance groove that appeals to all ages, but the lyrics are PG-13, giving it more agency with adults. Timberlake performed this with Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. At the end of the performance, he sang the line, "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song," and ripped off part of Jackson's costume, revealing her breast. Timberlake and Jackson claimed it was a "wardrobe malfunction," but it was pretty clearly staged. CBS, which aired the Super Bowl, came under pressure from outraged viewers and from the FCC. They ran the Grammys a week later on a five-minute delay to avoid more problems, and allowed Timberlake and Jackson on the show only if they agreed to apologize. Janet was scheduled to appear as part of a Luther Vandross tribute, but backed out. Timberlake showed up and apologized to anyone he offended. He won his first two awards at the ceremony, Album Of The Year for Justified and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Cry Me A River," and quickly got his career back on track. His fellow 'N Sync member JC Chasez got caught in the fallout - the NFL canceled his appearance at halftime of the Pro Bowl. Jackson never did another NFL event, but in 2018, Timberlake, apparently absolved by the league, returned to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. The beat was intended for Michael Jackson's comeback album Invincible, but The Neptunes ended up selling the track to Timberlake instead. >> Fourteen years after the famous "wardrobe malfunction," Timberlake returned to the Super Bowl, where he was once again that halftime entertainment. Again, he played this song, but this time he cut it off before he got to the "have you naked" line.

Don't be so quick to walk away
Dance with me
I wanna rock your body
Please stay
Dance with me
You don't have to admit you wanna play
Dance with me
Just let me rock you
Till the break of day
Dance with me

Guy time, but I don't mind
Just wanna rock you girl
I'll have whatever you have
Come on, just give it a whirl
See I've been watching you
I like the way you move
So go ahead, girl, just do
That ass shaking thing you do

So you grab your girls
And you grab a couple more
And you all come meet me
In the middle of the floor
Said the air is thick, it's smelling right
So you pass to the left and you sail to the right

Don't be so quick to walk away
Dance with me
I wanna rock your body
Please stay
Dance with me
You don't have to admit you wanna play
Dance with me
Just let me rock you
Till the break of day
Dance with me

I don't mean no harm
Just wanna rock you girl
Make a move, but be calm
Let's go, let's give it a whirl
See it appears to me
You like the way I move
I'll tell you what I'm gonna do
Pull you close and share my groove

So you grab your girls
And you grab a couple more
And you all come meet me
In the middle of the floor
Said the air is thick, it's smelling right
So you pass to the left and you sail to the right

Don't be so quick to walk away
Dance with me
I wanna rock your body
Please stay
Dance with me
You don't have to admit you wanna play
Dance with me
Just let me rock you
Till the break of day
Dance with me

Talk to me boy
No disrespect, I don't mean no harm
Talk to me boy
I can't wait to have you in my arms
Talk to me boy
Hurry up cause you're taking too long
Talk to me boy
Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song

So what did you come for
I came to dance with you
And you know that you don't want to hit the floor
I came to romance with you
You're searching for love forever more
It's time to take a chance
If love is here on the floor, girl

Hey
Dance with me
Yea
Come on baby

Don't be so quick to walk away
(Don't walk away)
(Come on and)
Dance with me
I wanna rock your body
(Let me rock your body)
Please stay
(Come on and)
Dance with me
You don't have to admit you wanna play
(You don't have to admit you wanna play, just)
Dance with me
Just let me rock you
(Do do do do)
Till the break of day
(Come on and)
Dance with me

Talk to me boy
No disrespect, I don't mean no harm
Talk to me boy
But I can't wait to have you in my arms
Talk to me boy
Hurry up cause you're taking too long
Talk to me boy
Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song

Don't be so quick to walk away
(Just think of me and you)
Don't be so quick to walk away
(We could do something)
Don't be so quick to walk away
(I like the way you look right now)
Don't be so quick to walk away
(Come over here baby)

Are you feeling me?
Let's do something
Let's make a bet
Cause I, gotta have you naked by the end of this song