If I Ain't Got You

Released February 17, 2004. "If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American R&B-soul singer Alicia Keys for her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Released in February 2004 as the album's second single, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Keys' second consecutive R&B chart-topper, remaining atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for six weeks. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart for 2004. A remix featuring Usher and a Spanish-language version featuring Arturo Sandoval appear on the bonus CD of select international pressings of The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song is featured in the 2004 PlayStation 2 karaoke game Karaoke Revolution Volume 3. The single's music video, directed by Diane Martel, is set in a wintry New York City and features a cameo by rapper-actor Method Man as Keys' boyfriend. The song has been covered four times on American Idol, by Vonzell Solomon, Kinnik Sky, Syesha Mercado, and Taylor Vaifanua. Eli Mattson also sang this song on America's Got Talent in 2008. British indie band Athlete have covered the song on Radio 1. The single cover depicts Keys similarly to the subject of Man Ray's 1924 painting Le Violon d'Ingres.

[Verse 1] Some people live for the fortune Some people live just for the fame Some people live for the power, yeah Some people live just to play the game Some people think That the physical things Define what's within And I've been there before And that life's a bore So full of the superficial [Chorus] Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, yeah [Verse 2] Some people search for a fountain That promises forever young Some people need three dozen roses And that's the only way to prove you love them Hand me the world on a silver platter And what good would it be With no one to share With no one who truly cares for me [Chorus] Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, you, you Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, yeah [Outro] If I ain't got you with me, baby, oh, ooh Said nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing If I ain't got you with me, baby