If I Had – English Lyrics

• By: Don Toliver, Charlie Wilson
• Album: Love Sick

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the nuances of longing and devotion in Don Toliver's “If I Had,” featuring Charlie Wilson. This soulful R&B track offers listeners a chance to delve into heartfelt expressions of love and the desire to cherish a relationship, enhanced by its intimate musical atmosphere.

[English]

If I had your love in my hand, Keep it forever

If I had your love in my hand, Keep it forever

I'm tired baby, I'm tired baby

Where I'm basically waiting for you (No no,no)

Where I'm basically waiting for you (What'd you do baby)

Where I'm basically waiting for you (What'd you do baby)

Where I'm basically waiting for you

If I had your love in my hand

Keep it forever

If I had your love in my hand

Keep it forever

Know, Know what I'd do

If I had you in my hand

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

What would I do if I had you in my arms (If I had)

If I had you (Your love)

Your beautiful

If I had you in my arms

Come go with me baby (If I had)

If I had your love in my arms (I love you baby)

Keep it forever (But I need you right now baby, I need you right now baby)

If I had your love in my hand (Wanna go with me right now baby)

Keep it forever (I need you, I need your love right now)

Your beautiful, beautiful

Beautiful, beautiful beautiful, love me baby

Haha, get your ass out of here child

You don't really got it

...

Key Grammar Structures

• If I had your love in my hand, Keep it forever

  ➔ Second Conditional

  ➔ The structure 'If + past simple, would + base verb' expresses an unreal or hypothetical situation. Here, it suggests the speaker doesn't currently have the love and is imagining what they would do if they did. The second part, 'Keep it forever', is a result clause.

• I'm tired baby, I'm tired baby

  ➔ Present Continuous for emphasis/state

  ➔ While 'tired' is often a state, using the present continuous ('I'm tired') emphasizes the *current* feeling of tiredness. It's not a permanent condition, but how the speaker feels *right now*. The repetition reinforces this feeling.

• What'd you do baby

  ➔ Contraction & Past Simple

  ➔ "What'd" is a contraction of "What would" or "What did". Here, it's 'What did you do?', using the past simple to inquire about a past action. The 'baby' is a vocative, directly addressing the listener.

• You're beautiful

  ➔ Present Continuous for a general truth/quality

  ➔ Although 'beautiful' is a quality, using 'You're' (You are) with the present continuous implies it's a generally accepted truth about the person, not just a temporary state. It's a common way to express admiration.