Madonna - Justify My Love (1990) lyrics

B-side "Express Yourself
Release date: November 6, 1990


"Justify My Love" is a song by American singer Madonna from her first greatest hits compilation album The Immaculate Collection (1990). It was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records as the lead single from The Immaculate Collection. The song was written by Lenny Kravitz and Ingrid Chavez, with additional lyrics by Madonna. Chavez was not credited on the song, which led to a lawsuit against Kravitz. Chavez settled out-of-court, the terms of which included a songwriting credit. Madonna's vocals are primarily spoken and whispered, but almost never sung, a style that she later employed on her following studio album Erotica (1992).

Musically, "Justify My Love" is a trip hop song, with mid-tempo settings and instrumentation. The lyrics of the song are primarily about sex and romance. "Justify My Love" received mixed reviews from older critics, but was critically appreciated by many contemporary critics, noting it as one of Madonna's best songs to date. The song became Madonna's ninth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two in the United Kingdom, while reaching the Top 10 in several countries including Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Italy and Switzerland.

The accompanying music video portrayed Madonna as a woman walking in a hotel hallway, looking distressed and tired from work, until being seduced into having sex with a mysterious man and woman. It caused controversy worldwide, due to its explicit sexual images, and was subsequently banned from MTV and other TV networks. The video, which contained imagery of sadomasochism, voyeurism, and bisexuality, made its US television debut December 3, 1990, on ABC during its late-night news program Nightline. The song was part of the setlist of three of her concert tours, the most recent being The MDNA Tour in 2012. In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "Justify My Love" at number 842 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".


"Justify My Love" was originally written and recorded by Ingrid Chavez, Prince's protégé and friend, and Lenny Kravitz: he and producer André Betts composed the music while Chavez penned the lyrics based on a poem she had written for Kravitz, and read them aloud. Kravitz added the title hook and chorus to the demo while Madonna corrected one line. Chavez was not credited for the song and later sued Kravitz in 1992: she received an out-of-court settlement, and gained a co-writing credit for her work. When the lawsuit was settled, Chavez's attorney Steven E. Kurtz clarified that Madonna's additional writing credit was not questioned in the lawsuit.The song was released on November 6, 1990, three days before the release of The Immaculate Collection.

Producer Kravitz used the drums found on Public Enemy's instrumental, "Security of the First World", without consent, which was in turn based on the end drum break of James Brown's "Funky Drummer", and used it as the basis of the song. The song was unusual in that Madonna's vocals are primarily spoken and whispered, but almost never sung. This style served as a prelude to her next album Erotica, in which she spoke the lyrics on some of the songs rather than singing them. Kravitz and Madonna provided background vocals. Chavez' had previously provided the "spoken intro" to Prince's 1988 song "Eye No", and Chavez' vocal style on her 1991 debut album has been described as "breathy spoken passages"