Flashback Friday: "End of the Road" - Boyz II Men (1992)

So, the movies.

Make no mistake: When I said that the movie songs dominated the charts back in the day, I meant it. This song was Boyz II Men’s most successful single, as well as the most successful Motown single, ever. Yep, it was featured in a movie.

That movie was Boomerang, a movie which I have never seen and barely even heard about until this review. Honestly, given the lukewarm reception, I don’t think it was the strength of the movie here that propelled this single to #1: I think it had something to do with the song.

And what a song it is. So emotionally powerful, exactly what one would expect from Boyz II Men today. However, it’s not perfect. There’s one part of this song that rubs me the wrong way. It’s in the spoken word after the second chorus. See, the song is about a desperately-in-love guy who is willing to forgive his cheating girlfriend if she would just come back to him. And it’s all fine and good, up until about here:

I'm not out to go out and cheat on you all night
Just like you did baby but that's all right

Passive aggression: what every lady should look for in a man.

The guy does redeem himself with heartfelt lines like this:

Right now, I'm just in so much pain baby
'Cause you just won't come back to me

D’awww.

Ultimately though, it’s not the lines that make this song great. It’s the flawless delivery. There’s no way you can listen to this song and not feel a twinge of sadness for the narrator. Although I guess the movie would help to create the illusion that this is one guy, and not… five.

I’m not helping my case, am I? Look, it’s a love song by what could be classified as a Motown boy band. This was their “I Want it That Way” (until they had other hits of equal caliber). But the difference is I actually believe the emotion conveyed here. They sound really desperate for love, rather than the fabrication of love to make money. And if they succeed in that for this song, then it can only be declared a success.