What You Did Lyrics
Oh baby
[Verse 1: Mahalia]
I know what you did
Yeah, I know, I know
And I wanna talk 'bout it
And I know you don't
I been holding guard for so long, so long
And I don't know where to start, I don't know where to start
Tell me where you hide, where do you go?
Tell me is she nice, does she know I know?
Tell me why you lie, tell me why
I don't know what you are, I don't know what you are, no
[Chorus: Mahalia]
What you did
Yeah, you know I love you but I can't forgive it
You could tell me stay, but I have to go
'Cause I would not expect someone to stay around
If I let them down, oh
[Verse 2: Ella Mai]
Oh, it's funny how
Right when I let my guard down
You play around
And no, not this time, we can't hash it out
It's too late for me to stay
I wish all the things you say was what your behaviour displayed
But, no, I could've done without lies, lies
And although I know love is blind, blind
This just don't feel right
Ain't no more we, ain't no more you with me
What you did (What you did)
You know I love you but I can't forgive it (I can't forgive)
You could tell me stay, but I have to go (I gotta go)
'Cause I would not expect someone to stay around
If I let them down, oh
What you did (What you did)
Yeah, you know I love you but I can't forgive it (You know I love you, boy)
You could tell me stay, but I have to go (Stay)
'Cause I would not expect someone to stay around
If I let them down, oh
[Bridge: Mahalia]
Oh, you've become the reason I'm so down (Down, down)
Oh, I won't excuse you, I don't wanna go down, yeah (Down, down)
Do you know that you've been the reason I'm so low? (So low)
So you told me to stay here, but you know that I won't
'Cause I still can't believe
[Chorus: Mahalia, Ella Mai]
What you did, no
You know I love you but I can't forgive it
You could tell me stay, but I have to go
'Cause I would not expect someone to stay around
If I let them down, oh
What you did (What you do, what you do)
Yeah, you know I love you but I can't forgive it (Can't forgive, can't, can't forgive)
You could tell me stay, but I have to go (Have to go)
'Cause I would not expect someone to stay around
If I let them down, oh
Wow (Don't apologize, please)
I would never, I would never do it, baby (After all, you've had your fun; oh boy)
(Don't try change my mind, please)
Don't try change my mind
(Baby, me and you are done)
Me and you are done
(Boy, oh boy)
(Boy, oh boy)
About
“What You Did” is the fifth single off of Mahalia’s debut album Love and Compromise.
It features Grammy award-winning British singer-songwriter Ella Mai, thus marking the pair’s first musical collaboration, although Mahalia was the opener for Mai’s 2019 North American tour.
The accompanying music video was dropped on September 9, 2019. Some sequences pay tribute to late R&B legend Aaliyah, with the two British songstresses wearing the same outfit Aaliyah had in her “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” video.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
We wrote this song, then right at the last minute – on day of delivery – I got a text from Ella Mai on Friday evening asking, ‘Is your album submitted?’ She said, ‘Aww, I would’ve loved to have been a part of it.’ When she said that to me, it was really interesting to me. I’d never had somebody…never even thought of an artist messaging me to say they would’ve loved to have been a part of my thing.
During Part 3 of her Love and Compromise Track By Track Breakdown video, Mahalia explained the meaning of this song as:
This song’s about being cheated on, to be quite frank. Uh, it’s about being hurt and it’s about feeling disrespected and it’s about feeling betrayed, um, and it’s kind of my first time really writing a song like that. I think, you know, for a long time, I steered away from that stuff because I never really experienced it and then I did experience it and I was like, “Oh, I understand why there’re so many songs about this because it hurts!”
- 1.Hide Out
- 3.Simmer
- 4.Good Company
- 5.What Am I?
- 7.Karma
- 8.He’s Mine
- 9.What You Did
- 10.Do Not Disturb
- 11.Richie
- 12.Consistency
- 13.Square 1
