Music Review: Janet Jackson "Miss You Much"

Janet Jackson

Miss You Much

Album: Rhythm Nation 1814

Year: 1989

            Janet Jackson can’t be away from her new boyfriend in the unabashed “Miss You Much.”

         Anticipating synths open the single, setting an unpredictable  tone.  She taps her foot on the floor and looks at the clock. Her appointment was an hour ago. She tries to read the magazine, which has been on page 47 for a good while now. She wishes her boyfriend was here with her to keep her company. He would joke with her about wait. Without him, it’s as though she’s lacking some nutrient to stay alive. She cares for him. However, she’s still trying to play it cool, downplaying her strong feelings around him. She starts imagining kissing him when she returns and it turns her on. (“Shot like an arrow going through my heart/That's the pain I feel/I feel whenever we're apart/Not to say that I'm in love with you/But who's to say that I'm not/I just know that it feels wrong/When I'm away too long/It makes my body hot/So let me tell ya baby.”)

           In the chorus, she’s tempted to call his mom. She knows the one who could share stories with her when he was growing up. She could contact his friends and they could laugh over some crazy prank he did while in high school. She’ll talk to strangers, inserting how wonderful her boyfriend is into the conversation. If it means she’ll see him sooner, by all means, she’ll do what she has to.  (“I'll tell your mama/I'll tell your friends/I'll tell anyone whose heart can comprehend/Send it in a letter baby/Tell you on the phone/I'm not the kinda girl/Who likes to be alone/I miss ya much (boy-oh-I miss you much)/I really miss you much (M-I-S-S you much)/I miss ya much (boy-oh-I miss you much)/Baby I really miss you much (M-I-S-S you much.”)

                She went through a red light and breezed through a couple stop signs on the side streets. The ticket doesn’t matter. It’s worth it to feel his arms around her, whispering in her ear how great it is to see her. No one has ever made feel that special. (“I'm rushing home/Just as soon as I can/I'm rushing home to see/Your smiling face/And feel your warm embrace/It makes feel so good/So I'll tell you baby.”)

                  The chorus is sung again.

                  In the bridge, she summarizes the chorus. (“I miss you much/I really really miss you much/I miss you much/I'm not ashamed to tell the world/I miss you.”)

                   The chorus is sung again.

                  She asks “that’s the end?” to finish the single.

                 Jackson’s vivacious vocals twirl, winking at the thought she may be crazy about him. People can think what they want. But she’s really in love. She’s at the point where she clearly can’t hide her emotions anymore. Her family figured it out long before she did.

                The glowing “Miss You Much” bursts with an infectious joy.