How Come, How Long

written by Babyface, Stevie Wonder (1997)

There was a girl I used to know
She was oh so beautiful
But she's not here anymore
She had a college degree
Smart as anyone could be
She had so much to live for
But she fell in love
With the wrong kinda man
He abused her love and treated her so bad
There was not enough education in her world
That could save the life of this little girl

How come, how long
It's not right, it's so wrong
Do we let it just go on
Turn our backs and carry on
Wake up, for it's too late
Right now, we can't wait
She won't have a second try
Open up your hearts
As well as your eyes

She tried to give a cry for help
She even blamed things on herself
But no one came to her aid
Nothing was wrong as far as we could tell
That's what we'd like to tell ourselves
But no, it wasn't that way
So she fell in love
With the wrong kinda man
And she paid with her life
For loving that man
So we cannot ignore
We must look for the signs
And maybe next time
We might save somebody's life

HOOK

I on occasion met that guy
He stirred up bad feelings deep inside
Something about him wasn't right
The way he proves himself a man
By beatin' his woman with his hands
Oh I wish she'd seen the light
How can someone like that
Call himself a man
In reality he's far more less than that
And we cannot ignore
Whenever we see the signs
'Cause any kinda of abuse
God knows isn't right

HOOK