didn't he write this song for his dad who was dying? or something like that.

Loved this song. He and Michael McDonald co-wrote and sung the hell out of this shit! Michael's background vocals are so smooth!

Kirk Franklin recently sampled this for his song "Declaration (This Is It)".
[Edited 1/30/08 11:51am]

sosgemini said:

He wrote it after his dad had a debilitating heart attack. When I was young my friends and I could only relate to this song in a romantic relationship context. But now that we're all older and having similar situations with our ailing senior citizen parents, we're really experiencing this song in a completely different way...

Another one of my most favoritest songs ever. I had no idea it was connected to his dad. I’ll probably never listen to it the same way again and it actually makes me love it even more. Absolutely love Michael’s vocals.

...

Love that tune!!!

There have been times in my life,
I've been wondering why
Still somehow I believed
We'd always survive

Now I'm not so sure
You're waiting to hear
One good reason to try
But what more can I say
What's left to provide

You think that maybe it's over
Only if you want it to be

Are you gonna wait for your sign, your
miracle
Stand up and fight

This is it
Make no mistake where you are
This is it
Your back's to the corner
This is it
Don't be a fool anymore
This is it
The waiting is over


No room to run
No way to hide
No time for wondering why
It's here
The moment is now
About to decide

Let him believe
Or leave him behind
But keep me near in your heart
And know, whatever you do
I'm here by your side

You said that maybe it's over,
Not if you don't want it to be

For once in your life, here's your miracle
Stand up and fight


This is it
Make no mistake where you are
This is it
You're going no further
This is it
Until it's over and done


No one can tell you what you know,
Who makes the choice of how it goes
It's not up to me this time
You know
There comes a day in every life


This is it
Make no mistake where you are
This is it
You're going no further
This is it
Until it's over and done
This is it
One way or another
This is it
No one can tell what the future holds
This is it
Your back's to the corner
This is it
You make the choice of how it goes
This is it
The waiting is over
This is it
No one can tell what the future holds
This is it
You're going no further.....




...

You guys should hear Millie Jackson's remake of this song It came out a year later,and she included an OUTRAGEOUS spoken part at the beginning.Unlike the Kenny Loggins version,she's singing it to a lazy,no-good boyfriend who had just lost his job.It's wild!

SoulAlive said:

HEARD IT!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

woogiebear said:

NEEEED to hear this

SoulAlive said:

JackieBlue said:

On the other hand...you have the winning situation
You are carrying around the "almighty club"
We cannot make it without "the club"
BUT CAN YOU FIND A WAY TO BRING "THE CLUB" WITH YOU,INTO THE BEDROOM?!


I swear,I'm in stitches when I listen to Millie's version!

SoulAlive said:

I'm gonna see if I can find it. I can't even imagine...

JackieBlue said:

same here. I always thought it was a political song. Like, "what are you waiting for, the time is now, carpe diem...your backs to the corner."

I have a new found appreciation for it now

unkemptpueblo said:

Actually, whenever I’m about to take a leap in life or even if just joking about overcoming a challenge, I sing the chorus. It can work for many situations and really reading the lyrics I see how basic they are so that they fit many circumstances and yet he's driving the point directly home. But it’s even more touching knowing it’s about his dad.

"This is It" is a great song. My mom used to have the album and I remember playing it and smiling while listening to that song. It always made me feel good. I just recently downloaded the song and to see what inspired "This is It" is very interesting. I may need to listen to it later today.

I want to hear that Millie Jackson version too.

In his Greatest Hits, Kenny wrote :

"The lyric was inspired by my father when he found himself in a moment of a life or death decision. Thanks to "This Is It", he chose life."

After reading this on the CD my first impression was about his father thinking of suicide...

WEll, thank god the song worked!
It's one of his BEST!

Michael Spinks did his ring walk to this song in his fight with "Iron" Mike Tyson back in 88. All my boxing fans know what happen that night, LOL!!!!

A classic!