Menu Close

WHATEVER WE IMAGINE

From GREATEST HITS: THE POWER OF GREAT MUSIC
Written by David Foster, Paul Gordon & Jeremy Lubbock

“Whatever We Imagine” is one of the most beautiful songs that David Foster has ever composed. Its melody is timeless and charming, enhanced by an understated, classy arrangement created by Foster with the help of Jerry Hey. This song was originally recorded in 1983 by James Ingram for his debut album “It’s Your Night” and was masterfully produced by Quincy Jones. Jones assembled a stellar line-up to work on this record and, as always, Foster was asked to contribute. He played and arranged on the gorgeous “How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” and co-wrote “Whatever We Imagine” with collaborators Jeremy Lubbock and lyricist Paul Gordon. “Whatever We Imagine” gave Ingram a great opportunity to unveil his superior vocal potential that quickly brought him to the spotlight as one of the best singers in the music biz. Foster provided him a gentle, refined musical ballad that, mixed with the singer’s unique style, brought a true masterpiece to life. Other key factors are the positive, hopeful lyrics and the great performance by sax legend Tom Scott; his lyricon, an electronic woodwind, infuses the whole tune with its mellow sound. Given that “It’s Your Night” isn’t easily available in digital format, we suggest you to look for Ingram’s “Greatest Hits: The Power Of Great Music” that includes “Whatever We Imagine” as well as the most important songs of his career.


Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/whatever_we_imagine.mp3|titles=Whatever we imagine|artists=James Ingram]


Lead Vocals: James Ingram
Keyboards & Synthsizer: David Foster
Synthsizer Programming: Craig Hundley & Ian Underwood
Drums: John Robinson
Percussion: Paulinho da Costa
Lyricon: Tom Scott
Arranged by David Foster & Jerry Hey
Produced by Quincy Jones


Lyrics

Don’t be afraid
I can meet you half way
We cant always know
Where the road ends up
But with some luck
I know we can go
Where-ever we imagine

Why should we wait
Later on maybe too late
Cause where can we run
When you see there’s half a chance
That we might really become
Whatever we imagine

And I imagine you and me
Just taking shots at what we see
And if we falter
Take away the dust
And just outlast them all

You ought to see
All your heroes in me
But if we get wise
We can break the walls we make
And you can see in my eyes
Whatever we imagine

And I imagine you and me
Just taking shots at what we see
So let the walls go down
And we can try it again
Cause nobody can stop us now

Don’t be afraid
Cause I’ll meet you half way
You’re not far behind
If we climb this hill
I know there’s still a chance we can find
Whatever we imagine in our life

We can make it there baby
Ohhh, Whatever we imagine
Don’t you see baby
It’s all in our minds
I’ll meet you halfway
Whatever we imagine (faded)