Just the Two of Us

About this song

Producer Ralph MacDonald invited Bill Withers to provide vocals, and Withers was handed a completed song but still got involved in the songwriting, dressing the words up a bit. The song reached #2 on the US Pop Chart in spring 1981, held from the top spot by Sheena Easton's "Morning Train" and Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes". It was Washington's only top 40 hit in the UK, later won a Grammy for Best R&B Song, and Will Smith heavily sampled it in his 1997 top 20 hit of the same name.

What it's about

The song is about how love rises and falls, with the narrator not wanting to waste his chance to be with a woman he considers extraordinary, and seeing the two of them as a perfect match.

Summary written with AI, based on the song's page on Genius.

Fun facts

• Sampled in 61 other songs, like “JUST THE TWO OF US by YUNG MEMORIES”.
• Covered 28 times, including “Just The Two of Us by Billy Cobb”.
• Written by William Salter, Ralph MacDonald and Bill Withers.
• Produced by Ralph MacDonald and Grover Washington Jr..
• Recorded at Rosebud Recording Studios.