Discover the story of the song > I Refuse – Aaliyah

The lyrics of the song talk about a person, referred to as "she," who has reached her limit with her romantic partner ("he"). She refuses to let him manipulate her mind and thinks it's obvious that he tries to disappear and avoid her. She realizes that he doesn't treat her the same and she doesn't want to take all the blame for the pain in their relationship. The protagonist is tired of sleepless nights and tears, so she refuses to let him come back into her life and hurt her again. She acknowledges that their relationship wasn't what she thought it would be and wonders if it was all just a dream. Ultimately, she refuses to continue ignoring the fact that he walked out on her, and she won't take his behavior anymore.