Lyrics
(written by L.A. Reid, Babyface, Darryl Simmons) (official lyrics from sheet music; download below)

[rap]
Had 'em throwing a party for a bunch of children,
When all the while, the slime was under the building.
So they packed up, regrouped, got a grip, came equipped,
Grabbed the proton packs out the back and they split.

If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

Yeah, I think this is gonna be another one of those funky ones.
Heart, soul, hit, hit, dance.

If I was you
And you were me
You'd wanna be winning.
If you want something bad ya,
Ya gotta wanna give your all.

Cause I believe,
So much in we
And no we're not kidding.
If you feel the same as me, ya
Ya gotta wanna take the ball.

chorus:
Now I found out that nothin' is given.
Don't know where the cards may fall.
All I know is that we've gotta get it.
We've got to make it on our own.

Well I guess we're gonna have to take control.
All on our own.
If it's up to us, we've gotta take it home.
All on our own.

Now can't you see
That all we need
To be a go-getter
Gotta make your own decisions,
Ya gotta go for what you know.

It comes a time, in our lives, you wanna be bigger.
You gotta keep, keep on pushin',
You gotta learn to take control, yeah!

chorus

Well I guess we're gonna have to take control.
All on our own.
If it's up to us, we've gotta take it home.
Gotta, gotta take it home.
Gotta, gotta, gotta take it home.

Heart, soul, hit, hit, dance.

Too hot to handle,
Too cold to hold.
They're called the Ghostbusters
And they're in control.

Had 'em throwing a party for a bunch of children,
When all the while, the slime was under the building.
So they packed up, regrouped, got a grip, came equipped,
Grabbed the proton packs out the back and they split.

Found out about Vigo,
The master of evil,
Tried to battle my boys,
That's not legal.

Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
They're in control
Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
Hit, hit, ya know it
All on our own.

I said they're in control
Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
Hit, hit, ya know it
Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
Hit, hit, ya know it
All on our own.

Well I guess we're gonna have to take control.
We got, we got, we got
We got, we got, we got
If it's up to us, we've gotta take it home.
Too hot to handle,
Too cold to hold.
They are the Ghostbusters
And they're in control.

Well I guess we're gonna have to take control.
Gotta, gotta take it home
Gotta, gotta take it home
If it's up to us, we've gotta take it home.
Gotta, gotta take it home
Gotta, gotta, gotta take it home

Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
Owww!
Oh! Oh! Whoa! Oh!
Hit, hit, ya know it
All on our own.

[fade out]

Audio

This is a list of several known official remixes and re-recordings of this song. It may not be all-inclusive due to various remixes being released for a limited time as record/cassette/cd singles in various countries. Most of the music can be downloaded. The Cassette & CD Singles come from my (Paul Rudoff) personal collection. Click on the artwork for a full-size image, and the music will eventually be linked to the text underneath; when I get the chance to clean-up the audio files. In the meantime, Spook Central VIP Members can download my raw recordings in lossless FLAC format as a thank you for supporting the site.

Music Video

Directed by Alek Keshishian, this video features footage of Bobby Brown and his dancers plastered all over New York City, on billboards, skyscrapers, newspapers, you name it. Bobby is joined in this footage by other rap and R&B artists in brief sing-along cameos, such as Doug E. Fresh (who also has a song on the Ghostbusters II soundtrack). All throughout the city we get cameo appearances by many celebrities, such as Rick Moranis, Donald Trump, Christopher Reeve(?), Twiggy(?), Sally Kirkland, Anne-Sophie Mutter(?), Iman, and The Ramones (plus a few that I couldn't identify). Further information at the Ghostbusters Wiki and the Music Video Database. Around the time of its release, MTV gave a behind the scenes peek at the making of the video.

The music video is officially available to own on the Ghostbusters II 2014 Blu-ray, which is the source for the images below.

Live Performances