Regina Belle ‘If I Could’ Lyrics and Meaning: A Deep Dive

Wondering about the meaning behind Regina Belle’s “If I Could”? This heartfelt breakdown explores the song’s lyrics, message, and why it resonates as a powerful anthem of love and healing.
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If you have ever been responsible for caring for someone, and having their growth and well-being dependent on your decisions, then you certainly can relate to the range of emotions present in Regina Belle’s If I Could. 

🌷”If I knew
I’d try to change the world
I brought you to”

Most notably, this message is from a parent to a child, especially as the child is growing, reaching milestones in life, and becoming more self-aware and independent. Even more notably, since Regina Belle is a mother, this song is strongly most likely interpreted as a message from a mother to her child.

🌷”If I could
I would try to shield
Your innocence from time
But the part of life
I gave you isn’t mine”

Innocence = those early childhood years where the only things that matter in a child’s world, are the the things that are directly around them—love, comfort, play, and the safety of their home—before the outside world begins to shape their reality.
Time will always move on, and the more time that passes, the more that realities and challenges of growing up set in. These challenges are not always anything dealing with major world events of course, but there are many hurtful personal challenges that are just a part of every day life, such as not being invited to a birthday party for instance.  

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Some of the lyrics, and especially the music video, really resonates with me as a former teacher as well. 

At about 3:35 in the video, this is where I’m not really wearing my mama hat or my auntie hat, for lack of a better word lol. That part of the video hits me as a teacher, as I had the exact type of students represented in the video. What’s happening is Regina is consumed with her love, fears and thoughts about the children. They walk right past her, without looking her way.

Now, they know she is there and they know she cares, and they care for her also. However, life is coming at them too fast and their home and neighborhood environments are ones in which they have to make decisions that you as their teacher, cannot be there for them in the way they need. 

It’s incredibly unfair, and you ultimately are powerless. So the children stay together as a group, and lean on each other, and go on to live their lives in a world you wish you could burn down and rebuild just for them, and for your own children as well.

[The above is an updated post on February 24, 2025]

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[Original post, from January 2, 2024]
Regina Belle, “If I Could” is my healing song of the moment, because Lord knows I’m always healing about something.

(The Storm)
Some of my babies have grown up, and their challenges are bigger than what we can fix with a hug or encouraging words, or even love itself. Yes those particular things help and anyone should always strive to guide their loved ones through trying times. Some of the challenges weighing on them include:
🙏🏿Abandonment, death, grief, anger 🙏🏿
🙏🏿Job hunting, finances, dating, toxic society standards of beauty🙏🏿

This part brings me to my knees the most:

If I could
I would try to shield
Your innocence from time
But the part of life
I gave you isn’t mine
I’ll watch you grow
So I can let you go

 

This Regina Belle ‘If I Could’ post is also in my blog category titled “Planting Seeds: Dear Black Children & Teens”

Here are more “Dear Black Children & Teens” posts:
🌻Powerful Words Build Empowered Black Children
🌻Celebrate Black Miracles Not White Mediocrity: My Healing
🌻Black Teen Life Stories: Equally Vital as Bible Narratives
🌻Positive TV: Abbott Elementary is Head of the Class
🌻The Healing Power of Regina Belle’s “If I Could”
🌻Black Girl Peace from Social Media Bullying
🌻Angel Halle: Black Girl with the Black Girl Hair

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