“Mr. Telephone Man” by New Edition

New Edition’s “Mr. Telephone Man” is about a conversation between a telephone operator and a guy who can’t accept the fact that his lover has hung up on him. Instead of accepting she no longer wants to speak to him, he sadly thinks there is a problem with the phone connection.

The chorus echoes his complaint as he repeatedly explains the ordeal with his partner. He first explains how he initially dialed 611 and told a repair service personnel that there must be a problem with his phone, because his baby wouldn’t hang up on him.

The singer vehemently refuses to accept the fact that his partner is either ignoring him or ditching him altogether. He doesn’t even want to ponder over her reason for ignoring his call over 20 times, but is bent on getting a solution from the telephone operator.

Reality hits him in the bridge, as a man, annoyed by his constant dialing must have picked the call and informed him that his partner is not home. This drives him further into a state of confusion and unrest as he pressures the telephone man to help him out, because he doesn’t believe his baby would do that to him.

The song ends in a melancholic setting, where he’s still in denial though he realizes he’s losing his girl despite all the love he gave. He puts the blame on a bad phone connection instead of facing the reality that he has been deliberately shut out by his partner.