Songfacts®:

• "I Know" was written by the songwriters Milton Davis and William DuVall. It was one of the few tracks on the album that Dionne Farris didn't write, but it was a huge hit. In 1995, Top 40 radio was fragmented because popular songs tended to have either an "alternative" or grunge sound, or were more hip-hop/R&B. That wasn't the case with this track: It's a pure pop song, and Top 40 radio stations played it like crazy. It was the only hit for Farris as a solo artist.
• The song relies on repetition to make its point: The phrase "I know" is repeated at the beginning of most of the lines. So, what does Dionne Farris know? It sounds like her ex-lover is trying to rekindle their romance (possibly drunk dialing her) but she wants no part of it:
  
  I know why you say you love me
  But I can't say the same
• Dionne Farris sang on three tracks from the first Arrested Development album, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..., including the hit "Tennessee." Speech, the lead vocalist from Arrested Development and their primary songwriter, told Songfacts: "What I love about Dionne is she's such a small girl, but her voice has a big, black woman voice to it. I just love it. It's just a very strong presence in her voice."
• William DuVall, who co-wrote this song, was a singer in various hardcore bands. In 2007, he joined Alice in Chains as lead singer, replacing Layne Staley, who died in 2002.