The song has a softer production than the hardcore sound that predominates on the album.[3] In it, Lyte talks about casually having sex with men whom she later "refuse to call 'em back", in addition to responding to those who are upset about it "It ain't worth it for the moment or the minute/You was in it then you want it but, no, now ya done, kid." In the third verse it seeks to convey a message anti-violence against women"I only here for the righten night/To be hit not smack not slapped or kicked/So if you coming my way you gotta be strong/Strong enough to know that hitting a women is wrong."[4][3]
In a review from May 2017, the website dedicated to hip hop music The Boombox considered I Go On as "the best examples of Lyte flipping the gender script."[4]
Samples
The song contains a riff sample from "Been So Long" by Anita Baker[3] and the hook is based on interpolations from "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, in which Lyte says "I go on and on and on and on/Let it flow, ya don't stop" in reference to the lines "And on and on and on" and "To the tick tock ya don't stop". Also included in the single version of the song is a remix by Walter "Mucho" Scott titled "I Go on (Gangsta Mix)", which in turn samples the riff of "Young, Gifted and Black" by Aretha Franklin.