Released March 19, 1996 Recorded 1995 | Format CD single Genre Blues rock | |
B-side "The Rape of the World" Length 4:30 (album version)
4:07 (radio edit) | ||
"Give Me One Reason" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on her 1995 album New Beginning, and as a single in 1996, her first since 1992's "Dreaming on a World." It is also Chapman's biggest US hit to date, reaching #3 on the US Hot 100. Chapman also performed the song six years before its release, on the December 16, 1989, episode of Saturday Night Live. A music video was released to promote the single. Chapman earned the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the track, that was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Female Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1997. A well known version of this song featuring Eric Clapton was released in 1999 in the compilation album A Very Special Christmas Live.
Contents
Lyrics/style
The song is a classic twelve-bar blues, both in musical structure and the repeated lyrics in each verse and chorus. It is the story of an ending relationship, and a plea from the narrator to her partner for the partner to convince her to remain, to "give me one reason to stay here, and I'll turn right back around." At the end of the song, the partner is apparently given voice for the last line, "said I told you that I loved you, and there ain't no more to say."
Covers
The song was covered in 1996 by blues vocalist and harmonica player, Junior Wells, on his album Come On in This House.
Chapman performed the song in a duet with Eric Clapton which appeared on the 1999 album A Very Special Christmas Live.
Capresha Robinson covered this song in 2000 on her "All I Want" album.
It was also covered in 2006 by Hungarian blues band Someday Baby, on their album Backbone Move.
Isa Raja also performed this song on X Factor Indonesia season 1 in 2013.
This song is also covered by Joe Bonamassa & Robert Cray in the album "Lee Ritenour's 6 String Theory".
Kelly Clarkson covered the song on tour in 2012 and on Sirius XM's Hits1 in 2015.