Format CD single Label Lyric Street | Genre Country | |
Released March 1, 2004 (2004-03-01) Length 3:47 (radio edit)
3:58 (album version) Writer(s) Brett James
Rivers Rutherford | ||
"I Want to Live" is a debut song written by Brett James and Rivers Rutherford, and recorded by American country music singer Josh Gracin. It was released in March 2004 as the first single from his debut album Josh Gracin. The song peaked at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in mid-2004. It also peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 57.
Contents
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Brent Hedgehock, features Gracin hanging out with his friends at a karaoke bar and sings while at said bar or backgrounds being played behind him.
Content
A mid-tempo ballad, "I Want to Live" centralizes on a character who, upon realizing that his life has been unsatisfactory, decides that he wants to change — to "take everything that this world has to give".
The song's opening electric guitar riff is based on the Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir". A fiddle-and-drum fadeout was omitted from the radio edit of "I Want to Live".
Music video
Directed by Brent Hedgecock, the video shows Gracin hanging out with his friends at a karaoke bar when his friends ask him to go up and sing. As he's singing, Josh is placed in areas that come from the backgrounds that are playing behind him as he's singing. The video premiered on CMT in mid-2004.
Chart performance
"I Want to Live" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 13, 2004.