B-side "Ashes by Now" Genre Country Label Warner Bros. | Released September 1981 Length 3:37 Writer(s) Townes Van Zandt | |
"If I Needed You" is a song written by Townes Van Zandt and performed on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. It was covered 9 years later by American country music artists Emmylou Harris and Don Williams as a duet, and was released in September 1981 as the first single from Harris' album Cimarron. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.The song was written about Townes's business partner and producers wife Anne Mittendorf Eggers.
Covers
Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" was not only covered by Emmylou Harris and Don Williams, but also by Andrew Bird on Hands of Glory, Guy Clark on Songs and Stories, Lyle Lovett on Step Inside This House, and others. The song was also recorded by Doc Watson for his record Then and Now. On his record Live at the Old Quarter, Townes introduces the song “If I Needed You” by saying, “This was recorded by Doc Watson, and it really blew my mind, you know…” The song is also covered in the Belgian film The Broken Circle Breakdown, where the Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band, including actors Johan Heldenbergh and Veerle Baetens sing it live. It also appears on the original soundtrack of the film. Recently, Mumford & Sons released a version of the song. Kasey Chambers covered the song on her 2011 album Storybook.
An acoustic version of the song, performed by Terry O'Quinn and Michael Dorman, appears in the pilot episode of the television show Patriot, which aired on November 5, 2015.
A version in Swedish, Om jag behövde dig appears on the 2016 album Vid Grinden by Georga and is performed as a duet with singer Frida Wiljansros.
Joey + Rory recorded it on their album "Made to Last" in 2013.