A-side "Not Given Lightly" Released 1989 (1989) | B-side Guppiplus EP Genre Indie rock | |
Format 12-inch single, 7-inch single, 10-inch single, cassette single Recorded February 1989 at Lab Studios, Auckland | ||
"Not Given Lightly" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Chris Knox. It was released in 1989 and is among Knox's best known songs. While the song did not chart when originally released in 1989, it has since become well known from its use in New Zealand film and television productions, especially in a television advertisement for Vogel's bread in 2007.
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In 2001 the song was placed in 13th in the APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time list, as voted by New Zealand members of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). The song then featured on the Nature's Best album of the top 30 tracks.
Background and writing
The song was written as a heartfelt love song about Knox's partner Barbara Ward. The lyrics refer to Ward and the couple's two children with the line "This is a love song for John and Liesha's mother". The song's title and main refrain comes from a lyric in The Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs" - "Taste the whip, in love not given lightly". The song is performed in Chris Knox's trademark solo style - simple percussion loops with clean and distorted guitar.
Music video
The music video was directed by Chris Knox and shot at his home in Grey Lynn, Auckland. The video starts with an extreme close-up of Knox's face, slowly zooming out over the duration of the song to reveal Knox surrounded by his friends and family. Edits are done on the beat. The video is shot in both black-and-white and colour, with most of the black-and-white footage used at the beginning of the video and most of the colour footage used at the end.
Production credits
Charts
The song has never charted in the Official New Zealand Music Chart top 40, but has twice appeared in the New Zealand artists' singles top 20 chart. In August 2012 it charted at number 17 and again in June 2013 at number 16.