Released February 1981 Genre Country Label Columbia | Format 45 rpm Length 3:15 | |
B-side "Blue Moon with Heartache" | ||
"Seven Year Ache" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Rosanne Cash. It was released in February 1981 as the first single and title track from Cash's album of the same name as well as her first No. 1 hit on the country charts.
Contents
Song information
"Seven Year Ache" was penned by Cash herself, who first performed it. Many interpret it as being about a man who goes out to a bar to forget the problems his marriage is facing. He's a man of few words – "you don't say nothing when you're feeling this way' – and rather than talk it over with his wife, he runs to the comfort he can find in a seedy dive. An alternate interpretation – which is more plausible given that the song has been described as semi-autobiographical – is that the song is about the woman, not the man, in a failing relationship. The tone of the woman's imaginary conversation with her lover reflects her conflicting feelings, running from mocking ("heartaches are heroes when their pockets are full"), to cautionary ("everybody's talking but you don't hear a thing"), to indignant ("don't bother calling to say you're leaving alone"), to longing ("why don't you come around?").
The song is a mid-tempo disco-tinged ballad, with a chorus sung twice in the song, which goes as follows:
Tell me you're trying to cure a seven-year ache See what else your old heart can take The boys say, "when is he gonna give us some room" The girls say, "God, I hope he comes back soon"Since Cash's initial recording of the song, "Seven Year Ache" has been recorded by several artists working in the music industry. In 1989, Canadian singer Carole Laure recorded a version for her album released that year, Western Shadows. Twelve years later, American country artist Trisha Yearwood recorded a version for her 2001 album Inside Out that featured Cash herself singing background vocals.
Commercial performance
"Seven Year Ache" was Cash's fourth-issued single and her first single released in 1981. Considered her breakthrough recording, the song became Cash's first No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart, while also crossing over onto the Billboard Pop Chart Top 30, peaking at No. 22. It was also a Top 10 Adult contemporary hit, peaking at No. 6. The single was issued on Cash's second studio album, Seven Year Ache that year, which also produced the No. 1 hits, "My Baby Thinks He's a Train" and "Blue Moon with Heartache."