Format CD Single Length 4:05 | Genre Country Label Universal South | |
B-side "Can't Hold a Halo to You" Released March 11, 2002 (2002-03-11) | ||
"The Impossible" is a song written by Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released in March 2002 as the first single from his album Man with a Memory. It was his first chart entry on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, peaking at number 3 in late 2002. Fellow country singer Mark Chesnutt cut the song around the same time Nichols did but shelved his version, finally releasing it as a bonus track on his album Greatest Hits II.
Contents
Content
"The Impossible" is a mid-tempo ballad mostly accompanied by acoustic guitar. In it, the male narrator describes two situations in which events happen that seem impossible. In the first, he describes his father, who never seemed to cry until his own father died. In the second verse, he describes a friend who was badly injured in a car accident, and told he'd never walk again, who later stands up to speak at graduation. In both cases, he says that these situations made him "learn to never underestimate the impossible".
In the bridge, the narrator draws parallels from these two situations to his own ending relationship, saying that if such situations are possible, then it is also possible for him and his lover to make up ("So don't tell me that it's over, don't give up on you and me / 'Cause there's no such thing as hopeless if you believe").
Music video
The music video was directed by Eric Welch and was filmed in April 2002 on Los Angeles' Long Beach Pier.
Critical reception
Maria Konicki Dinola of Allmusic gave the song a favorable review. She said that the song had an instantly identifiable message and called it "a brilliant choice for a first single with its radio-friendly appeal that will make a star out of Nichols." William Ruhlmann of Allmusic in his review of the album, discussed the song unfavorably, calling it "an unfortunate piece of confused country philosophy about how supposedly impossible things happen." He goes on to say that "the unfortunate part is that the chorus inescapably evokes the September 11 attacks ("Sometimes the things you think would never happen/Happen just like that"), which is in very bad taste, especially when the song comes to its real point, as the narrator concludes that maybe his girlfriend will come back.
Chart performance
"The Impossible" debuted at number 56 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 23, 2002. The song is Nichols' first chart entry in the US, peaking at number 3 on Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) in 2002 and number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.