Released 1967 Recorded 1966 Length 3:42 | Format Vinyl Genre Pop | |
B-side "Mama (When My Dollies Have Babies)"
alternate "Elusive Butterfly" | ||
"You Better Sit Down Kids'" is a major hit single release by American singer/actress Cher in 1967 from her fourth studio album With Love, Chér, released on November 1967 by Imperial Records. The song was written by her then-husband, Sonny Bono, and reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number twelve in Canada.
Contents
Song information
Though a woman, Cher recorded the song without changing its explicitly masculine perspective. Like her other solo hits "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and "Where Do You Go", this song was written by Bono. It became Cher's second solo top ten of the decade. Along with the Sonny & Cher hit "The Beat Goes On," this was a temporary comeback to the U.S. top ten for Cher. Neither she nor the duo would reach those heights again until 1971.
Toward the end of Sonny & Cher touring together, Sonny Bono performed You Better Sit Down Kids live in 1973. A studio version with Sonny on lead vocals appeared on "All I Ever Need: The Kapp/MCA Anthology", a 1996 compilation album released by MCA label.
Composition
The lyrics are from the perspective of a father informing his children that he and their mother are separating. The song starts slow, then, after a few stanzas, a fast bridge section has the father giving some orders to the kids, including to "Say your prayers before you go to bed, and be sure to get to school on time". The song starts in the key of B, and goes up a half step on each stanza, except during the Bridge section, which is in the key of B-Flat. The last stanza and the Coda are done in the key of F.
Reception
Mark Bego, author of Cher: If You Believe, praised Cher's performance on "You Better Sit Down Kids", saying that "she turned it into a soap-opera storytelling, at which she vocally excelled". Joe Viglione from Allmusic also wrote a favorable review of the song, calling it "the moment in the sun" of the album and describing it as a "tremendous performance". A Billboard article listing Cher's biggest songs, ranked the "You Better Sit Down Kids" as the seventeenth.
"You Better Sit Down Kids" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 28, 1967 at number 79. The song eventually peaked at number nine on the chart dated December 23, becoming Cher's second solo top ten song after "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" a year earlier. In Canada, the song entered the RPM at number 78 on the chart dated November 4, 1967. It then reached number twelve. "You Better Sit Down Kids" appeared on the 1967 year-end chart at number sixty.
Cover versions
Many artists covered "You Better Sit Down Kids" shortly after its release. In 1968, Roy Drusky brought the song to country music audiences. His version peaked at number 28, spending 10 weeks on the Billboard country chart. The same year, Liza Minnelli covered the song on her self-titled studio album released by A&M Records.. Glen Campbell covered the song on his twelfth album Wichita Lineman, released by Capitol Records.. The jazz group The Raymonde Singers Etcetera included the song on their album "Feelin'".. Gary Puckett & The Union Gap also released a version of the song on their 1968 album, Woman, Woman. Later, Sonny Bono himself recorded a solo version on their 1971 album All I Ever Need Is You.