"Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)" | ||||
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Single by Big Country | ||||
from the album Peace in Our Time | ||||
B-side | "Soapy Soutar Strikes Back" | |||
Released | 1988 | |||
Length | 5:14 | |||
Label | Mercury Vertigo (Canada) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stuart Adamson | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Wolf | |||
Big Country singles chronology | ||||
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"Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1988 as the second single from their fourth studio album Peace in Our Time . It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Peter Wolf. "Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)" reached number 47 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for four weeks. [1]
"Broken Heart" originated with the track "The Longest Day" which Big Country recorded around 1985 but did not release. Adamson later took the chorus and melody from "The Longest Day" and incorporated it into "Broken Heart". "The Longest Day" was not released until it was included on the 1989 single release of "Peace in Our Time". [2] In a 1988 radio interview, Adamson picked "Broken Heart" as one of his favourites from Peace in Our Time. [3] He recalled of the song to Sounds in 1990, "I think it's the best song I've ever written. It works great on acoustic or electric. 'Thirteen Valleys' is the one that got away. I'll play that song, always. I'd put it up against any song." [4]
The song's music video was directed by Richard Lowenstein and shot near Wittenoom, Western Australia. [5] [6]
Upon its release as a single, Alex Kadis of Smash Hits commented, "Though at first this sounds shockingly like 'She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain', it soon takes a turn for the better and becomes one of those superbly atmospheric songs that Big Country have become so famous for." [7] Jim Whiteford of The Kilmarnock Standard praised it as "another powerful, atmospheric beat-ballad" from Big Country and added that the song "had me hooked [after] a couple of spins". [8] Robin Smith of Record Mirror was critical in his review, commenting, "'Twas a time when I used to cock a leg to those stirring Gaelic airs, but now Big Country are so dull this bland muddy pop is pulling them under." [9] James Masterton, in his 2019 book Chart Watch UK - Hits of 1989, considered the song "capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with past classics such as 'One Great Thing' and 'Fields of Fire'." [10]
7-inch single
12-inch single
CD single
CD single (UK limited edition)
Cassette and CD single (Canadian release)
Big Country
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
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UK Singles Chart [1] | 47 |
The Crossing is the debut album released by Scottish band Big Country. The album reached #3 in the UK; overseas, it hit #4 in Canada on the RPM national Top Albums Chart and #18 in the US on the Billboard 200 in 1983. It went on to be certified platinum in the UK and Canada. It contains the song "In a Big Country" which is their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. Stuart Adamson and fellow guitarist Bruce Watson used the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 effect pedal to create a guitar sound reminiscent of bagpipes. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a hand-held device which, through the use of magnets, causes the strings of an electric guitar to vibrate producing a soft attack which sounds more like strings or synthesizer.
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Bruce William Watson is a Canadian-born Scottish guitarist, best known for being a member of Big Country.
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981.
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Where the Rose is Sown is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in 1984 as the second single from their second studio album Steeltown. It was written by Big Country and produced by Steve Lillywhite. "Where the Rose Is Sown" peaked at No. 29 in the UK and No. 25 in Ireland.
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