"If Tomorrow Never Comes" | ||||
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Single by Garth Brooks | ||||
from the album Garth Brooks | ||||
B-side | "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" | |||
Released | August 21, 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1988 | |||
Studio | Jack's Tracks (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:39 | |||
Label | Capitol Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Allen Reynolds | |||
Garth Brooks singles chronology | ||||
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"If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song by American country music artist Garth Brooks. Written by Brooks and Kent Blazy, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The track was his first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and Brooks refers to it as his signature song. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was named Favorite Country Single in the American Music Awards of 1991.
The song subsequently became one of Brooks' most popular songs for other artists to perform. In 2002, Irish singer Ronan Keating released a version that reached number one in the United Kingdom and three other countries, and it became a top-five hit in several additional territories.
This section possibly contains original research .(October 2020) |
This is the first country love song released by Brooks. A man lies awake at night, thinking what would happen in his love's mind if he were to die the next day. The first line in the chorus reads: "If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I love her?" He goes on to compare this situation with his own lost loved ones, and how he made a promise to say each day how much she means to him. The song begins with a soft guitar solo and gradually builds up to a more orchestrated accompaniment. Brooks has written many love songs since. This song is about the love of a father to his daughter, not to his lover. Garth said that on stage at Belmont University to Britt Todd and in his music video he has his daughter playing next to him while he sings.
Garth provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits :
"If Tomorrow Never Comes" will probably always be my signature song. I ran the idea for this song by what seemed like a thousand writers and no one really seemed to understand what I was looking for. On the day that Bob Doyle, my co-manager, introduced me to Kent Blazy, I passed this idea by Kent and he had the first verse down within fifteen seconds. I could tell he just felt it. Kent Blazy is a wonderful man, full of love and energy, and if we never write again, I hope that we are always friends first. Thank you Ireland for this moment." [2]
The music video for the song was directed by John Lloyd Miller, and features Brooks singing and playing guitar in a dim room. Next to him is a table with an oil lamp. The video shows a small child, played by the daughter of Steve Gatlin, brother of Larry Gatlin. The use of an antique screen is present through much of the video, which also features Brooks' then-wife, Sandy.
"If Tomorrow Never Comes" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on September 9, 1989, and peaked at number one on December 9.
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [3] | 2 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [4] | 1 |
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Ireland (IRMA) [5] | 54 |
Chart (1989) | Position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks (RPM) [6] | 48 |
US Country Songs (Billboard) [7] | 84 |
Chart (1990) | Position |
---|---|
US Country Songs (Billboard) [8] | 75 |
"If Tomorrow Never Comes" | ||||
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Single by Ronan Keating | ||||
from the album Destination | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | April 29, 2002 | |||
Studio | Various | |||
Genre | Country [9] | |||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Steve Mac | |||
Ronan Keating singles chronology | ||||
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"If Tomorrow Never Comes" served as the first single from Irish singer Ronan Keating's second studio album, Destination . Produced by Steve Mac, the song was released in Australia on April 29, 2002, and in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2002. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, giving Keating his third solo number one on the UK Singles Chart. The song also topped the charts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Norway, and it entered the top 10 in 11 other countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden.
The video starts with Keating sitting on a bed and staring at the woman sleeping in it. He leaves his house and, having fallen onto a road in the path of a moving car, he is run over by it. He goes through the same scene multiple times, apparently stuck in a time loop, unrealistically singing throughout. At the end, he stops the loop by avoiding crossing the road and, instead, walking along the same sidewalk where his front door is.
UK CD1 [10]
UK CD2 [11]
UK cassette single [12]
Credits are lifted from the Destination album booklet. [13]
Studios
Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [52] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Belgium (BEA) [53] | Gold | 25,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [54] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [55] | Gold | 5,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [56] | Platinum | |
Sweden (GLF) [57] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [58] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | April 29, 2002 | CD | Polydor | [59] |
United Kingdom | May 6, 2002 |
| [60] | |
New Zealand | May 27, 2002 | CD | [61] | |
Japan | July 24, 2002 | [62] | ||
United States | March 7, 2005 | Adult contemporary radio | Universal | [63] |
Legião Urbana's front man Renato Russo recorded a cover for his debut solo album, The Stonewall Celebration Concert in 1994. Joose had a number one hit in New Zealand with "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in 1997. Puerto Rican salsa singer Ismael Miranda recorded the Spanish version on his 1997 album Con Buena Nota. In 1999, Westlife made an a cappela version live. Engelbert Humperdinck included the song on his 2003 album Definition of Love. It also became part of Barry Manilow's concert repertoire, and is featured on his 2004 live album 2 Nights Live! . Manilow had previously released a studio version of the song on his 1992 CD box set The Complete Collection and then some..... Claudia Jung made a German cover titled "Wenn es morgen nicht mehr gibt"..
In the 2000s, the song has gained added visibility with performances on reality television competition shows, with third-place finisher Elliott Yamin singing it on the fifth season of American Idol . Second season The X Factor winner Shayne Ward performing it in that series' penultimate round, and Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith singing it on Top 10: Number One's Night. Foster & Allen recorded a version which they released on their 2005 album, Foster & Allen – Sing The Number 1's On June 30, 2009, Kevin Skinner sang this song during the auditions on the NBC series America's Got Talent .
Turn It On is the third studio album released by Boyzone frontman and Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating. The album was released on 17 November 2003, a week after the release of the lead single, "Lost for Words". The album became the worst performing album of Keating's career to date, only peaking at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned two further singles: a cover of Kenny Rogers' "She Believes " and a duet with American country superstar, LeAnn Rimes, "Last Thing on My Mind", which both became top ten hits in the United Kingdom.
Double Live is the first live album by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released on November 17, 1998, and is a two-disc compilation of live songs, recorded during Brooks's 1996–98 world tour.
"Life Is a Rollercoaster" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating from his debut solo album, Ronan (2000). The song was written and produced by New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, and Rick Nowels, having originally been intended for the second New Radicals album which never came to fruition due to Alexander's decision to break up the band. The opening refrain of the song is similar to that of a leaked Alexander song, "A Love Like That", suggesting that parts of the song were incorporated in Keating's song.
"When You Say Nothing at All" is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. It was a hit song for four different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 1988; Alison Krauss & Union Station, whose version was their first solo top-10 country hit in 1995; Irish singer Frances Black, whose 1996 version became her third Irish top-10 single and brought the song to the attention of Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose 1999 version was his first solo single and a number-one hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.
"All Over Again" is the first single released from Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating's fourth solo album, Bring You Home (2006). The song, which features guest vocals from folk singer Kate Rusby, was produced by Mark Taylor and written by Don Mescall and Randy Goodrum. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart while also reaching number 20 in Ireland and number 33 in Italy.
10 Years of Hits is the first compilation album released by Boyzone frontman, Ronan Keating. The album was released on 11 October 2004, and included all of Keating's singles to date, plus three new singles, two previously unreleased tracks, and the B-side "This Is Your Song". The album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the third out of four of Keating's albums to do so. In 2010, an anniversary edition of the album was issued in Australia containing further singles that were released after the original release of the album and was certified 4× Platinum in Australia in 2016.
"Last Thing on My Mind" is the third and final single released from Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating's third studio album, Turn It On (2003). It was also included on LeAnn Rimes' Greatest Hits album as well as her Best of album. The song was released on 3 May 2004, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the music video received heavy rotation on the VH1 Country channel and became an adult contemporary hit, reaching number 16 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 40 in Austria, Denmark, and Ireland.
"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny.
"The Long Goodbye" is a song written by Irish singer-songwriters Paul Brady and Ronan Keating for Brady's 2000 album Oh What a World. In October 2001, it was released by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn as the third single from their album Steers & Stripes. Ronan Keating released his version in April 2003 as the last single from his album Destination (2002).
"I Love It When We Do" is the second single from Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating's second studio album, Destination. It was first released in Australia on 2 September 2002 and was issued in the United Kingdom seven days later. The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 40 in Australia and Ireland. In 2003, Keating re-recorded the song with additional vocals from French actress and singer Cécilia Cara, re-titled "Je t'aime plus que tout". This version peaked at number 11 in France and number nine in the Wallonia region of Belgium.
"Lovin' Each Day" is the fourth and final single released from Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating's debut solo album, Ronan (2000). The song was written by Gregg Alexander and Rick Nowels and was included only on the re-release of the album before appearing on Keating's second album, Destination (2002). The single was released on 9 April 2001 in Australia and on 16 April in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating from his debut solo album, Ronan. It was released as the third single from the album on 20 November 2000. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by English songwriter Phil Thornalley and Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, who both provide backing vocals on the track. In 2004, the song was re-recorded for Keating's greatest hits album, 10 Years of Hits, featuring vocals from Adams.
"She Believes in Me" is a song recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. It was released in April 1979 as the second single from his 1978 album The Gambler. The song was written by American singer-songwriter Steve Gibb who first released his version as a 7" single in 1978. A version by T. G. Sheppard appears on his 1978 album Daylight, released a month before Rogers' album.
"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock musician Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.
"I Hope You Dance" is a crossover country pop song written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers and recorded by American country music singer Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert. It is the title track on Womack's 2000 album. Released on March 17, 2000, the song reached number one on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, and also reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100. It is considered to be Womack's signature song, and it is the only Billboard number one for both Womack and Sons of the Desert.
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"Picture of You" is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone, released as the first single from their third studio album, Where We Belong (1998). Written by frontman Ronan Keating, Eliot Kennedy, and producers Absolute, the song peaked at No. 2 in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. The song served as the main theme for the film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, for which Rowan Atkinson appeared as his character with the band on both the single cover and in the music video. Its appearance in the film allowed the song to win the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song for a Film or Broadcast at the 1998 ceremony.
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Kent Blazy is an American country music songwriter. His credits include several singles for Garth Brooks, as well as singles by Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless and Chris Young. Blazy has a total of seven No. 1 hits to his credit.
"Flashdance" is a song by American electronic music duo Deep Dish with the vocals from Anousheh Khalili. It is a cover of "He's a Dream" by Shandi Sinnamon, from the Flashdance soundtrack. Released in 2004, the song received positive critical reviews and became a hit in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it debuted and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart.
...making "If Tomorrow Never Comes" the first country #1 in the UK since "Coward of the Country" 22 years prior.
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