Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1999


If That Were Me

Buy If That Were Me now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = If That Were Me

| cover = Melanie C If That Were Me Cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Melanie C

| album = Northern Star

| released =

| recorded =

| genre =

| length = 4:34

| label = Virgin

| writer =

| producer = Rick Nowels

| prev_title = I Turn to You

| prev_year = 2000

| next_title = Here It Comes Again

| next_year = 2003

| misc =

}}

"'If That Were Me'" is a song by English recording artist Melanie C. It was co-written and produced by Rick Nowels for her solo debut studio album 'Northern Star' (1999). The song's lyrics address the issue of homelessness. Selected as the album's fifth and final single, "If That Were Me" was released on 27 November 2000. The song peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Melanie C's first solo single not to reach the top five. The proceeds from its sale went to the Kandu Arts charity.

Critical reception



The lyrics of the song came in for particular criticism from professional music reviewers. Kurt B. Reighley wrote in 'CMJ New Music Monthly': "When she's singing lyrics like 'I couldn't live without my phone/ And you don't even have a home', it's tough to recall Chisholm's charms."Review by Kurt B. Reighley in 'CMJ', February 2000, p. 63. The 'NME's Andrew Wagstaff recommended people donate to Shelter and ridiculed the song's lyrics: "If, after doing so, you still want to hear our Mel trilling - and this is not a joke - 'I couldn't live without my phone/But you don't even have a home', well, hell, just remember that charity begins at home. So bear the neighbours in mind and wear headphones." Alex Needham described the song in 'The Guardian' as an "ode to a tramp" and suggested the aforementioned rhyming couplet was a strong contender for the worst song lyric ever. Caroline Sullivan of 'The Guardian' likened the song to Phil Collins' critically panned 1989 single "Another Day in Paradise", arguing that they both addressed homelessness with a similar lack of insight. It was also chosen by 'The Guardian' as among "the worst political lyrics in pop" in 2014.

Music video



The music video, which was shot in October 2000,http://www.spicenews.com/2000/nov00.html shows Melanie C on the top of a factory and around urban buildings while curling her arms around herself from the cold. There are also scenes of rain in alleyways. The video on the UK CD single features scenes from the music video for Brandy and Ray J's cover of "Another Day in Paradise", but these scenes were removed from television broadcasts for copyright issues.

Track listings



Charts



Release history



References



Category:1999 songs

Category:2000 singles

Category:2000s ballads

Category:Melanie C songs

Category:Pop ballads

Category:Songs written by Rick Nowels

Category:Songs written by Melanie C

Category:Song recordings produced by Rick Nowels

Category:Songs about homelessness

Category:Songs about poverty

Category:Political songs

Category:Protest songs

Category:Virgin Records singles

Buy If That Were Me now from Amazon

<-- Return to songs from 1999



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1110205736.