Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album, True Blue (1986). The song was composed by Patrick Leonard as an instrumental for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire, but Paramount rejected it. Leonard then presented the track to Madonna, who decided to use it for At Close Range, a film starring her then-husband Sean Penn. Madonna wrote the lyrics, co-composed the melodies and co-produced it with Leonard. "Live to Tell" was released as True Blue's lead single in 1986, by Sire Records; afterwards, it was included on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Something to Remember (1995), and Celebration (2009). A pop ballad, the song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards, drums and a synthesizer, while the lyrics deal with deceit, mistrust and childhood scars; Madonna also recalled in an interview that she thought about her relationship with her parents while writing the lyrics.
"Live to Tell"
March 26, 1986
1985
- 5:51 (album version)
- 4:37 (single version)
- Madonna
- Patrick Leonard
- Madonna
- Patrick Leonard
Upon release, the song was acclaimed by music critics, who frequently referred to it as one of her best ballads. It was also commercially successful, becoming Madonna's third number one in the US Billboard Hot 100, and her first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows the singer in a more demure, toned down appearance, inspired by actresses such as Grace Kelly, intercut with clips from the movie. "Live to Tell" was included on four of Madonna's concert tours. The performance at 2006's Confessions Tour caused controversy as it had the singer hanging from a mirrored cross simulating a crucifixion; religious groups condemned the number as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church. Madonna responded saying that her main intention with the performance was to bring attention to the millions of children dying in Africa. "Live to Tell" has been covered by a handful of artists, particularly for tribute albums.
Composition[edit]
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad whose background instrumentation features a keyboard, a synthesizer, a funk guitar and a mix of synthesized and real drumming.[15] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., the song's written in the key of F major, set in common time, and moves at a moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute.[16] It begins with an instrumental introduction, performed by a synthesizer with the bass pedals set on D minor, before the key suddenly changes to its relative major, F.[17] Madonna's vocal range spans almost one octave from F3 to D4.[16] As she begins to sing the first verse, the bass pedal changes to C major, then back to F during the chorus, and back to D minor during the closure.[17] This process is repeated during the second verse and chorus, which abruptly ends in a silence with only the "low and lifeless" sound of the synthesizer, set in D minor. Madonna then starts to sing the bridge "If I ran away, I'd never have the strength" between the tonal keys of D and F, closing with the repetition of the chorus until the song gradually fades out.[17]
Lyrically, "Live to Tell" portrays the complexity of deceit and mistrust;[15] According to authors Freya Jarman-Ivens and Santiago Fouz-Hernández, in Madonna's Drowned Worlds (2004), it is about "childhood scars", and counts with an "extreme" emotional pitch.[18] On another note, Boston.com's Scott Kearnan added that it's about "bearing the burden of some enigmatic secret and coping with a painful past", while Nick Levine from Digital Spy argued that it was about child abuse.[19][20] Dave Marsh wrote on The Heart of Rock & Soul that the archetype of songs like "Live to Tell" is The Platters' "The Great Pretender" (1965).[15] In an interview about the song, Madonna herself revealed the lyrics talk about "my relationship with my parents and the lying that went on. The song is about being strong, and questioning whether you can be that strong but ultimately surviving".[21]