Take a Bow (Madonna song)
"Take a Bow" is a song by American singer Madonna from her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994). It was released as the album's second single on December 6, 1994, by Maverick Records. It is a midtempo pop ballad written and produced by Madonna and Babyface. Following the sexually explicit persona portrayed by Madonna on her previous album, Erotica, she wanted to tone down her image for Bedtime Stories. Experimenting with a new musical direction and a more radio-friendly sound, Madonna decided to collaborate with Babyface, whose work with other musicians had impressed her. "Take a Bow" was developed after she listened to the basic beat and chords of a piece of music composed by him.
"Take a Bow"
Recorded at The Hit Factory Studios in New York, "Take a Bow" was backed by a full orchestra. It was also the first time that Babyface had worked with live strings, per Madonna's suggestion. "Take a Bow" lyrically talks about unrequited love and Madonna saying goodbye. It received favorable reviews from music critics, who praised its soulful, poetic lyrics. The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven weeks, becoming Madonna's 11th chart-topper. She broke Carole King's three-decade-long record as the female songwriter with the most number-one songs, a record which was later broken by Mariah Carey. "Take a Bow" also reached number one in Canada and the top ten in Finland, Switzerland, and New Zealand. However, it became her first single to miss the UK top ten since 1984, peaking at number 16.
The music video for "Take a Bow" was directed by Michael Haussman, and was filmed in Ronda, Spain. The video depicts Madonna as a bullfighter's (played by real-life Spanish bullfighter Emilio Muñoz) neglected lover, yearning for his love. It won the Best Female Video award at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. Journalistic and academic analysis of the video included its plotline, usage of religious iconography, themes and motifs of feminism and submission, as well as its impact on contemporary music videos. In order to promote Bedtime Stories, Madonna performed "Take a Bow" on a few occasions, including live with Babyface at the 1995 American Music Awards. She aldo performed the song to the setlist of her Rebel Heart Tour (2015-2016), her one-off concert Madonna: Tears of a Clown (2016), and on The Celebration Tour (2023-2024).
Recording and composition[edit]
"Take a Bow" was recorded at The Hit Factory studios, New York, and was mastered and mixed at Sterling Sound Studios, New York.[11] Babyface recalled that he was nervous about recording with Madonna, since he feared that Madonna was a "perfectionist" in the studio, and that would ultimately be time-consuming for the whole process. However, it was one of the fastest recording and mixing, each brought lyrics and melodies, singing them back and forth.[12] The song was backed by full orchestral strings and was also the first time that Babyface had worked with live strings. He recalled that using strings in the song was "[Madonna's] suggestion, and it was Nellee Hooper who actually [arranged the strings]. She had worked with them before but for me it was a new experience".[4] Along with Hooper, Jessie Leavey, Craig Armstrong and Suzie Katayama also worked on the strings and conducting.[11]
"Take a Bow" was written and produced by Madonna and Babyface, and is a midtempo pop,[13] R&B,[14] and soul[15] ballad with Japanese musical influences, like that of Kyu Sakamoto's 1961 song, "Sukiyaki".[16] It begins with sounds of oriental pentatonic strings, giving the impression of Chinese or Japanese opera. The verses consist of a descending chord sequence, containing twists at the end. Madonna's vocals are in a "sleepy languid mood" that is characteristic of the songs from Bedtime Stories. The lyrics during the chorus talk about Madonna saying goodbye to a lover, who had taken her for granted. The title plays upon the verse in the song "all the world is a stage and everyone has their part", a reference to a line by William Shakespeare in his play As You Like It, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women mere players".[17]
In his book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, author J. Randy Taraborrelli describes the song as a "somber, sarcastic, all-the-world's-a-stage song about unrequited love... [about a subject] whose phoniness might have fooled everyone else, but not her." He goes on to say that in the song Madonna tells the subject of her unrequited love to take a bow for "rendering a great, transparent performance in life and love."[18] Alongside the betrayal of her lover, the lyrics also talk about Madonna trying to understand the reasons behind adultery. As the song progresses, the listener realizes that through the lyrics the singer was talking about herself—"One lonely star and you don't know who you are".[16] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music at Musicnotes.com, the song has a moderate calypso feel and is set in the time signature of common time and progresses in 80 beats per minute. This song is in the key of A♭ major with Madonna's vocal ranging from E♭3 to C5. "Take a Bow" contains a basic sequence of A♭–B♭m7/E♭–A♭–F♭maj7 during the opening strings, and A♭–A♭/G♭–Fm7 during the verses as its chord progression.[19]