"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter
Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the
soundtrack of the film
Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who
decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film
At Close Range. It was produced by Leonard and Madonna
for her third studio album
True Blue, released in mid-1986, later appearing as a
remix on the 1990 compilation album
The Immaculate Collection, in its original form on the
1995 ballads compilation album
Something to Remember, and most recently on her third
compilation album
Celebration(again in its original form), released in
September 2009.
The song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards,
drums and a synthesizer, and its lyrics deals with deceit,
mistrust and childhood scars. The music video, directed by
James Foley, shows Madonna's first image makeover, featuring
her with a cleaner look, shoulder-length wavy golden blond hair
and subtle make-up.
Released as the album's first single in March 1986, the song
was a commercial success. It became Madonna's third number-one
single on the Hot 100, and her first number-one on the Adult
Contemporary chart. It was generally well-received by music
critics, who frequently referred to it as the best ballad of
her career. The song faced controversy when Madonna performed
it on her 2006 Confessions Tour wearing a crown of thorns while
hanging on a giant mirrored cross. The performance at Rome's
Olympic Stadium was condemned as an act of hostility toward the
Roman Catholic Church by religious leaders.
"Live to Tell" was originally written by Patrick Leonard for
the soundtrack of Paramount's romantic drama film
Fire with Fire, but after the company declined it,
Leonard presented the song to Madonna. She decided to use it
for
At Close Range, the new film of her then-husband, actor
Sean Penn. Madonna made a demo of the song, which the film's
director, James Foley, after hearing, asked Leonard to write
the score for the film, as suggested by Madonna.
Leonard initially envisioned a male voice interpreting the
song, but decided to use Madonna's demo version as the main
vocal with backup drums only, later recalling that "it was so
innocent and so shy. It's as naive, as raw, as can be and
that's part of what gave it all its charm." In a 1986
interview, Madonna said that the mood on the song was inspired
by a different facet of her image makeover and her desire to
focus on something different.
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad, with background
instrumentation from a keyboard, a synthesizer, a funk guitar
and a mix of synthesized and real drumming. The song is written
in the key of F major, is set in common time and moves at a
moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute. The song starts with an
instrumental introduction, performed by a synthesizer with the
bass pedal set on D minor. Then the key suddenly changes to its
relative major, F.
Madonna's vocal range spans two octaves, from G
3to G
5. As she begins to sing the first verse, the bass
pedal changes to C major, changes back to F during the chorus,
and back to D minor during the chorus closure. 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 start to sing the
third verse—"If I ran away, I'd never have the
strength"—between the tonal keys of D and F, closing with the
repeating of the chorus until the song gradually fades out.
Lyrically "Live to Tell" portrays the complexity of deceit
and mistrust. The song is also about childhood scars and had an
extreme emotional pitch. According to the book
The Heart of Rock & Soul, the archetype of songs
like "Live to Tell" is The Platters' song "The Great
Pretender". In an interview about the song, Madonna said, "I
thought 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."
"Live to Tell" was generally well-received by music critics.
In a review of the album
True Blue, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called
it a "tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult
contemporary crossover". Jim Farber from
Entertainment Weeklycalled the song "her best ballad to
date". In a review of her compilation album
The Immaculate Collection, David Browne from the same
magazine called it "one of her few successful shots at being a
balladeer".
Blender's Tony Power said that the song "is her
[Madonna's] first ballad not sunk by her ordinary pipes".
Alfred Soto from Stylus Magazine felt that "the song's set of
lyrics remain her best" and that the vocals "seethes with a
lifetime's worth of hurts which she nevertheless refuses to
share". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine called the song
"striking" adding that it "rewrote the rules of what a pop song
was supposed to sound like".
"Live to Tell" was released in the United States in March
1986. It debuted on the Hot 100 at number forty-nine, reaching
the top position eight weeks later, becoming Madonna's third
number-one single in the U.S., and her second number-one that
is featured in a film after "Crazy for You". The song was a
crossover success, topping the Adult Contemporary chart for
three weeks, and peaking at number three on the Hot Dance
Singles Sales chart. In Canada the song debuted at the
seventy-nine position of the
RPMsingles chart in April 1986, reached the top for two
weeks in May 1986, stayed on the chart for twenty-three weeks,
and ended at the second position of the year-end chart.
In the United Kingdom "Live to Tell" was released on April
21, 1986. The next week the song debuted at number ten on the
UK Singles Chart, peaked at number two, and stayed thirteen
weeks on the chart. It was certified silver by the British
Phonographic Industry (BPI) in May 1986. Across Europe, "Live
to Tell" topped the Eurochart Hot 100 for two weeks, and the
singles chart in Italy, as well as peaking inside the top ten
in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and
Switzerland.
In 1986 Madonna starred in the film
Shanghai Surprise, where she toned down her appearance,
inspired again by Marilyn Monroe. Madonna held the look for the
"Live to Tell" video. In it her make-up was pale and subtle,
her shoulder-length hair was wavy and golden blond, and her
clothes consisted in a simple 1930s-style floral dress. In an
interview with music critic Stephen Holden from
The New York Times, she commented about her new
look:
After a while I got sick of wearing tons of jewelry—I wanted
to clean myself off. I see my new look as very innocent and
feminine and unadorned. It makes me feel good. Growing up, I
admired the kind of beautiful glamorous woman—from Brigitte
Bardot to Grace Kelly—who doesn't seem to be around much
anymore. I think it's time for that kind of glamor to come
back.
In addition to
At Close Range, Foley also directed the song's video.
David Naylor and Sharon Oreck were in charge of the production.
The video serves as a publicity campaign for the movie, as it
includes brief scenes of the film that indicate the conflict
the young man in the movie—played by Sean Penn—feels.
The locations in the movie are separated visually from the
shots of Madonna, who is singing in a darkened studio. Unlike
her previous videos, Madonna portrays a narrator, whose song
comments on the story, appearing in shots completely different
from the narrative action. She appears to speak for the
character, addressing his problems directly, like the chorus of
a classical tragedy.,
Madonna premiered the song at a benefit concert at Madison
Square Garden to raise money for medical research for AIDS. She
dedicated the song to the memory of her friend, artist Michael
Burgoyne. Madonna has since performed the song on three of her
world tours. In 1987, during the Who's That Girl Tour, she
performed the song standing motionless in a single spotlight,
wearing a black ensemble with tassels, golden tips and ribbing,
designed by Marlene Stewart. Two different performances of the
song on this tour can be found on the videos:
Who's That Girl - Live in Japan, filmed in Tokyo, Japan,
on June 22, 1987, and
Ciao, Italia! - Live from Italy, filmed in Turin, Italy,
on September 4, 1987. Three years later on her Blond Ambition
World Tour, Madonna evoked Catholic images during the
performance. She wore a black kaftan and a neon crucifix, while
singing on a confession bench, with Roman columns and a
platform full of votive candles in the background. Two
different performances were taped and released on video, the
Blond Ambition - Japan Tour 90, taped in Yokohama,
Japan, on April 27, 1990, and the
Live! - Blond Ambition World Tour 90, taped in Nice,
France, on August 5, 1990.
Madonna's performance of the song was the subject of
controversy during the 2006 Confessions Tour. She was raised
from the floor hanging on a mirrored cross wearing a red blouse
and velvet pants, with a crown of thorns on her head. During
the performance, the number 12,000,000 flashed above her on the
stage's backdrop screens, along with images of African
children. This was intended to detail the estimated number of
children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in
Africa.
German prosecutors in Düsseldorf threatened to sue her for
blasphemy, and Protestant bishop Margot Käßmann said that
"maybe the only way an aging superstar can attract attention is
to offend people's religious sentiments." The Russian Orthodox
Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
(FJCR) described Madonna's performance as amoral, and urged all
members to boycott her upcoming concert in Moscow. The
performance at Rome's Olympic Stadium—located near the
Vatican—was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman
Catholic Church by religious leaders. Italian cardinal Ersilio
Tonini called the concert "a blasphemous challenge to the
faith" and a "profanation of the cross", also calling for
Madonna to be excommunicated. Reverend Manfredo Leone described
it as "disrespectful, in bad taste and provocative".
Muslim and Jewish leaders also criticized the performance.
Mario Scialoja, the head of Italy's Muslim League commented "I
think her idea is in the worst taste and she'd do better to go
home." Riccardo Pacifici, the spokesman for Rome's Jewish
community said "It's a disrespectful act, and to do it in Rome
is even worse." Madonna released a statement about the
controversy:
I am very grateful that my show was so well received all
over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations
about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it
myself once and for all., There is a segment in my show where
three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences
from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My
'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I
ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church.
It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up
the Cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither
anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my
plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another
and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart
that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same
thing., My specific intent is to bring attention to the
millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are
living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am
asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in
whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the
Bible's Book of Matthew: 'For I was hungry and you gave me
food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you
took care of me and God replied, "Whatever you did for the
least of my brothers... you did it to me.', Please do not pass
judgement without seeing my show.
"Live to Tell" has been covered by numerous artists. In
1992, American guitarist Bill Frisell covered the song in his
fourth album,
Have a Little Faith. In 1998, Blonde Ambition released a
dance single of the song featuring 6 different hi-NRG remix
versions. Italian singer Lucrezia made an uptempo dance version
of the song that was remixed by David Morales. It peaked at
number two for two weeks on
Billboard
's Hot Dance Club
Play, and was included in the 2001 album
Logic Pride, Vol. 4. Canadian jazz singer Carol Welsman,
covered it on her eponymous 2007 album.
New Wave band Berlin covered the song for the 1999 album
Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 1. In an
interview with CNN, Berlin's lead vocalist Terri Nunn said that
the tribute was necessary, commenting that "she [Madonna] has
influenced a lot of people", adding that "Live to Tell" is the
only song from Madonna that she would touch. Other covers of
the song on tribute albums include Semi Moore on
The Material Girl: A Tribute to Madonna, released in
2000, an instrumental version on the 2002 album
The String Quartet Tribute to Madonna, a folk version by
Winter Flowerson on the 2007 album
Through the Wilderness, and a hi-NRG version by Melissa
Totten on her 2008 album,
Forever Madonna.