Live to Tell
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIV : Live to Tell
| "Live To Tell" | ||||
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| Single by Madonna from the album True Blue | ||||
| Released | March 26, 1986 | |||
| Format | 7" Single CDVideo 12" Single and 5" CD Single | |||
| Recorded | ?? | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 5:52 (album version) 5:18 (edit) | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||
| '''Producer | Madonna Pat Leonard | |||
| Madonna singles chronology | ||||
| "Gambler" (1985) | "Live to Tell" (1986) | "Papa Don't Preach" (1986) | ||
"Live to Tell" is a 1986 single by Madonna. It was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard.
"Live to Tell" was the title song of the film At Close Range, starring Madonna's then-husband Sean Penn. "Live to Tell" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of June 7, 1986, and reached number two on the UK singles chart. There was no soundtrack for the film At Close Range. "Live to Tell" was later included on Madonna's album True Blue as well as appearing on two of her compilation albums.
"Live To Tell" marked a major shift for Madonna. This was widely seen as her first adult oriented song, and the vocals were considered her best to date. This was also the fourth Madonna single within two years which was affiliated with a film, and the first commercially available collaboration with Patrick Leonard, who would go on to become one of Madonna's most consistent and critically acclaimed collaborators.
Song information
The song was also used during the final scene of the TV show Cold Case episode "Churchgoing People" (Season 1, episode 4). The story is that an alzheimer's-stricken woman killed her husband after their son found out he was having an affair. Being a very strong-willed woman, she made her son, who witnessed the brutal killing, keep this secret until the case worker finally found out the truth. The lyrics of the song certainly fit the story.Some critics and fans consider the song a milestone in Madonna's career. "Live to Tell" was only the second Madonna ballad to be released as a single. Unlike her first ballad release, "Crazy for You", "Live to Tell" is not a love song but is about contemplation and mustering the strength to face a difficult situation. Therefore, many consider "Live to Tell" to be Madonna's first "serious" song. After twenty years of its release, it stands still as one of Madonna's most loved ballads.
In 2006, Madonna was the subject of a minor controversy, as she performed "Live to Tell" on her Confessions Tour hanging on a giant mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. This was not the first controversial or theatrical moment of he career, though the song's poignant lyrics have generally lent themselves to theatrical interpretations by the singer from as far back as the Who's That Girl? Tour through to the confessional interpretation of the Blond Ambition Tour.
The Video
Directed by James Foley who also directed "At Close Range", the video featured the new, 1986 incarnation of Madonna. With flowing blonde locks, wearing a demure dress and minimal lighting, Madonna seemed adult for the first time in her career, a stark contrast to the NYC urchin who playfully sung and danced in her preceding videos, and it was the first of series of substantial image changes which MTV in their 1990 Madonna rockumentary dubbed as "a trademark of her career".Intercut footage from the movie and Madonna on a chair in a darkened space powerfully suggested the song's underlying themes of secrets, expositions and ultimate triumph, as the singer eventually finds herself able to get away from the confines of the chair and able to stand in a single light in the dark.
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