Oh Father
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"Oh Father" is an pop song written by American singer Madonna and Patrick Leonard for Madonna's fourth album Like a Prayer (1989). The song was produced by Madonna and Leonard and received a positive reception from music critics. The song was released as the fourth single in the fall of 1989 (see 1989 in music) and became Madonna's first single since 1984 not to go top ten in the United States, stalling at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100. It was not released as a single in the United Kingdom until 1995, when it appeared on Something to Remember, a ballads compilation.
Music video
"Oh Father" featured a black and white music video that was directed by David Fincher and was filmed in the fall of 1989. In the video Madonna plays a character that is coming to terms with the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. Also included is a scene where Madonna's character is slapped by her lover, suggesting that abused children sometimes fall into abusive relationships as adults. "Oh Father," intentionally or not, lends credence to reports that Sean Penn was violent with Madonna during their marriage.
A scene in which the lips of Madonna's character's dead mother are sewn together was asked to be cut out of the video by MTV, but Madonna refused to cut anything out and MTV eventually gave up, allowing Madonna to keep the scene in the video.
The music video has been honoured by Rolling Stone as one of the "The 100 Top Music Videos" placing at number sixty-six. It is commercially available on Madonna's The Immaculate Collection (1990) VHS companion.
Chart performance
On October 24 1989, "Oh Father" was released in the United States. The song became Madonna's first single since "Holiday" in 1983 not to go top ten in the United States, stalling at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the U.S., the song was also not a top ten hit. It reached number twelve in Japan and number twenty-six in France."Oh Father" was not released as a single in the United Kingdom until December 25 1995, when it appeared on Something to Remember. Released in the UK only, the song peaked at number sixteen on the UK singles chart.
Charts
| Chart (1989/96) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Top 50 Singles | 59 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 (1996) | 62 |
| France Singles Chart | 26 |
| Japan (ChartJapan) | 12 |
| UK Singles Chart (1995) | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 20 |
Chart trajectories
| UK Singles chart trajectory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chart position | 21 | 32 | 42 | 59 | 76 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart trajectory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chart position | 45 | 40 | 35 | 30 | 27 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 70 | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Oh Father". It was Madonna's last released on 7" vinyl in the U.S. with a picture sleeve. All other 7"es afterwards came in plain white die-cut sleeves. However, the picture sleeve release of "Oh Father" was extremely limited and therefore it is almost impossible to find a copy today.UK CD single
- "Oh Father"
- "Live To Tell" (Live edit from Ciao Italia)
- "Why's It So Hard" (Live from The Girlie Show)
- "Oh Father"
- "Pray for Spanish Eyes"
- "Oh Father"
- "Pray for Spanish Eyes"
- "Oh Father"
- "Live to Tell" (Live edit from Ciao Italia)
References
- Billboard.com. [link]. Last accessed on Mar. 6, 2006. - U.S. chart positions.
- MoCaW: Madonna on Charts around the World. [link]. Last accessed on Mar. 6, 2006. - Worldwide chart positions and certifications.
- EIL.com. [link]. Last accessed on Mar. 6, 2006. - Formats and track listings.
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