"A Broken Wing" is a song recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Martina McBride

Martina McBride

Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

, written by Phil Barnhart, Sam Hogin and James House

James House (singer)

James Andrew House is an American country music artist. Originally a member of a group called the House Band, James began his country music career in 1990 on MCA Records, recording two albums for that label. He later penned singles for Diamond Rio and Dwight Yoakam, before finding another record...

. It appears on McBride's 1997 album Evolution

Evolution (Martina McBride album)

Evolution is the fourth album released by Martina McBride. It was released in 1997 via RCA Records. It included the hit singles "Happy Girl", "A Broken Wing" and "Valentine", the latter of which became her first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as her first major crossover hit...

, from which it was released as the second single. In January 1998, "A Broken Wing" became McBride's second Number One single.

Content

"A Broken Wing" is set at a moderate tempo, in the key of B major

B major

In music theory, B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps....

 and a 12/8 time signature

Time signature

The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....

. The verses use a chord pattern of B-C♯m7-E-B three times, followed by B-C♯m7-E-F♯-B; the refrain

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

 uses G♯m-D♯m7-C♯m7-B followed by B-C♯m7-E-F♯-B. McBride's vocal ranges two octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

s, from F♯3 to F♯5.

In the storyline, a female character escapes from an emotionally abusive relationship. Regarding the second verse, wherein the husband finds "a note by the window / and the curtains blowin' in the breeze," the authors of the book My Country Roots wrote that the song's conclusion could be interpreted to indicate that the woman has committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 or that she has escaped.

Paul Worley

Paul Worley

Paul Worley is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Records' Nashville division as chief creative officer...

 told Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

magazine in 1998 that the entirety of the track, except for the backing vocals

Backing vocalist

A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

, was recorded in one day, while other tracks on the album were recorded in pieces over time.

Music video

Deaton-Flanigen Productions

Deaton-Flanigen Productions

Deaton-Flanigen Productions is a music video directing duo composed of Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field of country music...

 directed the song's music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

. It was nominated for Music Video of the Year at the 1998 Country Music Association

Country Music Association

The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...

 awards.

Chart positions

"A Broken Wing" debuted on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

) charts dated for September 13, 1997. The song spent twenty-five weeks on that chart, peaking at number one on the charts dated for January 10, 1998.

Chart (1997–1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	61
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	17