Bring Me Some Water
Encyclopedia
Song information
Melissa Etheridge wrote the song after the initial version of her debut album was rejected by the recording company, which left her only four days to provide new material and a modified edition of the album. At the time, she was residing in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
while her girlfriend, Kathleen, lived elsewhere, so Etheridge had reluctantly agreed to make theirs a non-monogamous relationship. The song tells about the pain and jealousy arising from thoughts of her lover being intimate with someone else. There are many metaphors in the lyrics describing her emotional state, principally the chorus line: "Somebody bring me some water - can't you see I'm burning alive." Many other songs on the album deal with the same subject.
Musically, "Bring Me Some Water" is a classic rock song with some blues themes. During an interview featured on the bonus DVD of Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled
Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled
Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled is a 2005 music album by Melissa Etheridge, released by Island Records. It featured 17 tracks from her 17-year career, five of which were newly recorded...
, Etheridge says:
Furthermore, she states that, of all the songs she has written, "Bring Me Some Water" is the one with the highest recognition value and that wherever she plays the song in the world, everybody at her concerts knows the song after the first seconds of the intro.
Etheridge has collaborated with contemporary pop musicians on two notable recorded-live television performances of this song: Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
, who appeared as one of several guest artists on the inaugural 22 November 1995 episode of the VH1 Duets series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QhzuR1SYlw; and Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
on the 17 September 2009 VH1 Divas
VH1 Divas
In 1998, VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts aired annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five year hiatus, the...
concert special http://www.vh1.com/video/shows/vh1-divas-2009/438081/vh1-divas-2009-kelly-clarkson-and-melissa-etheridge-perform-bring-me-some-water.jhtml#id=1621663.
Charts
The song did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
but was a hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart where it reached #10. The single was very successful in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n single charts.
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Australian single charts | 12 |
| 1989 | Canadian single charts | 32 |
| 1989 | Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart | 10 |
Tracklist
All songs written by Melissa Etheridge.- "Bring Me Some Water" - 3:52
- "Occasionally" - 2:36
Credits and personnel
- Melissa Etheridge - acoustic guitar, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Wally BadarouWally BadarouWally Badarou is a musician from Benin.-Biography:A synthesiser specialist, Badarou was the longtime associate of the British band Level 42, known for its blend of funk, pop, soul and rock...
- keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Craig Krampf - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Kevin McCormick - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Johnny Lee Schell - guitar
- Scott Thurston - keyboard
- Waddy WachtelWaddy WachtelRobert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...
- guitar - Producers: Melissa Etheridge, Niko Bolas, Craig Krampf, Kevin McCormick
- Executive producers: Chris Blackwell, Rob Fraboni
- Engineers: Allan Blazek, Jim Nipar
- Assistant engineer: David Kane
- Mixing assistants: Duane Seykora, Bob Vogt
- Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
- Arrangers: Melissa Etheridge, Craig Krampf
- Photography: George DuBose
- Cover design: Tony Wright
Sources
- Melissa Etheridge and Laura Morton: The truth is..., Random House 2002
- Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled bonus DVD
- Bring Me Some Water at musicmoz.com