I Swear

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This article is about the John Michael Montgomery song, which was covered by All-4-One. For other uses, see I Swear (disambiguation).
"I Swear"
Song

"I Swear" is a ballad written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for two acts in 1994. Initially, it was a number-one single on the U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery at the beginning of the year. His version crossed over to pop radio and climbed to number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. A few months later, American pop group All-4-One covered the song and achieved great success in many countries. In Latin America it has been translated "Juraré" performed by the Costa Rican group Centinelas Vocal Band.[1] In 1998, the Mexican country band Caballo Dorado recorded a Spanish version called "Ya sé".

Content

The song is a ballad in which the narrator promises his significant other that he will always love her.

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Ball and premiered in late 1993.

Track listings

CD maxi—United States (1993)
  1. "I Swear" – 4:23
  2. "Line on Love" – 2:37
  3. "Dream on Texas Ladies" – 3:08
  4. "Friday at Five" – 2:41

Charts

"I Swear" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of December 18, 1993.

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[2] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 42
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[5] 8
US Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 1

All-4-One version

"I Swear"
Song

Several months after John Michael Montgomery had released his original version, All-4-One recorded their own version with record producer David Foster.

All-4-One's version hit number one in numerous countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., where it remained for eleven consecutive weeks. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for seven consecutive weeks, being held off number one by Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around", which went on to spend 15 weeks at number one. This version spent a total of 18 weeks in the UK charts.

The All-4-One version of the song is slightly different to the original, in that the line "And when there's silver in your hair" from the second verse was replaced by "And when just the two of us are there." This version ranks number 88 on Billboard's All-Time Top 100 Songs list.[7]

On May 9, 2016, All-4-One posted a video on YouTube recording a new version of the song with Montgomery.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It portrays the members of All-4-One hanging out on a rooftop, until they spot a woman. The rest of the music video shows the band members kicking a cardboard box through a puddle and bantering with her until she drives off on a public bus.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:19
CD maxi
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio mix) – 4:18
  3. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:18
  4. "I Swear" (album version) – 4:18
7" single
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:19

Charts and sales

POPSTARS Germany 2010 finalists version

"I Swear"
Song

The final eleven contestants from Popstars: Girls forever, ninth season of TV talent show POPSTARS in Germany, they released a cover version of the song with Gary Baker on November 19, 2010. The finalists premiered the song live on the November 18th edition of the programme; the single was available for digital download on November 16, 2010 and a physical release followed the day after the live performance of the song. The song was recorded at Noiseblock Studios in Florence, Alabama.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "I Swear" – 04:03
  2. "Empire of Love" – 03:28

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
German Singles Chart 68

In popular culture

  • The song was performed by UCLA's Bruin Harmony in the 2010 film The Social Network during a Valentine's Day a cappella music review at Harvard.
  • Following the success of the All-4-One version, Filipino boy group Quamo performed the Tagalog version of this song in 1994, with lyrics almost faithful to the original.
  • The song was performed in a comedic fashion by Eric Cartman in the South Park episode "Cartman Finds Love" and a part of it with special guest Brad Paisley; the show originally aired on April 25, 2012.
  • The song was featured in the 2005 American film Just Friends.
  • The song was sung by South Korean entertainer Ji Suk-jin in 1993 for a reporter audition for SBS, the video recording of which resurfaced on the 8th episode of Running Man, to great comedic effect.
  • The song was performed by the Minions in a wedding scene between Gru (the movie's main character) and Lucy (his partner in a case investigation) in the 2013 animated film Despicable Me 2 (humorously but deliberately sung as "Underwear") and its soundtrack.
  • The song was featured in an advertisement by Sky News as part of the UK general election 2015. It consists of archive footage of David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, and Ed Miliband speaking out cleverly edited into the lyrics of the song. This advert is known as a Ballot Ballad.

References

  1. ^ Revernation Artist, CENTINELAS VOCAL BAND.
  2. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2387." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. February 14, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  3. ^ "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  4. ^ "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  6. ^ "Best of 1994: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Bronson, Fred (August 2, 2013). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "I Swear", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  9. ^ Belgian peak
  10. ^ 1994 Canadian RPM Top Singles [1] (Retrieved November 11, 2010)
  11. ^ Danish peak
  12. ^ Eurochart peak
  13. ^ source: Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
  14. ^ "All-4-One singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  15. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  16. ^ "Single top 100 over 1994" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  17. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  18. ^ a b c d e Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 10, 2008)
  19. ^ 1994 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  20. ^ 1994 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  21. ^ http://www.dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1994&cat=s
  22. ^ 1994 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  23. ^ "End Of Year Charts - Top 5 Singles 1994". Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  24. ^ 1994 New Zealand Singles Chart [2] (Retrieved April 26, 2015)
  25. ^ 1994 Norwegian Singles Chart [3] (Retrieved April 26, 2015)
  26. ^ 1994 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved April 26, 2008)
  27. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  28. ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  30. ^ "Austrian single certifications – All 4 One – I Swear" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  31. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (All-4-One; 'I Swear')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  32. ^ Dutch certifications nvpi.nl (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
  33. ^ THE FIELD id (chart number) MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION.
  34. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  35. ^ "British single certifications – All-4-One – I Swear". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type I Swear in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard. 107 (3). BPI Communications: 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  37. ^ "American single certifications – All 4 One – I Swear". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
number-one single
February 5–26, 1994 		Succeeded by
RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
February 14–28, 1994
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
number-one single of the year
1994 		Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
May 21, 1994 – July 30, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Mainstream Top 40 number-one single
May 28, 1994 – July 2, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
July 8, 1994 – August 12, 1994 		Succeeded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by Canadian number-one single
June 20, 1994 – July 4, 1994 		Succeeded by
"Don't Turn Around" by Ace Of Base
Preceded by
"Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain
"När vi gräver guld i USA" by Glenmark / Eriksson / Strömstedt
 Swedish number-one single
July 15, 1994 (1 week)
July 29, 1994 		Succeeded by
"När vi gräver guld i USA" by Glenmark / Eriksson / Strömstedt
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies
 German number-one single
July 22, 1994 – September 16, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Swiss number-one single
July 31, 1994 – October 16, 1994 		Succeeded by
"Let the Dream Come True" by DJ Bobo
Preceded by
"Dreams (Will Come Alive)" by 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor featuring Des'Ray And D-Rock
 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
August 6, 1994 – August 13, 1994 		Succeeded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by
"Eins, Zwei, Polizei" by Mo-Do
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
 Austria number-one single
August 21, 1994 – September 11, 1994
September 25, 1994 - October 10, 1994
October 16, 1994 - October 23, 1994 		Succeeded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
"Hey Süßer" by Lucilectric
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