The song is about the importance of always standing together, and was co-written by Naomi Judd and dedicated to the Judd family and fans as almost a goodbye, as at the time, Naomi was chronically ill with Hepatitis C and was forced to retire as it had been speculated that she had only three years left to live.[citation needed] "Love Can Build a Bridge" is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 66 beats per minute in common time. The vocals span from E3 to D5.[2]
A new version of "Love Can Build a Bridge" recorded by American singers Cher and Chrissie Hynde, Swedish singer Neneh Cherry, and British singer-guitarist Eric Clapton was released as 1995's official Comic Relief single.[10] This version topped the UK Singles Chart for one week in March 1995; it was Cher's second solo UK number-one hit, Hynde's first UK number one outside the Pretenders, and the only UK number-one single for both Cherry and Clapton.[11]
John Robinson from NME commented, "Interesting architectural advice here from that well-known construction firm Cher, Hynde, Cherry and Clapton. This, as such an unlikely combination of talents may have already suggested, is this year's Comic Relief record — and bloody shocking it is too."[12]
The song was covered by Children for Rwanda as a charity single in aid of Save the Children. This version was released on August 30, 1994, and reached number 57 on the UK Singles Chart the following month.[25][26] In 1992, at the age of 10, Britney Spears performed a cover of the song on the US television show Star Search.[27]