- Source: Live to Tell
"Live to Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna included on her third studio album True Blue (1986), and in the 1986 film At Close Range. A pop ballad with torch influences, its lyrics talk about deceit, mistrust and childhood scars. Originally conceived as an instrumental by producer Patrick Leonard for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire (1986), it was rejected by the studio, who deemed it unfit for the movie. Leonard then presented the track to Madonna, who decided to use it for At Close Range, which stars her then-husband Sean Penn. She wrote the lyrics, came up with a bridge and a few melodies of her own, and co-produced the track alongside Leonard.
In the United States, “Live to Tell" was released on March 26, 1986, in anticipation of the film's release in April; it also serves as the lead single for True Blue. In Australia and most European countries, the song's release date was April 14. Upon release, it was lauded by critics, who applauded Madonna's vocals and deemed it a highlight in True Blue. In retrospective reviews, it has often been referred to as one of her finest ballads. Additionally, "Live to Tell" was commercially successful, becoming Madonna's third number-one in the US Billboard Hot 100 and her first number-one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
The music video, directed by James Foley, shows the singer in a more demure, toned-down appearance, inspired by actresses such as Grace Kelly, intercut with clips from At Close Range. Madonna has sung "Live to Tell" on four of her concert tours, the most recent being the Celebration Tour of 2023―2024. The song's performance on 2006's Confessions Tour caused controversy, as it had the singer hanging from a mirrored cross simulating a crucifixion; religious groups condemned the number as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church. Madonna responded by saying that her main intention with the performance was to bring attention to the millions of children dying in Africa. "Live to Tell" has been covered by a handful of artists, particularly for tribute albums.
Background
In June 1985, Madonna wrapped up the Virgin Tour, her first concert tour. The tour's musical director was producer Patrick Leonard, who'd previously worked on the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour. Following the Virgin tour, Madonna asked Leonard if he wanted to continue working with her and he accepted. They met at a barbecue in his house, where he showed her a song he'd created in his studio called "Love Makes the World Go Round", that Madonna then sang at the Philadelphia Live Aid benefit concert on July 13. Around the same time, the singer married actor Sean Penn, whom she met in the set of the music video for her single "Material Girl".
Leonard, by his part, was trying to break into film scoring. He was presented the script to Paramount's 1986 film Fire with Fire by his manager —who also represented the movie's director Duncan Gibbins— and came up with the instrumental for "Live to Tell". When he submitted the track for Paramount's approval, he told executives he'd be able to get Madonna to write the lyrics. The studio, however, rejected the track, believing it didn't fit with the film's theme. After Madonna heard Paramount had turned down the track, she decided to use it as the end credit song in a movie that Penn was working on, titled At Close Range.
According to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, the singer wrote the lyrics "on the spot", coming up with a bridge and a few melodies of her own. She recalled: "Sometimes when I'm writing songs, I'm just channeling [...] [The lyrics are] kind of inspired by [At Close Range] and family secrets and the things that make you who you are, but you don't necessarily want to share". She then recorded a demo and played it to James Foley —director of At Close Range— and Penn, who allegedly "loved it".
Penn telephoned Leonard, who was working with Michael Jackson on some transcriptions for his album Bad (1987), asking him to come to Foley's home. When the producer got there, Penn asked him who would sing the track, since it was written from a man's perspective. Leonard, who loved the "vulnerability" of Madonna's demo, convinced her to sing "Live to Tell" herself, even using the vocals from the demo instead of recording new ones. As for why he chose to do this, the producer explained: "It was so innocent and so shy. It's as naive, as raw as can be and that's part of what gave ['Live to Tell'] all its charm". "Live to Tell" was the second song Madonna and Leonard worked on together, following "Love Makes the World Go Round".
Composition and release
Musically, "Live to Tell" has been noted a "dark", "moody" and "atmospheric" pop ballad with torch influences. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., it is written in the key of F major, set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals are "throaty", with her range spanning almost one octave from F3 to D4. The lyrics are "vague but portentous", nodding at "some kind of emotional apocalypse". Music writer Dave Marsh held that the song speaks about "the complexity of deceit and mistrust", while according to Allen Metz and Carol Benson ―authors of The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary― and Boston.com's Scott Kearnan, it is about "childhood scars" and "bearing the burden of some enigmatic secret and coping with a painful past", which may or may not involve abuse.
Madonna herself, however, said that the lyrics to "Live to Tell" deal with "being strong, and questioning whether you can be that strong but ultimately surviving", further adding that it's one of her songs that "sums up all of my yearning and a lot of my pain". She again discussed the song's meaning during a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone: "I could say that ['Live to Tell'] was about my childhood, my relationship with my parents, my father and my stepmother. But maybe not. It could be about something in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel or a story that I heard once. [...] It's not necessarily autobiographical".
The song begins with the sound of "big drums", "gasping keyboards" and "blippy little oscillations". Madonna sings on the opening line, I have a tale to tell/Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well. As she begins to sing, she "temporarily slips outside" F3 and sings over a new bass pedal of C major. She goes back to F3 on the chorus: A man can tell a thousand lies/I've learned my lesson well/Hope I live to tell the secret I have learned. In the pre-bridge dissolve, where "only the dramatic waves of synth remain[s]", Madonna "gently reintroduces herself to the melody"; If I ran away, I’d never have the strength to go very far/How could they hear the beating of my heart/Will it grow cold?/The secret that I hide/Will I grow old?/How would they hear?/When would they learn?/How would they know?, she sings. Electric piano and a "touch of heavy metal guitar strains" are also present throughout the song.
In the United States, "Live to Tell" was released on March 26, 1986, prior to the release of At Close Range on April 18, and almost three months before True Blue —released on June 30. In Australia, New Zealand and most European countries, a release was issued on April 14. Afterwards, "Live to Tell" was included on three Madonna compilation albums: The Immaculate Collection (1990), Something to Remember (1995), and Celebration (2009).
Critical reception
"Live to Tell" has been lauded by critics since its release. From AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine deemed it a "tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover". Stewart Mason from the same portal said it was "unlike anything [Madonna] had recorded up to that point". "Live to Tell" was acclaimed by the Record-Journal's Jim Zebora, who gave True Blue an overall negative review: "[An] absolutely marvelous [song] [...] [with an] enchanting melody and arrangement, [and] captivating lyric[s]". Cash Box magazine called it a "restrained yet emotionally powerful ballad." On her review of True Blue for Yahoo!, Stacy Mannion classified "Live to Tell" as a "powerful [...] strange, but beautiful" ballad with a "bluesy feel". Erika Wexler from Spin, described it as "dense with dramatic mystery", and highlighted the way in which the singer "very theatrically conveys a dreamy fatalism".
Writing for PopMatters, Peter Piatkowski said it was a "simultaneously cold and emotional" song, filled with "maturity and ambition", as well as a "very deliberate effort to present Madonna as a mature and serious artist". According to The New York Times' Stephen Holden, "['Live to Tell'] proves that vocally Madonna isn't limited to catchy novelties and disco tunes – she can carry off a weightier ballad". In this vein, Allen Metz and Carol Benson felt the "compelling" track "expanded" Madonna's musical horizons, noting that she sings with "moving conviction". Stereogum's Tom Breihan wrote: "Madonna has never been a powerhouse like Whitney Houston, but she’s a communicator. She speaks volumes with tone and phrasing". Breihan went on to describe "Live to Tell" as "planetarium music [...] pure head-blown '80s sci-fi awe —the kind of wonderstruck synth music that Carl Sagan might've used to soundtrack Cosmos".
Adam Sexton, author of Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search of the Meaning of the World's Most Famous Woman, named it a "provocative companion" to "Papa Don't Preach", True Blue's second single, and complimented the production; "[the] music itself suggests a threatened annihilation, a fact that makes it more haunting", Sexton wrote. In The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, Rikky Rooksby said it was True Blue's second "strongest track" after "Papa Don't Preach", and compared it to "Luka" (1987) by Suzanne Vega. Reviewing The Immaculate Collection on its 25th anniversary, People's Drew Mackie said "Live to Tell" was one of Madonna's "better" ballads. While The National's Saeed Saeed named it an "epic" ballad, Justin Chadwick From website Albumsim referred to it as "gorgeously produced [...] one of the most riveting songs not just on True Blue, but across all of Madonna’s albums".
On her review of Something to Remember, USA Today's Edna Gundersen deemed it a "moody heart-tugger" that "may be her best song ever". James Croot from New Zealand website Stuff opined "Live to Tell" is a "heart-rending and haunting ballad that Madonna tried to recapture a few times later in her career ('This Used to Be My Playground', 'Take a Bow') without exactly the same kind of impact". One unfavorable review came from Rolling Stone's Davitt Sigerson, who was not impressed and dismissed the song as a "'Both Sides Now' rewrite". John Leland, writing for Spin, also gave a negative review: "At her best, [Madonna] exudes a sassy, girlish innocence [...] On 'Live to Tell', she's a woman of experience. [...] [But] unlike Sade, she seems to have nothing but a cheap, tawdry tale to tell —and only a cheap, tawdry voice to tell it in".
= Recognition
=
Scott Kearnan named "Live to Tell" Madonna 21st best single and wrote: "With 'Crazy for You', [she] proved she could nail a hit ballad: for teenage girls to slow dance to at prom. But 'Live to Tell' broadened her appeal with adult audiences". Billboard's Andrew Unterberger, and Entertainment Weekly's Chuck Arnold, placed it at number 18 and 17 of their rankings, respectively; the former named it "the first truly great Madonna ballad", while according to the latter, it found her "displaying greater depth and maturity than ever before. Louis Virtel, writing for The Backlot, named "Live to Tell" the tenth best song of Madonna's discograph: "Before ['Live to Tell'] she was an armpit-drying urchin in Desperately Seeking Susan; afterward, she was a serious balladeer [...] [It's] the closest thing Madonna's ever delivered to a 'sonic journey', and it’s beautiful, indigo-tinged adventure in introspection". Jude Rogers from The Guardian placed it nine on her ranking, highlighting its lyrics and referring to it as "the best thing [Madonna's] done in cinema, despite the mediocrity of the film that it's from". "Live to Tell" is a "melodramatic shot of emotion that highlights [Madonna's] signature throaty vocals", as well as her sixth best, according to Glamour's Christopher Rosa. On Slant Magazine's ranking, it was allocated on the fifth spot: "Madonna’s first and, arguably, most dramatic reinvention was scored by this spare and haunting ballad [...] [It] features one of [her] richest vocal performances", wrote Sal Cinquemani. Samuel R. Murrian from Parade deemed it Madonna's third best song; her "finest, most emotional ballad [that has] her strongest-ever lyrics". Finally, Enio Chola from PopMatters said it was Madonna's second best song, and wrote:
"'Live to Tell' has held up as the definitive Madonna ballad that perfectly encapsulates who she is as a person, performer, and cultural icon. It is her best ballad, and third-ever US number one single. [...] There’s a vulnerability [in 'Live to Tell'] that [she] rarely exposes regarding her fears as a human being, living up to the career expectations she’s built for herself, and how she compares to those she admires".
Chart performance
On April 12, 1986, Billboard reported that "Live to Tell" was one of the most added songs on radio stations, which gave it an "outstanding" debut on the Hot 100, at number 49. The following week, it debuted at number 28 on both the Hot Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 Airplay charts. On May 10, Billboard announced that "Live to Tell" was the single with the most airplay in reporting radio stations: 229 out of 230. The song reached the top of the Hot 100 on June 7 —becoming Madonna's third number-one in the United States— and spent one week in this position. "Live to Tell" was Madonna's third number-one hit in less than 18 months, as well as her second one taken from a movie, following "Crazy for You". Additionally, the song was a crossover success: It was Madonna's first Adult Contemporary number-one, topping the chart for three weeks. By the end of 1986, "Live to Tell" ranked 12th on the Adult Contemporary chart, and 35th on the Hot 100.
In Canada, "Live to Tell" debuted at number 79 of the RPM singles chart, the week of April 12, 1986, reaching the first spot one month later. It came in second at the RPM year-end singles chart for 1986. In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at the 10th position of the UK Singles Chart on April 26, 1986, eventually peaking at number two one week later. One month later, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 331,000 copies. According to Music Week magazine, over 271,897 copies of the single have been sold in the United Kingdom as of 2008. "Live to Tell" also saw success throughout Europe: It reached the first position in Italy and Greece; number two in Ireland and Norway; and number three in Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In France, the single reached the chart's sixth position, and was certified silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique for shipment of 250,000 copies. In New Zealand and Australia, the song peaked at number 7 and 6, respectively.
Music video
= Background
=
The music video for "Live to Tell" was directed by James Foley. It intersperses footage of Madonna singing against a black backdrop, with scenes from At Close Range that "indicate the conflict" Sean Penn's character goes through. According to author Matthew Rettenmund, the video was shot as a "minimalist portrait" of the "new" Madonna. Inspired by the "glamorous" style of the Golden Age of Hollywood and figures like Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe, the singer decided to tone down her appearance; "I got sick of wearing tons of jewelry – I wanted to clean myself off", she explained. In the visual, she dons a "demure" floral dress, while her hair and make up are "elegant, heavy but very tasteful". Additionally, "Live to Tell" marked her first music video to not feature a dance routine, but a "tinge of real-world storytelling", depicting Madonna as a narrator.
= Reception and analysis
=
In Your Neighbor's Hymnal: What Popular Music Teaches Us about Faith, Hope, and Love, Jeffrey F. Keuss wrote: "[T]here is something in that loneliness [from the video] that makes it feel like the most authentic thing [Madonna] has ever done", comparing the shots of her singing alone to Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc, and the cover artwork for Sinéad O'Connor's second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). According to Jeremy G. Butler, author of Television: Critical Methods and Applications, through her singing, Madonna appears to speak to Penn's character, addressing his problems directly like the chorus of a classical tragedy. Peter Piatkowski applauded the "gorgeous and stylish" visual, feeling it "matched the song’s intense moodiness". Tom Breihan said it was the only Madonna video that "gives as much screen time to a mustachioed Christopher Walken as it does to [her]". "Live to Tell" was considered the singer's 17th best music video by Samuel R. Murrian, and can be found on the 2009 compilation Celebration: The Video Collection.
Live performances
"Live to Tell" has been included on four of Madonna's concert tours: Who's That Girl (1987), Blond Ambition (1990), Confessions (2006), and Celebration (2023―2024). On the first one, she sang the song standing motionless in a single spotlight, dressed in a black ensemble with tassels, golden tips and ribbing, designed by Marlene Stewart. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn noted that the artist sang "with a delicate, embracing feeling that few of even her biggest fans would have imagined possible five years ago". By contrast, The Washington Post's Richard Harrington deemed the number one of the concert's weakest, as he felt the ballad didn't "transition too well" to a stadium. Two different performances can be found on the videos Who's That Girl: Live in Japan, filmed in Tokyo on June, and Ciao Italia: Live from Italy, filmed in Turin on September.
On the Blond Ambition World Tour, "Live to Tell" was performed in a medley with "Oh Father" (1989) and given a Catholic theme: The stage was set up to resemble a candlelit cathedral, while Madonna wore black vestments. She sang knelt down in a prie-dieu, in front of a stained glass cathedral window that was lowered from the ceiling; dancer Carlton Wilborn played a priest Madonna interacted with during the number. Harrington applauded the singer's "impassioned, forceful and direct" vocals. Performances of the song can be found in Blond Ambition Japan Tour 90, taped in Yokohama, Blond Ambition World Tour Live, taped in Nice, and the 1991 documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare.
The performance of "Live to Tell" on the Confessions Tour had Madonna hanging onto a mirrored cross, simulating a crucifixion. She wore purple pants, red blouse, and a crown of thorns. As she sang, "dire" statistics about children dying of AIDS in Africa played on the background screens. While the staff of the Boston Herald singled out Madonna's "authoritative and impassioned" vocals, Leslie Gray Streeter from The Palm Beach Post said that the "preachy" performance "slowed [the concert] down in an unsatisfying way". The Philadelphia Inquirer panned the number for being a "most desperate attempt to shock". The performance from the August 15–16 London concerts was included on the singer's second live album, The Confessions Tour (2007).
On the Celebration Tour, following the performance of "Holiday" (1983), the dancers abandon the stage, leaving just one who falls to the floor in front of Madonna. She "tenderly" covers him with a trenchcoat, giving way to "Live to Tell". Wearing a necklace of Swarovski crystals shaped like teardrops, Madonna sings the track from atop a box that flies over the audience as images of people who died of HIV/AIDS ―including Keith Haring, Herb Ritts, and Freddie Mercury― are projected on drop-down screens throughout the venue. Below her, a clown walks reverently past the photographs, holding a red balloon. Rolling Stone's Kory Grow compared the number to an awards ceremony's in memoriam segment, while Kate Solomon from British newspaper i deemed it "one of the most moving pop performances [I've] ever seen".
= Controversy
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The song's performance on the Confessions Tour generated a negative reaction from religious groups: German prosecutors in Düsseldorf threatened to sue Madonna for blasphemy, with Protestant bishop Margot Käßmann expressing that, "maybe the only way an aging superstar can attract attention is to offend people's religious sentiments". The Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR) described the number as amoral, and urged the public not to attend the concert in the country. The performance done at Rome's Olympic Stadium —located near the Vatican— was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church by religious leaders; Italian cardinal Ersilio Tonini considered it a "scandal created on purpose by astute merchants to attract publicity", while Mario Scialoja, president of the country's Muslim World League, noted that it wasn't "the first time [Madonna] stages such an act". According to Riccardo Pacifici, spokesman for Rome's Jewish community, Madonna's actions were "a disrespectful act, and to do it in Rome is even worse". A spokesperson for the Catholic Church in England and Wales said believers would be offended by the number; "the crucifixion is at the heart of the story of God becoming man and suffering to redeem us. To use it as a stage prop is a banal perversion of that magnificent event". By contrast, a pastor from North Denver defended the "powerful and very reverent performance", which "calls the world to take notice that there are 12 million children who are currently orphaned"; he also applauded Madonna for "trying to wake us up to [...] care for those who are most often forgotten". Madonna herself stood by the number, claiming that Jesus wouldn't be mad at "the message I'm trying to send", and released a statement:
I am very grateful that my show was so well received all over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all. There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers "confess" or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My "confession" follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or "Taking Up the Cross" as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.
My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew: "For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, 'Whatever you did for the least of my brothers ... you did it to me.'"
Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show".
Covers
In 1992, American guitarist Bill Frisell covered "Live to Tell" in his fourth album, Have a Little Faith. Six years later Blonde Ambition released an EP with 6 different hi-NRG remixes of the single. "Live to Tell" was then covered by American New wave band Berlin for 1999's Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 1; during an interview with CNN, the band's lead vocalist Terri Nunn explained that, "[Madonna]'s influenced a lot of people [...] maybe not me, because I'm not a fan. But a lot of bands are", adding that "Live to Tell" is the only Madonna song that she "would touch".
In 2001, Italian singer Lucrezia made an uptempo dance version of the song —remixed by David Morales— that peaked at number two for two weeks on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play, and eventually included in the compilation album Logic Pride, Vol. 4. Canadian jazz singer Carol Welsman recorded "Live to Tell" for her eponymous 2007 album. Covers of the song on tribute albums include one by Semi Moore on The Material Girl: A Tribute to Madonna (2000); an instrumental version on The String Quartet Tribute to Madonna (2002); a folk rendition by Winter Flowers on 2007's Through the Wilderness, and a hi-NRG version by Melissa Totten on her 2008 album Forever Madonna. American singer Little Wings recorded "Live to Tell" in 2015, and three years later it was covered by American band Deerhoof for the compilation Post-Trash: Volume Three. American dark wave band Ego Likeness released a cover of the track in 2023. American singer Tori Amos has also covered "Live to Tell".
Track listing and formats
US / Canada / Germany / UK 7" single
"Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
"Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49
US / Canada / Germany / UK 12" Maxi-Single
"Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
"Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
"Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49
Germany / UK Reissue CD Maxi-Single (1995)
"Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
"Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
"Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the True Blue album liner notes, and the US twelve-inch single liner notes.
Madonna – lyrics, producer, vocals
Bruce Gaitsch – guitar
Patrick Leonard – drum programming, keyboard, producer
Jonathan Moffett – drums
Michael Verdick – audio mixing, engineer
Herb Ritts – photography
Jeri McManus – design
Charts
Certifications and sales
References
Bibliography
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