Strawberry Wine (Deana Carter song)
| "Strawberry Wine" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Deana Carter | |||||||
| from the album Did I Shave My Legs for This? | |||||||
| B-side | "Before We Ever Heard Goodbye" | ||||||
| Released | August 5, 1996 | ||||||
| Format | Cassingle, CD single | ||||||
| Recorded | 1995 | ||||||
| Genre | Country | ||||||
| Length | 4:51 | ||||||
| Label | Capitol Nashville | ||||||
| Writer(s) |
Matraca Berg Gary Harrison | ||||||
| Producer(s) |
Chris Farren Jimmy Bowen John Guess | ||||||
| Deana Carter singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
"Strawberry Wine" is the title of a debut song written by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison, and recorded by American country music artist Deana Carter. It was released in August 1996 as the lead-off single from Carter's debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?. The song went on to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.
"Strawberry Wine" is Carter's most successful single in her career overall, and is considered a signature song for both songwriter Matraca Berg[1] and Deana Carter.[2]
Content
"Strawberry Wine" is a ballad, backed primarily with steel guitar and percussion. The narrator describes a time in her youth when she lost her innocence, and compares her love to the sweetness of "strawberry wine". As she grows older, she returns to this place, to find that everything has changed. Carter originally performed this song in the key of D-flat major with a vocal range of A♭3-D♭5. It has a a 6/8 time signature and the main chord pattern is D♭-G♭-D♭-A♭-D♭.[3]
The song tells the story of co-writer Berg's own coming of age as a teenager outside of Luck, Wisconsin, she recalled: "We used to go to my grandparents' dairy farm in the summer. My aunt, who's six months younger than me, and I would try to score some wine. And I met this boy..."[4] Berg shopped the song to record labels around Nashville, but they passed, considering it overly long and controversial, and not memorable enough. Deana Carter heard Berg perform the song at a showcase and then recorded it for her debut album, Did I Shave My Legs for This?.[5]
Reception
"Strawberry Wine" won Song of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards in 1997 and was voted Song of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International and the Nashville Music Awards. That year, the song was also nominated for three additional awards; Grammy Award for Best Country Song, Academy of Country Music Awards Best Country Song nominee, and Country Music Radio Awards for Song of The Year.
Commercial performance
"Strawberry Wine" debuted at number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of August 17, 1996.[6] The song reached Number One on the chart in November 1996, holding the position for two weeks. The song has sold 870,000 digital copies in the US as of October 2015.[7]
Music video
A music video was released for "Strawberry Wine", directed by Roger Pistole. Carter sings the song while standing in the entry way to a house, on a living room couch, and behind a screen door. Accompanying these scenes are a young couple in love. The couple are seen on an old dirt road in the countryside, in front of a house, and in a car driving down a road. Scenes of other people are included as well, including an elderly man by a rocking chair and a woman standing in what was once farmland.
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 65 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[11] | 35 |
| Preceded by "Lonely Too Long" by Patty Loveless |
Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number one single November 23-November 30, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Little Bitty" by Alan Jackson |
| Preceded by "Cornfields or Cadillacs" by Farmer's Daughter |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single November 25, 1996 |
Succeeded by "The Fear of Being Alone" by Reba McEntire |
References
- ↑ Country Standard Time: Songwriters hall inducts John Hiatt, Matraca Berg, Tom Shapiro
- ↑ Country Weekly
- ↑ "'Strawberry Wine' sheet music". MusicNotes.com. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ↑ Woliver, Robbie (January 28, 1997). "Strawberry wine, women, and song: Matraca Berg's formula for success...". Country Weekly. Retrieved on September 15, 2007.
- ↑ Hoekstra, Dave (September 14, 1997). "`Wine' and notices // Matraca Berg gets a boost". Chicago Sun-Times, pg. 11. Retrieved on September 15, 2007.
- ↑ Billboard - Hot Country Songs - Strawberry Wine - Aug 24 1996
- ↑ Matt Bjorke (October 19, 2015). "Top 30 Digital Singles: October 19, 2015".
- ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9926." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. November 25, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ "Deana Carter – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Deana Carter.
- ↑ "Deana Carter – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Deana Carter.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
