If Tomorrow Never Comes

"If Tomorrow Never Comes"
Single by Garth Brooks
from the album Garth Brooks
B-side	"Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)"
Released	August 21, 1989
Format	CD single, 7" single
Recorded	1988
Genre	Country
Length	3:37
Label	Capitol 44430
Writer(s)	Garth Brooks, Kent Blazy
Producer(s)	Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks singles chronology
"Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" (1989) "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (1989) "Not Counting You" (1990)

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. Written by Brooks and Kent Blazy, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his album Garth Brooks and also appears on The Hits, The Limited Series and Double Live. This was his first #1 single on the Billboard Country Singles chart. It is also sometimes referred to as his signature song. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was named Favorite Country Single in the American Music Awards of 1991. It has subsequently become one of Brooks' most popular songs for other artists to perform. The song has been covered by several artists, including Ronan Keating, who took it to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in May 2002.

Song

• Key: G Major
• Length: 3:37

This is the first country love song released by Brooks. A man lies awake at night, thinking what would happen in his love's mind if he were to die the next day. The first line in the chorus reads: "If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I love her?" He goes on to compare this situation with his own lost loved ones, and how he made a promise to say each day how much she means to him. The song begins with a soft guitar solo and gradually builds up to a more orchestrated accompaniment. Brooks has written many love songs since.

Background and production

Garth provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits:

"'If Tomorrow Never Comes" will probably always be my signature song. I ran the idea for this song by what seemed like a thousand writers and no one really seemed to understand what I was looking for. On the day that Bob Doyle, my co-manager, introduced me to Kent Blazy, I passed this idea by Kent and he had the first verse down within fifteen seconds. I could tell he just felt it. Kent Blazy is a wonderful man, full of love and energy, and if we never write again, I hope that we are always friends first. Think you Ireland for this moment."^[1]

Music video

Throughout the music video for the song, Brooks is seen playing his guitar in a dim room. Next to him is a table with a lamp on it. The video constantly cuts to a small child, played by the daughter of Steve Gatlin, brother of Larry Gatlin. She is the subject of the song in this case. The use of an antique screen is present through much of the video, which also features Brooks' ex-wife, Sandy. "If Tomorrow Never Comes", directed by John Lloyd Miller, received the #3 position on the CMT The Greatest: 20 Greatest First Videos broadcast.

Chart positions

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on September 9, 1989 and peaked at number 1 on December 9.

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[2]	2
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[4]	48
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5]	84

Chart (1990)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[6]	75

Ronan Keating version

"If Tomorrow Never Comes"
Single by Ronan Keating
from the album Destination
Released	6 May 2002
Format	CD single
Recorded	December 2001
Genre	Pop
Length	3:57
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Garth Brooks, Kent Blazy
Producer(s)	Steve Mac
Certification	Platinum (ARIA)
Ronan Keating singles chronology
"Lovin' Each Day" (2001) "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (2002) "I Love It When We Do" (2002)

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" served as the first single from Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating's second studio album, Destination. The song was produced by Steve Mac. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart,^[7] as well as making the Top 10 in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France and Australia. The song was declared as the second highest-selling single of 2002.

Music video

The video shows Keating sitting on a bed staring at the woman sleeping in it and also shows scenes of him falling onto a road in the path of a moving car.

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" - 3:57
2. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (Groove Brothers Mix) - 6:08
3. "Interview with Ronan Keating" - 4:00

UK CD2

1. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" - 3:57
2. "Sea of Love" - 3:46
3. "Ronan Hits DMC Megamix" - 10:14
4. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (Video)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 4 Denmark (Tracklisten)[11] 1 France (SNEP)[12] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 3 Italy (FIMI)[14] 21 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 3 Norway (VG-lista)[17] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 7 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 1

Decade-end positions Chart (2000–2009) Position UK Singles Chart[20] 85

Other versions

Joose had a number one hit in New Zealand with "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in 1997. In 1999, Westlife made an a cappela version live. Engelbert Humperdinck included the song on his 2003 album Definition of Love. It also became part of Barry Manilow's concert repertoire, and is featured on his 2004 live album 2 Nights Live!. Manilow had previously released a studio version of the song on his 1992 CD box set The Complete Collection and then some..... In the 2000s, the song has gained added visibility with performances on reality television competition shows, with third-place finisher Elliott Yamin singing it on the fifth season of American Idol. Second season The X Factor winner Shayne Ward performing it in that series' penultimate round, and Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith singing it on Top 10: Number One's Night. Foster & Allen recorded a version which they released on their 2005 album, Foster & Allen - Sing The Number 1's On June 30, 2009, Kevin Skinner sang this song during the auditions on the NBC series America's Got Talent.

References

1. Garth Brooks - The Hits: transcription from the CD booklet (bar code 7-2438-29689-2-4)
2. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 6666." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 16, 1989. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
3. "Garth Brooks – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Garth Brooks.
4. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1989". RPM. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
5. "Best of 1989: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
6. "Best of 1990: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
7. "Ronan Keating: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
8. "Australian-charts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
10. "Ultratop.be – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. "Danishcharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Tracklisten.
12. "Lescharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Irish Singles Chart.
14. "Italiancharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Top Digital Download.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". VG-lista.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Singles Top 100.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Ronan Keating – If Tomorrow Never Comes". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. Radio 1 Chart of the Decade, as presented by DJ Nihal on 29 December 2009

External links

• "If Tomorrow Never Comes" Lyrics
• CMT's The Greatest: 20 Greatest First Videos