"Home" is a song from American musician

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

's 1996 self-titled album. Written and produced by Crow, the

folk ballad Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

was released as the final single from the album on October 6, 1997, and was later included on her

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

The Very Best of Sheryl Crow ''The Very Best of Sheryl Crow'' is a greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on October 13, 2003, in the United Kingdom and November 4, 2003, in the United States. The album was a commercial success, reaching ...

'' (2003). It was released commercially only in Europe. "Home" became Crow's ninth top-40 hit in both Canada and the United Kingdom, peaking at numbers 40 and 25, respectively. A black-and-white music video directed by

Samuel Bayer Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with ...

was made for the song.

Composition

"Home" is described as a

by Sal Cinquemani of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'', and its lyrics talk about the stresses of a failing marriage. According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes, "Home" is written in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

and plays in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

at a slow tempo of 80 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' wrote, "After several rock-fueled singles, Crow drops the volume and tempo to a soft-rock tone for this harshly intimate tune. Her hushed, evocative vocal proves that ya don't have to shriek to stir a listener's emotions. In fact, her whispered line "my house is full of lies" is about as intense or powerful as anything you're likely to hear right now. She is supported by an accessible shuffle beat and guitar lines that mingle warm, acoustic threads with sharp, bluesy electric licks. Any station that played the hit " Strong Enough" has no excuse but to give this superior recording a fair shot."

Release and chart performance

Although "Home" was serviced to American radio stations on September 30, 1997, it failed to appear on any ''

'' charts; however, it did chart in Canada. On November 3, 1997, the song debuted at number 63 on Canada's '' RPM'' Top Singles chart. Afterwards, it rose and fell inside the top 60 until climbing to its peak of number 40 on January 12, 1998. It then dropped to number 87 the following issue, its final week on the ranking. It was also aired on Canadian

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

stations, eventually reaching a peak of number 43 on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary listing. On October 6, 1997, "Home" was released in the United Kingdom, debuting at its peak of number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

six days later and spending two weeks in the top 100.

Music video

The black-and-white

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song was directed by

, and features Crow performing on a village car racing festival. Several villagers are portrayed, sharing their definitions of what 'home' is for them with the viewer. At the end of the video, Crow ends up covered in mud thrown around by the racing cars.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Home" (album version) # " Strong Enoug" (

WXRT WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an adult album alternative (AAA) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years, their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". "Chicago's Home For Music Lovers" has been used as its slogan si ...

live) # "Sweet Rosalyn" (live from

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

in London) – 5:16 # "I Shall Believe" (WXRT live) UK CD2 # "Home" (album version) # "

Hard to Make a Stand "Hard to Make a Stand" is the third single from Sheryl Crow's self-titled second album (1996). It was released as a single only in Europe, Canada, Japan, and South Africa. The track caused controversy in the US due to its references to abortion. ...

" (WXRT live) # "

Can't Cry Anymore "Can't Cry Anymore" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow from her debut album, ''Tuesday Night Music Club'' (1993), released through A&M Records. Released in May 1995, the song reached number 36 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, bec ...

" (WXRT live) # "Redemption Day" (WXRT live) UK CD-ROM single # "Home" (album version) # "Sweet Rosalyn" (CD-ROM of home video) European CD single # "Home" (album version) – 4:51 # "Sweet Rosalyn" (live from Shepherd's Bush Empire in London) – 5:16

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 liner notes and the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Kingsway Studios (New Orleans) and

Sunset Sound Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the sprin ...

(Los Angeles) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, US) Personnel * Sheryl Crow – writing, bass,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, production *

Jeff Trott Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with prominent artists across genres in the United States and abroad. Trott has been named BMI ''Songwriter of the Year''. He is known for w ...

– guitar *

Brian MacLeod Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...

– drums *

Trina Shoemaker Kathryn "Trina" Shoemaker is an American mixer, record producer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Griff ...

– recording *

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arc ...

– mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Que ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1996 songs 1997 singles American folk songs Black-and-white music videos Folk ballads Music videos directed by Samuel Bayer Sheryl Crow songs Songs about marriage Songs written by Sheryl Crow