"Broken Arrow" is a song by Canadian musician

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

, included on his debut solo studio album, ''

'' (1987). Although it was not released as a single, it received airplay in Canada in mid-1988 and reached number 29 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Cancon Singles chart, which ranked songs of Canadian content only. The song was also included as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

on the UK formats of "

Somewhere Down the Crazy River "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" is a 1987 song by Robbie Robertson, initially released on Robertson's debut solo album ''Robbie Robertson'', with Sam Llanas on backing vocals. Background When one of the producers, Daniel Lanois, was asked about ...

". "Broken Arrow" was later popularized by English singer-songwriter

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, who included a cover of the track on his 1991 album ''

Vagabond Heart ''Vagabond Heart'' is the sixteenth studio album by British recording artist Rod Stewart, released on 25 March 1991 by Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 10 in the US, and reached No. 2 in the UK. The album features five singles, among ...

''. Stewart's version was released as a single and became a hit in several countries, peaking at number two in Canada and number 20 in the United States. In 1992, this version was released again as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

with Stewart's cover of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's "

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in March 1970 ...

" and charted in several additional countries.

Charts

Weekly charts

All-time charts

Rod Stewart version

covered "Broken Arrow" and included it as the third track on his 16th studio album, ''

''. On August 26, 1991, it was released as the fourth single from the album. This version became a chart hit, rising to number two on Canada's ''

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart and number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Stewart's 21st top-20 hit on the latter chart. In the United Kingdom, the song originally reached number 54 on the UK Singles Chart, but in 1992, it was re-released as a

single with Stewart's cover of "

", originally by

; this release peaked at number 41 on the same chart.

Track listings

UK 7-inch and cassette single (1991) # "Broken Arrow" # "

I Was Only Joking "I Was Only Joking" is a song written by Gary Grainger and Rod Stewart released by Stewart in 1978 as the third single on his 1977 album, '' Foot Loose & Fancy Free''. The song performed well, reaching the Top 40 in various countries, including ...

" UK 10-inch and CD single (1991) # "Broken Arrow" (edit) # " The Killing of Georgie Pt 1 & 2" # "I Was Only Joking" UK 7-inch and cassette single (1992) # "

" # "Broken Arrow" UK 12-inch and CD single (1992) # "Your Song" # "Broken Arrow" # " Mandolin Wind" # "

The First Cut Is the Deepest "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold for her album The First Lady of Immediate, ''The First Lady of Immediate'' in April 1967. Stevens' own version ...

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the ''Vagabond Heart'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Cherokee Studio, Conway Studio (Hollywood, California), and Sarm Studio (London, England) * Mastered at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles) Personnel * Robbie Robertson – writing * Twinkle Schascle – backing vocals *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1958 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and th ...

– guitars * Jimmy Johnson – bass *

Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...

– keyboards, production *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

– drums *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion *

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-founder and co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment ...

– co-production * Jerry Jordan – mixing, engineering * Marc Moreau – engineering assistance *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and distri ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

"Broken Arrow" "Your Song" / "Broken Arrow"

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Rod Stewart songs 1987 songs 1991 songs Rod Stewart songs Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois Song recordings produced by Patrick Leonard Song recordings produced by Robbie Robertson Songs written by Robbie Robertson Warner Records singles