"If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

. Written by Garth Brooks and

Kent Blazy Kent Blazy (born in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American country music songwriter. His credits include several singles for Garth Brooks (including Brooks' first number one hit, "If Tomorrow Never Comes"), as well as singles by Gary Morris, Diamond ...

, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The track was his first number-one single on the US ''

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 advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, and Garth refers to it as his

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was named Favorite Country Single in the

American Music Awards of 1991 The 18th Annual American Music Awards were held on January 28, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States ...

. The song subsequently became one of Garths' most popular songs for other artists to perform. In 2002, Irish singer Ronan Keating released a version that reached number one in the United Kingdom and three other countries, and it became a top-five hit in several additional territories.

Content

This is the first country love song released by Garth 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. Garth has written many love songs since. This song is about the love of a father to his daughter, not to his lover. Garth said that on stage at

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

to Britt Todd and in his music video he has his daughter playing next to him while he sings.

Background and production

Garth provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from ''

The Hits The Hits was a music video Television channel, channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a ra ...

'': "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. Thank you Ireland for this moment."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was directed by John Lloyd Miller, and features Brooks singing and playing

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

in a dim room. Next to him is a table with an

oil lamp An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. The ...

. The video shows a small child, played by the daughter of Steve Gatlin, brother of

Larry Gatlin Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers are an American country music vocal group. The group consists of lead singer Larry Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) and his brothers, Rudy and Steve Gatlin. The group achieved considerable success within the country ...

. The use of an antique screen is present through much of the video, which also features Brooks' then-wife, Sandy.

Chart performance

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" entered the U.S. ''

chart on September 9, 1989, and peaked at number one on December 9.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Ronan Keating version

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" served as the first single from Irish singer Ronan Keating's second studio album, '' Destination''. Produced by

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

, the song was released in Australia on April 29, 2002, and in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2002. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, giving Keating his third solo number one on the UK Singles Chart. The song also topped the charts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Norway, and it entered the top 10 in 11 other countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden.

Music video

The video starts with Keating sitting on a bed and staring at the woman sleeping in it. He leaves his house and, having fallen onto a road in the path of a moving car, he is run over by it. He goes through the same scene multiple times, apparently stuck in a

time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby Character (arts), characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are co ...

, unrealistically singing throughout. At the end, he stops the loop by avoiding crossing the road and, instead, walking along the same sidewalk where his front door is.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "If Tomorrow Never Comes" – 3:35 # "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (Groove Brothers mix) – 6:08 # "Interview with Westlife: Ronan Reveals His Secrets to Brian & Nicky" (CD-ROM video) UK CD2 # "If Tomorrow Never Comes" # "Ronan Hits Megamix by DMC" # "Sea of Love" # "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (video) UK cassette single :A1. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" :A2. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (Groove Brothers mix) :B1. "Ronan Hits Megamix by DMC"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' Destination'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at various studios in Los Angeles, London, and Dublin * Mixed at Rokstone Studios (London, England) * Engineered at Rokstone Studios and

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...

(London, England) * Master engineered at

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

(London, England) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, US) Personnel *

– writing * Kent Blazy – writing * The Tuff Session Singers – background vocals * Friðrik "Frizzy" Karlsson – guitar * Steve Pearce – bass * Dave Arch – piano, string arrangement * Eddie Hession – accordion *

– keyboards, production, mixing, arrangement * Chris Laws – drums, engineering * Daniel Pursey – assistant engineering * Phil Rose – assistant engineering *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He 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 Zeppeli ...

– mastering * Tim Young – master engineerering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other versions

Legião Urbana Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Federal District (Brazil), Distrito Federal. The band primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Dado Villa-Lobos ...

's front man Renato Russo recorded a cover for his debut solo album, The Stonewall Celebration Concert in 1994. Joose had a number one hit in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

with "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in 1997. Puerto Rican salsa singer Ismael Miranda recorded the Spanish version on his 1997 album ''Con Buena Nota''. In 1999,

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

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 Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

'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..... Claudia Jung made a German cover titled "Wenn es morgen nicht mehr gibt

In the 2000s, the song has gained added visibility with performances on

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

competition shows, with third-place finisher

Elliott Yamin Ephraim Elliott Yamin (born July 20, 1978) is an American singer known for his hit single " Wait for You" and for placing third on the fifth season of ''American Idol''. His self-titled album, released March 20, 2007, debuted at number one on ...

singing it on the fifth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. Second season ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' winner

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

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 ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''.

References

External links

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" Lyrics

CMT's ''The Greatest: 20 Greatest First Videos''
{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs 2002 singles Capitol Records Nashville singles Country ballads Garth Brooks songs Music videos directed by John Lloyd Miller Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Polydor Records singles Pop ballads Ronan Keating songs Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Songs written by Garth Brooks Songs written by Kent Blazy UK singles chart number-one singles Universal Records singles