"Not Given Lightly" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter
Chris Knox. It was released in 1989 and is among Knox's best known songs. While the song did not chart when originally released in 1989, it has since become well known from its use in New Zealand film and television productions, especially in a television advertisement for
Vogel's bread in 2007.
In 2001 the song was placed in 13th in the
APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time list, as voted by New Zealand members of the
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...
(APRA). The song then featured on the ''
Nature's Best'' album of the top 30 tracks.
Background and writing
The song was written as a heartfelt love song about Knox's then partner Barbara Ward. The lyrics refer to Ward and the couple's two children with the line "This is a love song for John and Liesha's mother".
[ The song's title and main refrain comes from a lyric in ]The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
song "Venus in Furs
''Venus in Furs'' () is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cain'' (). ''Venus in Furs'' was ...
" - "Taste the whip, in love not given lightly". The song is performed in Chris Knox's trademark solo style - simple percussion loops with clean and distorted guitar.
Music video
The music video was directed by Chris Knox and shot at his home in Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914.
Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...
, Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. The video starts with an extreme close-up of Knox's face, slowly zooming out over the duration of the song to reveal Knox surrounded by his friends and family. Edits are done on the beat. The video is shot in both black-and-white and colour, with most of the black-and-white footage used at the beginning of the video and most of the colour footage used at the end.
Track listings
; NZ 12" (FN127) 1989
# "Not Given Lightly" (Knox) — 5:05
# "Wanna Die With You" (Bathgate, Dawson, Dooley, Knox) — 2:45
# "Sandfly" (Knox) — 2:44
# "Jane And John" (Knox) — 2:11
# "More Or Less (Lethargy)" (Knox) — 2:50
# "Jesus Loves You" (Knox) — 2:20
# "Me And The Insects" (Knox) — 1:37
# "1954" (Knox) — 1:38
# "Indigestion" (Knox) — 2:39
# "Over And Out" (Knox) — 3:27
# "Justification Song" (Knox) — 1:43
* Side A plays on 45 rpm, side B plays on 33 rpm
; NZ 12", 10" (FN152), cassette (FNMC152) 1990
# "Not Given Lightly" (Knox) — 5:05
# "Face Of Fashion" (Knox) — 2:54
# "Love Song (Part 1)" (Knox) —
; US 10" EP (COMM 26-1) 1993
# "Not Given Lightly"
# "Filling Me"
# "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
# "And I Will Cry"
# "Voyeur"
# "A Song Of The Only Child"
* Side A plays on 45 rpm, side B plays on 33 rpm
Production credits
* Engineer: Glenn Eisenhutt
* Recorded at: The Lab, Symonds Street, Auckland
* Written by: Chris Knox
* Vocals: Chris Knox
* Performer (all backings): Chris Knox
Charts
The song has never charted in the Official New Zealand Music Chart
The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...
top 40, but has twice appeared in the New Zealand artists' singles top 20 chart. In August 2012 it charted at number 17 and again in June 2013 at number 16.
Cover versions
* Australian band Frente!
Frente! (or Frente) is an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later repl ...
included a cover on their 1993 EP ''Labour of Love''.J Church
The J Church is an urban rail transit line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. It has both light rail and streetcar segments. The line runs between Embarcadero station and Balboa Park station through Noe Valley, San Francisc ...
covered it in 1995 on their EP ''Lama Temple''.[
* Austrian musician B. Fleischmann covered the song on the 2009 tribute album ''Not Given Lightly: A Tribute To The Giant Golden Book Of New Zealands Alternative Music Scene''.][
* ]Boh Runga
Boh Runga (born 14 March 1970) is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar. Boh is the older sister of Bic Runga and Pearl Runga who are also musicians.
Early life
Runga was born ...
covered it on the 2009 album ''Stroke - Songs for Chris Knox'', the tribute and fundraising album in honour of Chris Knox.
* It was covered in 2012 as an all-star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
charity record
A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...
in association with the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation to raise awareness of breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
.
* In 2013 New Zealand ''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 ...
'' contestant Benny Tipene performed the song on the New-Zealand-music-themed episode, which then saw the original enter the New Zealand artists chart at number 16.
References
External links
Music video at NZ On Screen
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Musical analysis of 'Not Given Lightly'
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AudioCulture
{{authority control
1989 singles
APRA Award winners
Chris Knox songs
Flying Nun Records singles
1989 songs