"Tell Me Why" is a song written and recorded by

Karla Bonoff Karla Bonoff (born December 27, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter. While Bonoff has released a number of albums, she is primarily known for her songwriting. Bonoff's songs include "Home", covered by Bonnie Raitt, " Tell Me Why" by Wynonna Ju ...

for her 1988 studio album ''

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

''. In 1993, the song was covered 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

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...

and released in April 1993 as the first single and title track from her album '' Tell Me Why''. The song reached number 3 on the ''

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 & Tracks 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 in May 1993 and number 1 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 ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada the following month.

Background

The song was written by Karla Bonoff and makes its first appearance on her 1988 studio album "New World". It reappears on her 1999 album "All My Life -The Best of Karla Bonoff," and again on her 2007 Live album. The song is about being heartbroken over an old flame. The verses dive into the feeling of still being in love with someone who has moved on; one lyric describes it as "a fool in love with a fool that never cared." The chorus then laments the desire but inability to let go with the lyric, "So won't you tell me why I can't say goodbye."

Cover

In 1993, country music artist Wynonna Judd released the album ''Tell Me Why'', which featured "Tell Me Why" as the title track. Composer Bonoff appears on the track as a guitarist and backing vocalist. The album went on to reach number 1 on U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

1988 songs 1993 singles Karla Bonoff songs Wynonna Judd songs Songs written by Karla Bonoff Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) MCA Records singles Curb Records singles {{1993-country-song-stub