"What I Am" is a song written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow and recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for their debut album, '' Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'' (1988). The song is highlighted by a guitar solo that notably features an envelope filter. It peaked at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topped the Canadian '' RPM'' 100 Singles chart, and became a top-20 hit in Australia and New Zealand. "What I Am" was ranked number 23 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest

One-Hit Wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

s of the 80s". English music duo

Tin Tin Out Tin Tin Out were an English electronic dance music duo, comprising Darren Stokes and Lindsay Edwards. They remixed songs for a variety of artists such as Duran Duran, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, The Corrs and Des'ree, as well as collaborating ...

collaborated with Spice Girl Emma Bunton to release a cover of "What I Am" in November 1999. This version became the more successful one in the UK, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and receiving a silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

Background

Edie Brickell said: On the "choke me in the shallow water" lyric, she said, "That’s the part that was irritating about the class. Everybody was getting so deep in terms of making things up—'Does this mean this and does that mean that?' I was just irritated, like, just kill me now before I get out there and lose myself and my sense of who I am."

Composition

"What I Am" is written in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

in time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 89 beats per minute. The song follows a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of B–D–A, and the vocals span from G₃ to B₄.

Critical reception

Betty Page from ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' wrote, "Like so many other singles this week, this is pleasantly quirky but not terribly inspiring. Edie's yet another female singer/songstress who sings and strums a guitar in a rustic fashion which makes you forget what the song sounds like before it's finished." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "one of the catchiest, anti-philosophical, tongue-in-cheek ditties since Peggy Lee's ' Is That All There Is?.'"

Track listings

US, European, and Australian 7-inch single; US cassette single :A. "What I Am" (LP version) – 4:54 :B. "I Do" (LP version) – 2:00 Canadian and UK 7-inch single :A. "What I Am" (edit) – 3:43 :B. "I Do" (LP version) – 2:00 12-inch and UK mini-CD single # "What I Am" (LP version) # "I Do" (LP version) # " Walk on the Wild Side" – 5:52

Personnel

New Bohemians * Edie Brickell – vocals * Kenny Withrow – guitar * Brad Houser – bass guitar * Brandon Aly – drums * John Bush – percussion Additional personnel * Robbie Blunt – guitar * Chris Whitten – drums * Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards * John Henry – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Tin Tin Out and Emma Bunton version

The song was covered by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo

and English singer Emma Bunton. It was released on November 1, 1999, as the second single from Tin Tin Out's second studio album, '' Eleven to Fly'' (1999). It also appeared on Bunton's debut solo album, '' A Girl Like Me'' (2001). Bunton recorded her vocals at London's Sarm West Studios in June 1999. The collaboration was the first release for Bunton to appear as a solo artist. Tin Tin Out and Bunton's version debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, 29 places higher than the original version 11 years previously. It sold 106,300 copies during its first week of release and has sold over 234,000 copies in the UK. "What I Am" was the UK's 88th-best-selling single of 1999.

Track listings

Standard CD and UK cassette single # "What I Am" (radio version) # "What I Am" ( Gangstarr remix) # "Weird (Save Yourself)" (featuring Wendy Page) UK 12-inch single :A1. "T.W.M." (DJ Jam X & De Leon remix) :B1. "What I Am" (Gangstarr remix) :B2. "What I Am" (Groove Chronicles remix) European CD single # "What I Am" (radio version) # "What I Am" (Gangstarr remix)

Personnel

Personnel are taken from the UK CD single liner notes. * Edie Brickell – writing * Kenny Withrow – writing * Emma Bunton – vocals * John Jorgenson – guitars * Lindsay Edwards – guitars, keyboards * Marcus Cliffe – bass * Preston Heyman – percussion * Tin Tin Out – production * Stylorouge – design * Rankin – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1988 songs 1988 debut singles 1989 singles 1999 singles Edie Brickell & New Bohemians songs Emma Bunton songs Geffen Records singles Hut Records singles Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs critical of religion Song recordings produced by Pat Moran Songs written by Edie Brickell Sy Smith songs Tin Tin Out songs Trip hop songs Virgin Records singles