"Cain's Blood" is a song written by Michael Johnson and Jack Sundrud, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

4 Runner 4 Runner was an American country music vocal group founded in 1993 by Craig Morris (lead vocals), Billy Crittenden (baritone vocals), Lee Hilliard (tenor vocals), and Jim Chapman (bass vocals). Signed to Polydor Records Nashville, the quartet rel ...

. It was released in February 1995 as the first single from the album ''

''. The song reached number 26 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 advertise ...

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. Johnson himself also recorded the song on his 1995 album ''Departure''.

Content

The song is about "the tug and pull etween good and evilthat goes on inside each and every one of us", according to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

then-president Steve Miller. It uses the Biblical story of

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hāb� ...

to represent the narrator's struggle between good and evil. Co-writer Michael Johnson said that the idea for the chorus came to him while he was in jail for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

Music video

The music video premiered in February 1995. It was filmed at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Critical reception

"Cain's Blood" generally received positive reception for its

Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

sound. The single was also compared to the sound of

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

due to the use of four-part vocal harmony. Brian Wahlert of '' Country Standard Time'' wrote that the song is a "dark and moody testament to life's daily battle between good and evil in which the four voices become completely integrated into an eerie, foreboding whole."

Chart performance

"Cain's Blood" debuted at number 74 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 18, 1995.

References

{{authority control 1995 debut singles 1995 songs 4 Runner songs Michael Johnson (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Songs written by Michael Johnson (singer) Polydor Records singles