"Cowboys and Angels" is a song written and performed by British singer-songwriter

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

, released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in March 1991 as the fifth single from his second solo album, ''

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 ''Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 3 September 1990 by Columbia Records (Epic Records in the UK). The album was Michael's final album of all-new materi ...

'' (1990). The song became the first single released by Michael to miss the top 40 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number 45. The album was released in the UK on 3 September and in the US on 11 September; each single had finished lower than its predecessor and "Cowboys and Angels" continued the pattern, although the other four had all reached the threshold of the top 40. It was also Michael's longest single to date, at 7 minutes 14 seconds. The saxophone solo is by

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

and the song is notable for being written in

waltz time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western culture, Western musical notation to specify how many beat (music), beats (pulses) are contained in each measu ...

. In a 2004 interview with

Adam Mattera Adam Mattera was the editor of ''Attitude'' magazine, a leading UK monthly publication aimed at the gay market, from 1999 to 2008. During the period, he secured numerous celebrity cover exclusives including David Beckham, Madonna, Tony Blair and ...

for UK magazine ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

'', Michael revealed the song was about a short-lived

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

where he was in love with a man while a female friend was in love with him, but none knew of the others' feelings: "She was in love with me because she couldn't get me, and I was in love with him because I couldn't get him... It's a very personal lyric, but it's about the ridiculousness of wanting what you can't have."

Critical reception

James Brown from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote, "This song is George Michael's finest 45 for years. A soothing, moving croon in the company of some gentle jazz bass and percussion and a strong arrangement that shadows GM throughout. Reminiscent of a film noir soundtrack as opposed to all that late '80s matt black lifestyle schmaltz he'd decided to become king of. By far the most sophisticated song of the week without even trying, and it never becomes boor-ish."

Track listing

The single included the track "Something to Save" as a B-side. Some releases of the single also included a 4 minute 34-second radio edit of the song, which omitted the 42-second piano intro and an entire verse from the album version. * CD single # "Cowboys and Angels" – 7:14 # "Cowboys and Angels" (Radio Edit) – 4:34 # "Something to Save" – 3:18

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1991 singles George Michael songs Songs written by George Michael Song recordings produced by George Michael Epic Records singles Pop ballads