"If I Could Turn Back Time" is a song performed by American singer and actress

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

from her nineteenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Heart of Stone''. It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

in June 1989, by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. The song was written specifically for Cher by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three consecutive ''Billboard'' Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year from 19 ...

, who produced it in collaboration with Guy Roche. Cher was unmoved by a demo of the song sung by Warren, but Roche insisted she record it. The lyrics talk about the feelings of remorse due to bad deeds and the willingness to reverse time to make things right. "If I Could Turn Back Time" is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

song that features instrumentation from guitars, piano and

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

. The song received mostly positive reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s, who applauded its overall production and Cher's vocal performance, with some considering it to be a highlight of the album. Commercially, the song peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became Cher's first number-one hit in Australia. It also reached the top 10 of the

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

s in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "If I Could Turn Back Time", directed by

Marty Callner Martin Henry Callner (August 25, 1946 – March 17, 2025) was an American director who made music videos, comedy specials, concert specials and television shows. He was the creator of HBO's '' Hard Knocks'', and was nominated for numerous Prim ...

, was shot on board of the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

and portrays Cher performing for the ship's crew, wearing a leather thong that revealed her tattooed buttocks and straddling a cannon. Military personnel condemned the video, while some family groups protested against its broadcast, because they deemed it offensive for the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and controversial. Following these protests,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

was forced to air the video after the 9pm watershed. "If I Could Turn Back Time" has been performed on seven of Cher's

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

s, most recently on the Here We Go Again Tour in 2018–2020, and at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. The song has been covered by a number of artists and has also been featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of ''

Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. It is the sequel to ''Deadpool (film), Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film series. The film wa ...

'' (2018), among others.

Background

The song was written by

, who produced the song along with Guy Roche. While the

track was specifically written for Cher, the singer initially disliked the song upon hearing a demo and turned it down. Warren claimed in 1991: "I got on my knees and pleaded. I told her I wasn't going to leave the room until she said yes, and finally, just to get rid of me, she did." In 2014, she further added: "She really hated t but I held her leg down during a session and said, 'You have to record it!'" According to Warren, Cher reportedly responded: "'Fuck you, bitch! You're hurting my leg! OK, I'll try it.' Once Cher sang it, she gave me this look like, 'You were right'."

Critical reception

Gary Hill of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

retrospectively wrote that the song "has a crunchy texture to it, albeit in a poppy, '80s

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

sort of arrangement." The Daily Vault's Mark Millan noted it as a " soft-rock anthem". ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' described it as "a well-produced FM sing-along."

Music video

The

for "If I Could Turn Back Time", directed by American television director

, takes place on board the

. It depicts Cher and her band performing a concert for a couple hundred of the ship's enthusiastic crew in white ceremonial dress uniform. The video was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in the middle of the night around Friday June 30, 1989, while the ship was stationed at the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard at Pier D. In the video, the band plays under the main guns on the foredeck, and the ship is rigged with spotlights, light racks and strobes. Cher's son, Elijah Blue Allman, 12 at the time, appears as one of the band's guitarists wearing dark glasses and a

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

. The Department of the Navy had granted permission for the music video shoot because of its potential for boosting Navy recruitment; at the time (1989) the Navy did not have a budget for TV ads. The Navy initially selected the battleship for the video. However, ''New Jersey'' was out to sea when Callner needed to do an initial site survey, so he toured her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, ''Missouri'', instead. During Callner's visit, ''Missouri''s public affairs officer, Lieutenant Mark Walker, convinced him to change the filming location to ''Missouri''.Source: Interview with Lt. Mark Walker Cher's Bob Mackie-designed outfit for the original video, a fishnet body stocking under a black one-piece bathing suit that left most of her buttocks (and a tattoo of a butterfly) exposed, proved controversial, and many television networks refused to show the video.

first banned the video, and later played it only after 9 PM. A second version of the video was made, including new scenes and less overtly sexual content than the original. The outfit and risque nature of the video were a complete surprise to the Navy, who expected Cher to wear a jumpsuit for the concert, as presented on storyboards during original discussions with producers. The sailors were already in place and the band had begun playing when Cher emerged in her outfit. Lieutenant Commander Steve Honda from the Navy's Hollywood Liaison office requested Callner briefly suspend shooting and convince Cher to change into more conservative attire, but Callner refused. The Navy received criticism for allowing the video shoot, especially from World War II veterans who saw it as a desecration of a national historic site that should be treated with reverence: USS ''Missouri'' was the site of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

's surrender on September 2, 1945, thus ending World War II. No Navy officials were disciplined for their role in supporting the video, although reportedly the Secretary of the Navy briefly considered firing the captain of USS ''Missouri''. Other parts of the Navy commended the event. In 2021, the video appeared on a "Sexiest Music Videos of All Time" list by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine. In 2003, Cher released her ''Living Proof: Farewell Tour'' concert on DVD which included an official "If I Could Turn Back Time" remix video.

Live performances

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours: * Heart of Stone Tour (1989–1990) * Love Hurts Tour (1992) * Do You Believe? Tour (1999–2000) * The Farewell Tour (2002–2005) * Cher at the Colosseum (2008–2011) * Dressed to Kill Tour (2014) * Classic Cher (2017–2020) * Here We Go Again Tour (2018–2020)

Track listings

* US and European 7-inch and cassette single # "If I Could Turn Back Time" (remix) – 3:59 # "Some Guys" – 3:59 * European 12-inch single # "If I Could Turn Back Time" (rock guitar version) – 4:06 # "Some Guys" – 3:59 # "Kiss to Kiss" – 4:23 * European CD single # "If I Could Turn Back Time" (rock guitar version) – 4:06 # "If I Could Turn Back Time" (7-inch version) – 3:59 # " I Found Someone" (7-inch version) – 3:42

Personnel

* Cher – lead vocals * Desmond Child,

Maria Vidal Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. Her single "Body Rock" reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 in the UK, ...

, Michael Anthony, Robin Beck, Jimmy Demers, Jean McClain – backing vocals *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

, Glenn Sciurba, Gene Black – electric guitar * Guy Roche,

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a s ...

– keyboard * John Pierce – bass guitar * Mark T. Williams – drums, tambourine

Production

* Arranged and produced by Diane Warren and Guy Roche * Recorded by Frank Wolf, with assistance from Guy Roche * Mixed by Frank Wolf * Published by Realsongs

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Appearances in the media

The song is featured in a post-credit scene in the 2018 film ''

'', on which the titular character goes on a time traveling spree to change events of the past, such as averting the deaths of Vanessa and

X-Force X-Force is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 (April 1991 ...

member Peter, and killing his counterpart from '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' and actor

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

. In the film '' Walking on Sunshine'', there is a version of this song performed by the protagonists Taylor ( Hannah Arterton) and Raf ( Giulio Berruti). The song was used in the 2019 commercial for Luminess Silk Foundation makeup products. In 2025 it was used in an Uber Eats commercial in which Cher herself appeared.''Billboard'
Watch Cher’s Time Travel Trip to the ’80s Go Terribly Wrong in Hilarious Commercial
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References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles Cher songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Diane Warren Music videos directed by Marty Callner Geffen Records singles Music video controversies Obscenity controversies in music Rock ballads 1980s ballads American soft rock songs