"If I Were a Carpenter" is a folk song written by

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...

in the 1960s, and re-recorded with commercial success by various artists including

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. Hardin's own recording of the piece appeared on his 1967 album ''

Tim Hardin 2 ''Tim Hardin 2'' is the second album by folk artist Tim Hardin, released in 1967. History The original LP release has a long poem on the back cover by Hardin titled "A Question of Birth..." ''Tim Hardin 2'' contains Hardin's most popular and m ...

''. It was one of two songs from that release (the other being "Misty Roses") performed by Hardin at

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

in 1969. The song, believed by some to be about male romantic insecurity, is rumored to have been inspired by his love for actress Susan Morss, as well as the construction of Hardin's recording studio (in the home of

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

Bobby Darin version

The first notable version of "If I Were a Carpenter" was released by Bobby Darin in October 1966. The song was produced by

Charles Koppelman Charles Koppelman (March 30, 1940 – November 25, 2022) was an American musician, music producer, and businessman. He held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he was Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At the time of his ...

and Don Rubin at Darin's insistence. Darin played the acoustic guitar on the recording. Darin took some time to record the song in his recording session, and did not finish the recording until 7 o'clock in the morning. The song was released by Atlantic Records, whose executives were reluctant to release the song until it received enthusiastic response by radio audience on the West Coast when Koppleman manage to get the song played there. The song became the biggest hit for Darin since his 1963 song "

You're the Reason I'm Living "You're the Reason I'm Living"" is a 1963 single written and performed by Bobby Darin, from his album of the same name. Musicians on the recording session included drummer Earl Palmer. Chart performance The single was very successful spending 2 ...

", reaching No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also peaked at No. 9 in the UK. Darin's recording received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Rock and Roll Solo Vocal Performance at the

9th Annual Grammy Awards The 9th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 2, 1967, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1966. The 9th Grammy Awards is notable for not presenting the Grammy Award for B ...

, but lost to "

Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to L ...

" by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. The song is the title song of Bobby Darin's album '' If I Were a Carpenter'', also produced by Koppelman and Rubin.

Charts

Four Tops version

In 1968,

hit the Top 20 on both the pop and soul charts with their version. It also reached No. 7 in the UK charts in 1968 staying in the charts for 11 weeks. It reached No. 4 in the Netherlands.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He h ...

* Background vocals by Duke Fakir, Obie Benson and

Lawrence Payton Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer. Bio ...

* Additional background vocals by

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

* Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Charts

Johnny Cash version

In 1970,

and

June Carter June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...

recorded a duet of the song, which went to No. 2 on the country chart and No. 36 on pop. Their recording won Cash and June a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1971 Grammy.

Charts

Robert Plant version

In 1993 former

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

vocalist Robert Plant released a version on his studio album ''

Fate of Nations ''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all so ...

''. Plant's version reached No. 63 on 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 ...

. Personnel * Robert Plant – lead vocals *

Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...

– mandolin *

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

– drums *

Phil Johnstone Phil Johnstone (1 September 1957 – 31 May 2021) was an English songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and record producer, best known for his work with singer Robert Plant. His songwriting credits include Plant's number-one Mainstream Rock hits ...

–

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer * Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones * Charles Jones (pho ...

– bass guitar * Kevin Scott MacMichael – guitar * Lynton Naiff – string arrangement Charts

Johnny Hallyday version (in French)

French singer

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

covered the song in French in 1966. His version, titled "Si j'étais un charpentier", reached No. 3 in Wallonia (French Belgium).

Track listings

7-inch EP Philips 437.281 BE (1966) : A1. "Si j'étais un charpentier" – 2:15 : A2. "On s'est trompé" – 2:40 : B1. "Je veux te graver dans ma vie" – 2:50 : B2. "La fille à qui je pense" – 2:57

Charts

; "Si j'étais un charpentier" / "Je veux te graver dans ma vie" / "La fille à qui je pense"

Other versions

* In 1969, Yugoslav band

Crveni Koralji Crveni Koralji (trans. ''The Red Corals'') were a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Zagreb in 1962. They were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav rock scene. Crveni Koralji were initially inspired by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, but so ...

released a

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

version, entitled "Da sam drvosječa", on their EP ''Sam'', the song becoming a nationwide hit for the band. *In 1972, a cover by Bob Seger reached No. 76 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single was released from his album '' Smokin' O.P.'s''. *In 1974, Leon Russell released a version with a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

tempo and his own rewritten lyrics from the perspective of a "rock star". His single reached No. 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was included on his album '' Stop All That Jazz''. *In 1982, Swanee released a version. It peaked at number 5 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

and was the 33rd biggest selling single in Australia in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:If I Were A Carpenter (Song) Songs about occupations 1966 songs 1966 singles 1968 singles 1970 singles 1972 singles Songs written by Tim Hardin Tim Hardin songs Johnny Hallyday songs Burl Ives songs Bob Seger songs Bobby Darin songs Johnny Cash songs June Carter Cash songs Andy Kim songs Four Tops songs Leif Garrett songs Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Philips Records singles Motown singles Atlantic Records singles Columbia Records singles Fontana Records singles