"Please Forgive Me" is a song by Canadian rock musician

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

. It was released in October 1993 as the only single and bonus track from his first greatest hits compilation album, '' So Far So Good'' (1993). The single reached number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number two 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 ...

. It is his only Australian number-one single not written for a motion picture, and it also topped the charts of Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Norway, and Portugal.

Background

"Please Forgive Me" was written by Adams and producer

Robert Lange The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. The song has an instrumental intro, which is only found on the album version of the song. Adams told Songfacts that it was one of the first songs that he agreed to use a

modulation In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

in. The single reached number two in the United Kingdom, number seven in the US, and number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Norway and Portugal. The song was praised by critics upon its release, and gave Adams one of his best chart performances, his most highly successful being the 1991 international chart-topping hit "

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Robi ...

". The song helped '' So Far So Good'' reach number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and in Canada and Australia. The music video for this song also received a large amount of TV airplay. The studio band, who also appear in the video which was filmed live during the tracking dates, included keyboard players

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

and

Robbie Buchanan Robbie or Robby is a surname. It is usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob or Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. People Given name Robbie *Robbie Amell (born 1 ...

, guitarist

Shane Fontayne Michael Barakan (born 29 April 1954, in London, England), known as Shane Fontayne, is an English rock guitarist. Active since the 1970s, he was the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen during the 1992–1993 "Other Band" Tour, as Springsteen had d ...

, bassist

James "Hutch" Hutchinson James Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953) is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt. Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, CA and Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. Car ...

, guitarist Keith Scott, drummer

Mickey Curry Michael Timothy Curry (born June 10, 1956) is an American musician. He has collaborated with singer-songwriter Bryan Adams since the early 1980s, but has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costell ...

and producer

Mutt Lange A mutt is a mongrel (a dog of unknown ancestry). Mutt may also refer to: People * Mutt, a derogatory term for mixed-race people Nickname * Larry Black (sprinter) (1951-2006), American sprinter * Mutt Carey (1886–1948), New Orleans jazz trump ...

. The song was co-written and produced by Mutt Lange. It was a radio hit all over the world, and became a hit amongst Adams fans. The single has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' felt that the song "casts him in a familiar role: mournful romantic", and stated that the "guitar-framed

rock ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...

is an easy smash, thanks to Adams' friendly, world-weathered rasp, and an infectious

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

." He also described it as a "stately tune" and a "delicious hit of ear candy." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' commented, "Among rock's most talented balladeers, Adams once again collaborates with "Mutt" Lange on a sensational production." A reviewer from ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

'' viewed the song as "another husky ballad with the kind of simple structure and simple sentiment which should ensure the widest appeal." Pan-European magazine ''

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 ...

'' wrote that it is a "unmistakably part of the Adams' family of great rock ballads." Pete Stanton from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' gave "Please Forgive Me" two out of five, feeling that it "treads the same path" as "

", "but doesn't grab the heartstrings in the same way. The throaty vocals are still there".

Music video

The accompanying

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

for "Please Forgive Me" was filmed in a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

and features Adams, his band and a dog. Adams and his bandmates befriended the dog—who belonged to the studio owner—whilst recording the track. The video for Adams' 2008 single "

I Thought I'd Seen Everything "I Thought I'd Seen Everything" is a rock song written by Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy and Robert John "Mutt" Lange for Adams 10 solo album '' 11'' (2008). The song's musical-style and production were heavily inspired by rock and pop music from the 1 ...

" resembles the music video.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals and rhythm guitar * Keith Scott – lead guitar *

– bass *

– rhythm guitar *

– piano * Robbie Buchanan – synthesizers and organ

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1993 singles 1993 songs A&M Records singles Bryan Adams songs Canadian soft rock songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Portugal Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs written by Bryan Adams Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange