"There's Got to Be a Way" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Columbia released it as the fifth and final single from the album only in the United Kingdom on May 20, 1991. It was one of four songs Carey wrote with

Ric Wake Ric Wake is an American record producer who has won four Grammy Awards and two Oscar Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Lucero, Taylor D ...

during their first recording session together in February 1990, but "There's Got to Be a Way" was the only composition to make the final track listing. Carey released a five-track digital

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

containing remixes of the song in July 2020 as part of her 30th-anniversary celebrations of her debut album. "There's Got to Be a Way" is a

socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

conscious R&B- pop song which denounces the existence of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and war in the world which gradually becomes aspirational and hopeful as it progresses. The track garnered a mixed reception upon the album's release in 1990; while Carey's vocals were praised, it was seen as too political. An accompanying music video for the song highlights social injustices. The song reached number 54 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 ...

. In May 2020, Carey performed a snippet of the song in a video posted online in response to the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

Background and release

"There's Got to Be a Way" was composed by

and

for Carey's

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

(1990); the lyrics were written by Carey, while she and Wake composed the music. It was written during Carey and Wake's first recording session together. They composed four songs, but only "There's Got to Be a Way" was chosen for the final track listing. Co-produced by Wake and

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

, it appears as the second of eleven songs on the track listing. The track was recorded in February 1990 and engineered by Bob Cadway at Cove City Sound Studios and The Power Station, both located in New York City; he was assisted by Dana Jon Chappelle. It was mixed by David Frazer at Tarpan Studios in San Rafael. The

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, bass and rhythm engineering was carried out by Louis Biancaniello, while Joe Franco performed the

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, Vernon "Ice" Black played the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and Rich Tancredo also performing on the keyboards.

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

played the

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

s. Carey provided her own background vocals along with Billy T. Scott, Jamiliah Muhammed and The Billy T. Scott Ensemble. The song was released in the United Kingdom as the fifth and final single on May 20, 1991. On July 24, 2020, Carey released a five-track digital

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

of the song as part of her 30th-anniversary celebrations of her debut album ''Mariah Carey''. Titled ''There's Got to Be a Way EP'' and released in tandem with an eight-track EP of " Someday", it contains "hard-to-find and unreleased makeovers" of the original album track, including both the 7-inch and 12-inch versions (the latter of which was previously only available on vinyl), the "Vocal Dub Mix" and "Alt. Vocal Dub Mix", as well as the "Sample Dub Mix", with the third and fifth being previously unreleased. Gil Kaufman of ''

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 ...

'' called its release a "revelation" for fans in the United States, owing to "There's Got to Be a Way" originally released only in the United Kingdom.

Composition

"There's Got to Be a Way" is an R&B- pop music song with elements of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, lasting for a duration for four minutes and 52 seconds. The song begins with Carey publicly decrying the existence of war,

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and

in the world, and she uses the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

to shift the lyrics towards an uplifting and aspirational tone. A "peaceful, political anthem," the theme of

social activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

can be heard in the lyrics "There's got to be a way/ To connect this world today/ Come together to relieve the pain/ There's got to be a way/ To unite this human race/ And together we'll bring on a change." Carey goes on to suggest that we should be more tolerant of each other and not resort so readily to war in the lyrics "Couldn't we accept each other / Can't we make ourselves aware."

Critical reception

J.D. Considine J. D. Considine (born 1957) is a music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977. Background J. D. Considine's work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. ...

from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' named "There's Got to Be a Way" one of the album's "best songs", describing it as "gloriously engaging". Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

felt that Carey was being too political in her "brave, young, idealistic attack" on war and destitution. Ralph Novak, David Hiltbrand and David Grogan of ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' wrote that it is a "testimony to her talent that she does so much with so little." They continued to write that Carey's "tone and clarity" makes "There's Got to Be a Way" a "mesmerizing" track. To mark twenty-five years since the release of ''Mariah Carey'' in June 1990, ''

'' writer Trevor Anderson wrote a track-by-track review of the album in June 2015. He noted that "There's Got to Be a Way" follows the same melodic tone as the album's opener "

Vision of Love "Vision of Love" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). It was written by Carey and Ben Margulies. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for Columbia Records, the song wa ...

" but highlighted their stark lyrical differences, as the former is about social activism and the latter is about love. Although he praised Carey's vocals, writing that she "deploys" one of her best whistle notes of her career, he felt that "the aim for broad appeal comes at the expense of memorable lyrics." Similarly in December 2015, Kelsey McKinney of the

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owned ''

Splinter News Splinter was an American left-leaning news and opinion website owned by G/O Media. It launched in July 2017 and ceased publication in November 2019. Content The site was a news and opinion website. According to direct owner Fusion Media Group, t ...

'' compiled a selection of reviews of how Carey and her debut album were received in 1990; "There's Got to Be a Way" was mentioned in Alan Niester's review for the Canadian publication ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. He commented that, as did most critics, Carey's vocals were reminiscent of already established female singers, including

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

and

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

, with their vocal influences most apparent on the song as well as "Alone in Love", specifically. It was because of this, he writes, that despite Carey having a vocal ability that is "worth watching," what she is singing vocally is more interesting than what she is singing lyrically, having not yet found her own style.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "There's Got to Be a Way" begins with a shot of an empty street, followed by clips of disadvantaged and poorer members of society going about their daily activities. Two men play

dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...

on a wooden crate outside a building, a gang make fun of an elderly man hanging newspapers outside his store and an obese woman walks down the street. Clips of Carey leaning against a wall and sitting on some steps looking on at what is happening are shown. As the first chorus begins, everyone starts to dance joyfully in the street and help those in need. A gospel choir comes out of one of the buildings as the street becomes more crowded with people of all ages and backgrounds rejoicing and getting along with each other. One of the shops in the background has a neon light outside the entrance which says "Jesus Saves."

Live performance

Carey performed a couple of lines of the song for the first time in a short video on May 30, 2020, in response to the

, an African American man killed during his arrest by Derek Chauvin, a White American police officer, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

on May 25. Carey posted the video clip online, singing the lyrics "I don't understand how there can be regulated bigotry. There's got to be a way to connect this world today," focusing on its lyrics denouncing racism. She captioned the video with "I wrote this song for my first album. Still looking for answers today. We have to make a change. We can't be silent," followed by the hashtag

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

and an encouragement to her fans to donate to the Color of Change campaign to prohibit the officers involved from working in law enforcement in the future and to be prosecuted for Floyd's murder.

Formats and track listings

* European 12" #"There's Got to Be a Way" (12" Remix) – 8:21 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Alt. Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:44 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (7" Remix) – 4:50 * European Maxi CD #"There's Got to Be a Way" – 4:52 #"

I Don't Wanna Cry "I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Written by Carey and Narada Michael Walden, and produced by the latter, the song was released as the album's fourth ...

" – 4:47 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (12" Remix) – 8:21 * UK Cassette Single #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Album Version) – 4:51 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (7" Remix) – 4:50 * UK Maxi CD #"There's Got to Be a Way" – 4:51 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (12" Remix) – 8:21 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Alt. Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:44 * UK Picture Disc Maxi CD #"There's Got to Be a Way" – 4:51 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (7" Remix) – 4:50 #" Someday" (7" Jackswing Mix) – 4:40 #"

" – 3:28 * UK 12" promo #"There's Got To Be a Way" (12" Remix) – 8:21 #"There's Got To Be a Way" (Alt. Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:44 #"There's Got To Be a Way" (Sample Dub Mix) – 6:00 #"There's Got To Be a Way" (7" Remix) – 4:50 * There's Got to Be a Way EP #"There's Got to Be a Way" (7" Remix) – 4:53 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (12" Remix) – 8:21 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Vocal Dub Mix) – 7:06 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Alt. Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:46 #"There's Got to Be a Way" (Sample Dub Mix) – 6:04

Charts

Release history

References

{{Good article 1990 songs 1991 singles Mariah Carey songs Songs written by Mariah Carey Songs written by Ric Wake Song recordings produced by Ric Wake Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden Columbia Records singles Sony Music singles Songs against racism and xenophobia