"If I Needed You" is a song written by

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

and performed on his 1972 album '' The Late Great Townes Van Zandt''. It was covered 9 years later by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

and

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

as a duet, and was released in September 1981 as the first single from Harris' album '' Cimarron''. The song reached #3 on the ''

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 adverti ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart and #1 on the '' RPM'' Country Tracks chart in Canada. According to Townes's business partner and producer Kevin Eggers, the song was written about his wife Anne Mittendorf Eggers. The song is very similar musically to

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

's later song "

Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone) ''Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Tanya Tucker. It was released on February 11, 1974, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Billy Sherrill and includes Tucker's thir ...

." Van Zandt's former manager John Lomax III recounts that when Coe heard Van Zandt play the song, he asked Van Zandt if he could "do something with it." However, Van Zandt is not credited on the later song.

Charts

Covers

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

's "If I Needed You" was not only covered by

and

, but also by

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

on '' Hands of Glory'',

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

on ''Songs and Stories'',

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

on '' Step Inside This House'', and others. The song was also recorded by

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

for his record Then and Now. On his record Live at the Old Quarter, Townes introduces the song "If I Needed You" by saying, "This was recorded by Doc Watson, and it really blew my mind, you know…" The song is also covered in the Belgian film

The Broken Circle Breakdown ''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' (also known as ''Alabama Monroe'') is a 2012 Belgian drama film directed by Felix van Groeningen with a screenplay by Carl Joos and van Groeningen. It is based on the stage play of the same name by Johan Heldenber ...

, where the Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band, including actors

Johan Heldenbergh Johan Heldenbergh (born 9 February 1967) is a Belgian actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film director. He gained international fame by starring in films, including ''A Day in a Life'' (2007), '' Moscow, Belgium'' (2008), ''T ...

and

Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress and singer probably best known for her role as Elise/Alabama in ''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' and as lead detective Hannah Maes in the crime drama '' Code 37''. She has also starred in ...

sing it live. It also appears on the original soundtrack of the film. In 1997, Dead Ringer Band covered the song on their album, '' Living in the Circle''.In 2012,

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...

released a version of the song.

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...

covered the song on her 2011 album '' Storybook''. In 2018, the Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Álvarez released a version of the song in his tenth album, properly called "10". An acoustic version of the song, performed by

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and '' Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', ...

and Michael Dorman, appears in the pilot episode of the television show

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

, which aired on November 5, 2015. A version in Swedish
Om jag behövde dig
appears on the 2016 albu
Vid Grinden
b
Georga
and is performed as a duet with singer Frida Wiljansros. Joey + Rory recorded it on their album "Made to Last" in 2013. Adam Harvey and

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

covered the song on their album, ''

The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 ''The Great Country Songbook Volume 2'' is a studio album by Australian country music singers Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole, released on 28 April 2017. The album debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Charts, becoming Cole's highest charting album of he ...

'' (2017). In 2017,

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

and

Amanda Shires Amanda Rose Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being '' Take It Like a Man'' in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music super ...

recorded a cover for a Don Williams tribute album. Gove Scrivenor recorded a version on his "Shine On" album in 1998

References

{{authority control 1981 singles 1972 songs Townes Van Zandt songs Songs written by Townes Van Zandt Don Williams songs Emmylou Harris songs Male–female vocal duets Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis