"I'm Sorry" is a song written and recorded by American country-folk singer-songwriter
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
and released in 1975. It was the final number-one pop hit released during his career. The flip side of "I'm Sorry" was "
Calypso", and, like its A-side, enjoyed substantial radio airplay on
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
stations.
"I'm Sorry" is an apology for forsaken love. In the lyrics, the singer's love interest has left him and he's still broken up about it weeks later. Even though he tells them he's doing fine, their mutual friends know he's not. The singer confesses "I can't believe you went away."
YouTube.com "I'm Sorry" by John Denver. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2024.
/REF> ''Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said it "is replete with the classic Denver touches: sweet arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
by Lee Holdridge
Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. An 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News and Documentary Emmy Awards, and o ...
, and emotive lyrics."
Chart performance
"I'm Sorry" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on September 27, 1975, and scored number one on the Easy Listening chart
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...
. In Canada, it also reached number one.
Six weeks after topping the U.S. pop charts, the song was Denver's third and final number one on the ''Billboard'' 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
References
1975 singles
John Denver songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
RCA Records singles
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by John Denver
Song recordings produced by Milt Okun
Torch songs
1975 songs
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