"Surrendering" is a song written by

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...

, and produced by her for her fifth album, '' Under Rug Swept'' (2002). The song was the last Morissette wrote for the album. According to her, it is "about the gratitude that I feel for someone tapping into the courage that it takes to allow themselves to be loved and to ... listen to heir fearsand still move through them. And how thrilling it is for me to be able to be let in in that kind of way. And how healing it is ultimately for both the person I'm singing about and myself." She has described it as "a very peaceful, joyful song"."Alanis Morissette talks about songs from 'Under Rug Swept'"
. MSO. Retrieved April 5, 2007. The subject of "Surrendering" is a man Morissette was dating as of March 2002.
. '' Chart''. March 2002, no. 134. Retrieved April 5, 2007.

Release and reception

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'' cited the line "I embrace you for your faith in the face of adversarial forces that I represent" as an example of "some of the clumsiest lyrics to be heard on a pop record in years ... tmay be an appropriate assessment of a relationship, but it's not a chorus." ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' named it the best song on ''Under Rug Swept'', saying it shows Morissette's "gift for the all-time pop melody". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote that "Surrendering" and " Hands Clean", another track on the album, were "overwrought folk-rock hat isdestined for a thousand

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bars." "Surrendering" was released to radio as the album's third single in

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in September 2002 (see

2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002. Specific locations * 2002 in British music * 2002 in Norwegian music * 2002 in South Korean music Specific genres * 2002 in classical music * 2002 in country music ...

). By March 2003 it had reached the top ten on the playlists of radio stations such as Mix 96 and

Énergie Énergie is a Canadian radio network of French-language mainstream rock outlets broadcasting throughout the province of Quebec and portions of eastern Ontario, in Eastern Canada. They offer a personality-driven mix of francophone and anglophone ...

."Mix Hit List - Montreal's Top 20"
March 28, 2003. Retrieved April 7, 2007 from the Wayback Machine. No

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was released.

Notes

{{Alanis Morissette songs Alanis Morissette songs Folk rock songs 2002 singles Songs written by Alanis Morissette