"This Ain't a Love Song" is the lead single from American rock band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

's sixth studio album, '' These Days'' (1995). The

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. Ball ...

is an example of the strong

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

influence that

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

and

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the ...

wanted the album to have. Released in May 1995 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, it reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number two on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart, number six on the UK Singles Chart, and number one on the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts (; ) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista'' (lit. "the Official Finnish Chart"), which is ...

. The music video for the song was directed by

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. ...

and filmed in Thailand.

Background and release

The song was written by

and

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...

, and produced by Bon Jovi with Sambora and Peter Collins. The singer told in an 1995 interview, "'This Ain't a Love Song' is pretty rootsy for us. It's R&B-influenced. I'm real proud of the way it turned out. It's been a big surprise, not only as a hit single but as a live song."

Critical reception

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "The new single is another

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

although rather more understated and reflective than many they have produced in the past." Chris Marlowe from ''

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 m ...

'' felt it proved that "the group's great melodies and Jon Bon Jovi's double whammy of voice and sex appeal were stronger than ever." He added, "You can almost imagine what it would sound like with

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

singing it". Simon Williams from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' commented, "And hey, guess what? 'This Ain't a Love Song' actually ''is'' a love song!" Another ''NME'' editor, Stephen Dalton, wrote that it "waltzes and croaks" like '

Bed of Roses Bed of roses is an English expression that represents a carefree life. This idiomatic expression is still popular. In the thirteenth-century work Le Roman de la Rose (called "The French Iliad" in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable), a L ...

'. Tony Cross 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 ...

'' gave it two out of five, saying, "Yes it is. It's all about crying rivers and dying on a regular basis for some bird. Sounds more trouble than she's worth to me, fella. Get yourself a proper bird, cut out the slush like this and play her some of that brilliant guitar rock like you used to. That way she might not be so keen to off it."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "This Ain't a Love Song" was shot at Wat Ratchaburana in Ayuthaya, Thailand, and directed by British commercial, film and music video director

"Como yo nadie te ha amado"

A Spanish version, "Como yo nadie te ha amado" ("Nobody Has Loved You Like I Do"), was also recorded. However, the lyrics in the two versions differ from each other; the original version talks about a lost love, which is never recovered, while the Spanish version is a reflection on love, about how no one will love someone with the same passion than the narrator. Mexican singer

Yuridia Yuridia Francisca Gaxiola Flores (born 4 October 1986), known mononymously as Yuridia, is a Mexican singer. She came in second place in the fourth season of the reality show '' La Academia'', which launched her career. She is considered as one ...

covered the Spanish version, "Como yo nadie te ha amado", on her second studio album ''

Habla El Corazón ''Habla El Corazón'' is the Mexico, Mexican singer Yuridia's second album, which was released on December 5, 2006, in the United States and October 31, 2006, in Latin America. Information ''Habla El Corazón'' (The Heart Speaks) contains covers ...

'' which peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin music, Latin songs, published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart ranki ...

chart. Yuridia's cover received was nominated at the 2008 Latin Billboard Awards for Latin Pop Airplay of the Year by a Female Artist. Her cover also led to Jon Bon Jovi winning an ASCAP Latin Award in the Pop/Ballad field.

Track listings

* US and Canadian CD single; US cassette single # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:06 # " Always" (live at

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as C ...

) – 4:45 # "Prostitute" (demo) – 4:28 * US and Canadian maxi-CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:06 # "Prostitute" (demo) – 4:28 # "When She Comes" (demo) – 3:29 # "The End" (demo) – 3:39 # "Lonely at the Top" (demo) – 4:14 * US 7-inch single and Japanese mini-CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:06 # "Always" (live at A&M Studios) – 4:45 * UK CD1 # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:04 # "Lonely at the Top" – 4:14 # "The End" – 3:39 * UK CD2 # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:04 # "When She Comes" – 3:29 # "Wedding Day" – 4:58 # "Prostitute" – 4:28 * UK and Australian cassette single; European and Australian CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" – 5:04 # "Lonely at the Top" – 4:14 * European maxi-CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" (album version) – 5:04 # "Prostitute" – 4:28 # "Lonely at the Top" – 4:14 # "When She Comes" – 3:29 # "The End" – 3:39 * French CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" (album version) – 5:03 # "Always" (album version) – 5:52 * Japanese maxi-CD single # "This Ain't a Love Song" # "Jon's Comment 1" # "Always" (live '94) # "Jon's Comment 2" # " Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" (live '94) # "Jon's Comment 3" # "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr (a ...

" (live '94)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:This Ain't A Love Song 1990s ballads 1995 singles 1995 songs 2006 singles Bon Jovi songs Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Number-one singles in Finland Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Jon Bon Jovi Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer) Song recordings produced by Richie Sambora Songs about heartache Songs written by Desmond Child Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi Songs written by Richie Sambora Yuridia songs