"You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody" is a song written by Johnny MacRae and Steve Clark, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

. It was released in December 1994 as the second single from his album ''

Lead On ''Lead On'' is the fifteenth studio album by American country music artist George Strait. The album was released on November 8, 1994 by MCA Nashville and was certified platinum in the U.S. for sales of one million copies. It includes the singl ...

''.

Content

The song is about a man who proposes to his girlfriend, but she rejects it. In a play on the

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," the woman tearfully explains that—despite her best efforts—she is simply not in love with her boyfriend ("''You can lead a heart to love, but you can't make it fall''").

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

, 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 advertis ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a fine ballad. He goes on to say that Strait and co-producer Tony Brown have "refined the song search process to a science, and the singer outdoes himself here."''

'', January 7, 1995

Chart positions

"You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody" number 59 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of December 24, 1994.

Year-end charts

References

{{George Strait 1990s singles 1994 singles 1994 songs George Strait songs Songs written by Johnny MacRae Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) MCA Records singles