Johnny Cash – I Won’t Back Down

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down

[Verse 2]
Gonna stand my ground, won’t be turned around
And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won’t back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won’t back down

[Verse 3]
Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I stand my ground and I won’t back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won’t back down
No I won’t back down

“I Won’t Back Down” is a song by American rock musician Tom Petty. It was released in April 1989 as the lead single from his first solo album, Full Moon Fever. The song was written by Petty and Jeff Lynne, his writing partner for the album. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks, starting the album’s road to multi-platinum status.

Background and writing

Petty recalled the recording of this song to Mojo magazine: “At the session George Harrison sang and played the guitar. I had a terrible cold that day, and George went to the store and bought a ginger root, boiled it and had me stick my head in the pot to get the ginger steam to open up my sinuses, and then I ran in and did the take.”^[1]

Content

A message of defiance against unnamed forces of difficulty and possibly oppression, the lyric is set against a mid-tempo beat:

Well I know what’s right, I got just one life

in a world that keeps on pushin’ me around

but I’ll stand my ground, and I won’t back down

Due to its themes, the song was played often on American radio following the September 11 attacks.^[2] Petty and the Heartbreakers played a quiet but resolute version of the song at the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the 2001 attacks.^[2][3]

In the 2007 documentary Runnin’ Down a Dream, Petty said that he felt some initial hesitation about releasing the song, given its clear and unabashed message.^[4]

Music video

The music video, directed by David Leland, was shot on March 22 and 23, 1989 on a sound stage at Pinewood Studios and released on April 24, 1989. Traveling Wilburys bandmates George Harrison and Jeff Lynne appear in the video. Mike Campbell and Harrison’s former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr are also featured in the video^[5] along with Harrison’s famous painted Fender Stratocaster “Rocky” being played by Campbell. Starr is depicted in the video as playing the drums on the song, though drumming was actually performed by Phil Jones on the record.

Agreement with Sam Smith

In January 2015, it was revealed that an agreement had been reached whereby Petty and Jeff Lynne would be credited as co-writers of Sam Smith‘s song “Stay with Me” and receive 12.5% of its royalties. Petty’s publishing company had contacted Smith’s publisher after noticing a likeness between “Stay with Me” and “I Won’t Back Down”. ^[6] Petty clarified that he did not believe Smith plagiarized him, saying “All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement”.^[7][8] Smith claimed he had never heard “I Won’t Back Down” before he wrote “Stay with Me”,^[9] but he acknowledged the similarity after listening to the song, and said that the likeness was “a complete coincidence”.^[10][11] Petty and Lynne were not eligible for a Grammy Award (“Stay with Me” was nominated for three awards at the 57th annual ceremony, winning two of them) as the Recording Academy considered “Stay with Me” to have been interpolated from “I Won’t Back Down” by Smith, James Napier, and William Phillips, the writers of “Stay with Me”; Petty and Lynne were instead given certificates to honor their participation in the work, as is usual for writers of sampled or interpolated work.^[12]

Personnel

• Tom Petty – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• Mike Campbell – lead and slide guitar
• George Harrison – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Jeff Lynne – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Howie Epstein – backing vocals
• Phil Jones – drums, percussion

Charts

Use in political campaigns

George W. Bush used “I Won’t Back Down” at campaign events during the 2000 presidential campaign but was compelled to stop using the song after receiving a cease and desist letter from Petty’s publisher.^[21][22] Petty then went on to perform the song at Al Gore’s home after Gore conceded the election to President Bush.^[23] Jim Webb used the song for his successful bid for one of Virginia‘s U.S. Senate seats in 2006, as did Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign. The song was also used at campaign events for Congressman Ron Paul of Texas during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign, as well as for events for his Campaign for Liberty. The song was also played at an event for Republican Connecticut gubernatorial nominee, Tom Foley.^[24] The song was also played at the 2012 Democratic National Convention after speech delivered by President Bill Clinton, in which President Barack Obama came out on stage to salute him.

Use in sports campaigns

The Ottawa Senators used the song as a campaign anthem in December 1990 at their presentation to be awarded an NHL franchise at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. The unlikely bid received unanimous support from the NHL and the franchise was awarded on December 6, 1990.^[25] The Johnny Cash cover has also been used for a Rogers Sportsnet advertising campaign for the 2010-2011 NHL season.^[26]

The song was used as the walkout song for the Australian Rugby League club the Melbourne Storm from 1999-2007.

It was also used as the slogan for the TCU Horned Frogs during the 2009 season, and incorporated into their merchandise during the year.^[27]

All appearances

• Full Moon Fever (1989)
• Greatest Hits (1993)
• Playback (1995)
• Anthology: Through the Years (2000)
• America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001)
• The Live Anthology (2009)
• Mojo Tour 2010 (2010) – Live Version
• Barnyard (2006)

The song was also released as downloadable content for Rock Band 2

Cover versions

• Something for Kate
• Johnny Cash – American III: Solitary Man (2000) (Tom Petty contributed vocals and guitar to Cash’s recording.)
• Edgewater – Lifter (2001)
• Holly Nelson – Leaving the Yard (2003)
• Cumberland Gap – Circle the Wagons (2004)
• Sam Elliott – Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (2006)
• Pearl Jam – Live at the Gorge 05/06 (2007)
• Mem Shannon – Live: A Night at Tipitina’s (2007)
• MercyMe – iTunes Originals (2008)
• Dawn Landes – Fireproof (2008)
• Switchfoot (2008)
• Reel Big Fish – Fame, Fortune and Fornication (2009)
• Booka Shade vs Plastic Operator – “Night Falls/Won’t Back Down” (2009)
• John O’Callaghan (2010)
• Tyler Hilton (2010)
• Dia Frampton and her coach Blake Shelton covered the song for The Voice (U.S.). (2011)
• Ryan Star – The America EP (2012)
• Benjamin Francis Leftwich – covered the song for Grey’s Anatomy season 9 episode 3. (2012)
• Bon Jovi – Covered the song during their Have a Nice Day Tour. (2005-2006)
• Dale Ann Bradley – Covered the song for her “Don’t Turn Your Back” CD. (2009)
• Tokutaro sleepy Maki- Covered in English along with Japanese. (2013)
• Kris Kristofferson – Covered for the soundtrack for History Channel‘s Texas Rising. (2015)
• Jason Aldean – Saturday Night Live (2017) Coincidentally, Sam Smith was the musical guest on this episode of Saturday Night Live.