Lay Your Hands On Me
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Lay Your Hands On Me" | ||
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| Single by Bon Jovi | ||
| from the album New Jersey | ||
| Released | 1989 | |
| Format | CD Single | |
| Recorded | 1988 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 6:00 | |
| Label | Mercury Records | |
| Writer(s) | Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Bon Jovi singles chronology | ||
| "I'll Be There For You" (1989) | "Lay Your Hands On Me" (1989) | "Living in Sin" (1989) |
Lay Your Hands On Me is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was released in 1989 as the fourth single from the band's 1988 album New Jersey. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's fourth single from New Jersey to chart in the Top 10.
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[edit] Song Structure
It is a hard-rocking song, running 6 minutes, with a long intro focused on the drum beats of Tico Torres and keyboard playing of David Bryan as well as the chants of the crowd: "hey!", before going into an upbeat tuneful hard rock song, filled with loud guitar riffs by Richie Sambora and the husky delivery of lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi.
By Jon's own admission, this is one of the few Bon Jovi songs that was written from a guitar riff (Jon Bon Jovi's usual style is to begin writing a song with the title). It was written in the studio while they were recording the New Jersey album.
[edit] Video
The video for the song is one of Bon Jovi's best-loved in-concert videos, and showcases the band at the height of its 1980s glory, including a catwalk elevated above the crowd, an enthusiastic crowd, vivid lighting, over-the-top stage attire, and powerful playing. It was culled from performances at Pacific Northwest shows on The Jersey Syndicate Tour. It was also released to home video on New Jersey: The Videos and Cross Road: The Videos.
[edit] In Concert
For live performances through the 80s and 90s, Sambora would use a double neck guitar with one neck tuned to Drop D and the other tuned to Standard tuning. Examples of this can be seen in the official video clip, as well as in the Live From London DVD. During the 2000s he began using a single-necked guitar, as can be seen in The Crush Tour DVD.
[edit] 'This Left Feels Right' version
"Lay Your Hands on Me" was re-recorded for 2003's This Left Feels Right album. The new version is in a laid-back acoustic style, featuring Sambora playing the Mandocello as the primary instrument. This version was performed at several concerts on the Have a Nice Day Tour, but usaully saw a sour reaction from fans.
