Would?

"Would?"
Single by Alice in Chains
from the album Dirt
Released	September 7, 1992
Format	CD single, cassette, vinyl
Recorded	March–May 1992 at Eldorado Recording Studios, Burbank, California; London Bridge Studio, Seattle, Washington; One on One Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Grunge, alternative metal
Length	3:27
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Jerry Cantrell
Producer(s)	Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains singles chronology
"Sea of Sorrow" (1992) "Would?" (1992) "Them Bones" (1992)
Dirt track listing "Down in a Hole" (Track 12) "Would?" (Track 13) Audio sample file info · help

"Would?" is a song by Alice in Chains. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 movie Singles, in which the members of Alice in Chains make a cameo appearance and later appeared on the band's album Dirt, also released in 1992. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

Lyrics

The song, written by guitarist/co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell, concerns the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song:

I was thinking a lot about Andrew Wood at the time. We always had a great time when we did hang out, much like Chris Cornell and I do. There was never really a serious moment or conversation, it was all fun. Andy was a hilarious guy, full of life and it was really sad to lose him. But I always hate people who judge the decisions others make. So it was also directed towards people who pass judgments.^[1]

Release and reception

“Would?” was released as a single in 1992. "Would?" peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The UK single was released in January 1993.^[2] "Would?" reached the top twenty in the UK and the top forty in the Netherlands. It is one of the band's most well-known songs.^[3]

Steve Huey of Allmusic said that the song is "a touch more melancholy than many of the group's best-known rockers" and "one of the band's most fully realized individual moments."^[4] James Hunter of Rolling Stone called the song "a Seattle song that in 1999 evokes no grunge nostalgia. It's timeless, one of the most stylish singles of the decade, the work of a band which understands that life gets way out of hand but that first-rate rock recordings can't."^[5] The song was named one of the top tracks of the 1990s by Pitchfork Media in 2010.^[6]

Music video

The music video for "Would?" was released in 1992 and was co-directed by Cameron Crowe and Josh Taft. The music video won the award for Best Video from a Film at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.^[7] The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.

Live performances

Alice in Chains performed an acoustic version of "Would?" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996 and the song was included on the Unplugged live album and home video release. Live performances of the song can also be found on the "Heaven Beside You" single and the live album Live.

Cover versions

It was covered by Opeth on their single "Burden", a song off their 2008 album Watershed.

Fictional band Queens of Dogtown covered "Would?" on the television series Californication. The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the show's fourth season.

Track listing

Personnel

Chart positions

References

External links

• Review of "Would?" at Allmusic
• "Would?" official music video on YouTube
• "Would?" at Discogs (list of releases)
• Usage in film, television and videogames: see "Alice in Chains - Soundtrack. 'Would?'" at the Internet Movie Database