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I Can't Make You Love Me cover Shannon King (Adele Style)

Original Song Sung by Bonnie Raitt...and later Adele

By Shannon KingPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I create any of the instrumental/musical background or compose the melody or lyrics of this song. Credit is attributed to the original publisher/author and the only part of this creation I own is the voice singing the song to a karaoke version that was available via youtube.com. The correct references are also notated for the biographies on the artists. Thank you!

LYRICS

Turn down the lights

Turn down the bed

Turn down these voices inside my head

Lay down with me

Tell me no lies

Just hold me close, don't patronize

Don't patronize me

'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't

You can't make your heart feel something it won't

Here in the dark, in these final hours

I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power

But you won't, no you won't

'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't

I'll close my eyes, then I won't see

The love you don't feel when you're holding me

Morning will come and I'll do what's right

Just give me till then to give up this fight

And I will give up this fight

'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't

You can't make your heart feel something it won't

Here in the dark, in these final hours

I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power

But you won't, no you won't

'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Michael Reid / Allen Shamblin

About the song: ""I Can't Make You Love Me" is a song written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by American singer Bonnie Raitt for her eleventh studio album Luck of the Draw (1991). Released as the album's third single in 1991, "I Can't Make You Love Me" became one of Raitt's most successful singles, reaching the top-20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the top-10 on the Adult Contemporary.

In August 2000, Mojo magazine voted "I Can't Make You Love Me" the eighth best track on its The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[1] The song is ranked at number 339 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] On 27 November 2016, the Grammy Hall of Fame announced its induction, along with that of another 24 songs.[3]

"I Can't Make You Love Me" was written by Nashville writers Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, who were well-noted for their successes in the country music arena. The song was rewritten many times before being finalized, months later. "We wrote, most every week, in Mike's basement," Shamblin told Peter Cooper in an interview with the Nashville Tennessean. "And we'd worked on this song for more than six months. One day, he said, 'Come up to the living room,' where his piano was. He sat down and started playing this melody, and it was one of the most moving pieces of music I'd heard. I mean, it hit me in a hard way ... Instantly, I knew it was the best thing I'd ever been a part of."[4] Reid and Shamblin were both country music songwriters, who according to some accounts originally wrote the song as a fast, bluegrass number. Upon slowing down the tempo considerably, they realized the song gained considerable power and thought about giving the song to one of three artists: Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler or Linda Ronstadt. Eventually, the song made its way to Bonnie Raitt, who recorded the track for her eleventh studio album, Luck of the Draw (1991). Raitt co-produced the song with Don Was, while Bruce Hornsby provided a piano accompaniment.[5]

In 2011, English singer Adele covered "I Can't Make You Love Me" for her first live album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011). The song was acclaimed by music critics, who praised Adele's delivery and vocals. The song has charted on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the top-forty, although it was never released as a single.

In addition to receiving positive reviews from music critics, Adele's second album 21 became one of the most successful albums of the 2010s, being the biggest selling musical release for both 2011 and 2012 and entering the Guinness World Records. While promoting the album and its third single, "Set Fire to the Rain", Adele performed on the iTunes Festival London 2011. On the setlist, Adele performed tracks from 21 and a cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me". Before performing the track, Adele stated that it was one of her favorite songs and described it as "perfect in every way". She added that Bonnie Raitt has a "stunning voice" and went on to compliment the lyrics, calling them "mind-blowing".[40]

After the positive response of the iTunes Festival performance, Adele covered once again the track, during her first live album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, recorded on 22 September 2011. She made further comment over the song, saying, "It blows me away" and further adding that she thought the song was "incredibly moving". Adele also commented on the emotions the song gives her, saying, "It makes me really, really happy and really, really devastated and depressed at the same time. It makes me think of my fondest and best times in my life, and it makes me think of the worst as well, and combined, probably is a recipe for disaster, but I do love this song. It's just fucking stunning."[41]" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Can%27t_Make_You_Love_Me).

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About the Creator

Shannon King

Born in St. Augustine, Fl, Shannon has a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from USF. She is currently pursuing a career in music, singing and writing with a focus in poetry, biographies, and inspirational messages.

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