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."

Content

A message of defiance against unnamed forces of difficulty and possibly oppression, the lyric is set against a mid-tempo beat:
Due to its themes, the song was played often on American radio following the September 11 attacks. Petty and the Heartbreakers played a quiet but resolute version of the song at the telethon following the 2001 attacks.
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.

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". 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". Smith claimed not to have heard "I Won't Back Down" before writing "Stay with Me", but acknowledged the similarity after listening to the song, calling it "a complete coincidence". Petty and Lynne were not eligible for a Grammy Award 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.

Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Use in political campaigns

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. Petty then went on to perform the song at Al Gore's home after Gore conceded the election to President Bush. 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. The song was also played at the 2012 Democratic National Convention after a speech delivered by President Bill Clinton, in which President Barack Obama came out on stage to salute him.
In June 2020, Petty's family issued a cease and desist letter to President Donald Trump's campaign for its use of "I Won't Back Down" at Trump's rally in Tulsa on June 20, 2020. The letter stated: "Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind. Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together".

Use in sports campaigns

The San Francisco Giants used the song for Jeff Brantley's walk-on in the 1989 season; that year the Giants went to the World Series to face the Oakland Athletics, where game three was interrupted by a major earthquake and postponed for two weeks. 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.
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. Beginning on October 7, 2017, the song has become a staple at University of Florida home football games. Fans sing the song between the third and fourth quarters, right after the traditional university song, "We are the Boys from Old Florida". The Johnny Cash cover has also been used for a Rogers Sportsnet advertising campaign for the 2010-2011 NHL season.

All appearances

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

Notable cover versions