Cain's Blood

"Cain's Blood" is a song written by Michael Johnson and Jack Sundrud, and recorded by American country music group 4 Runner. It was released in February 1995 as the first single from the album 4 Runner. The song reached number 26 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[1] Johnson himself also recorded the song on his 1995 album Departure.[2]

"Cain's Blood"
Single by 4 Runner
from the album 4 Runner
B-side"Ten Pound Hammer"[1]
ReleasedFebruary 1995
RecordedSeptember 1994
GenreCountry
Length3:52
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Michael Johnson, Jack Sundrud
Producer(s)Buddy Cannon, Larry Shell
4 Runner singles chronology
"Cain's Blood"
(1995)		 "A Heart with 4 Wheel Drive"
(1995)

Content

"Cain's Blood" was written by Michael Johnson in the early 1970s. As he often told the story in concert, after getting arrested while relieving himself behind a closed gas station at the start of a holiday weekend, the idea came to him while reading the graffiti on his cell wall. He recorded this song on his second album, For All You Mad Musicians, released in 1975. Some twenty years later, he and Jack Sundrud added two verses and Johnson recorded it on his 1995 album, Departure, and Live at the Bluebird Cafe released in 2000. The song is about "the tug and pull [between good and evil] that goes on inside each and every one of us", according to Polydor Records then-president Steve Miller.[3] It uses the Biblical story of Cain and Abel to represent the narrator's struggle between good and evil.[4] Co-writer Michael Johnson said that the idea for the chorus came to him while he was in jail for driving under the influence.[5]

Music video

The music video premiered in February 1995. It was filmed at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.[3]

Critical reception

"Cain's Blood" generally received positive reception for its Southern gospel sound.[3] The single was also compared to the sound of The Oak Ridge Boys due to the use of four-part vocal harmony.[6] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time wrote that the song is a "dark and moody testament to life's daily battle between good and evil in which the four voices become completely integrated into an eerie, foreboding whole."[7]

Chart performance

"Cain's Blood" debuted at number 74 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 18, 1995.

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] 14
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[9] 18
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 26

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 149. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  2. "Departure". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  3. Morris, Edward (April 1, 1995). "4 Runner: Oak Ridge Boys of '90s?". Billboard: 28, 35.
  4. Van Scott, Miriam (1999). The Encyclopedia of Hell. Macmillan. p. 74.
  5. "4 Runner's not just another Oak Ridge Boys". The Vindicator. 13 May 1995. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  6. "4 Runner resurrects the country quartet". The Albany Herald. Associated Press. May 29, 1995. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  7. Wahlert, Brian. "4 Runner review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  8. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9241." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 5, 1995. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  9. "4 Runner Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.
  10. "4 Runner Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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