I Swear

"I Swear" is a song written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery in 1993 and for American R&B group All-4-One in 1994.

This article is about the John Michael Montgomery song, which was covered by All-4-One. For other uses, see I Swear (disambiguation).
"I Swear"
Single by John Michael Montgomery
from the album Kickin' It Up
ReleasedNovember 19, 1993
Recorded1993
GenreCountry
Length4:22
LabelAtlantic Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Scott Hendricks
John Michael Montgomery singles chronology
"Beer and Bones"
(1993)		 "I Swear"
(1993)		 "Rope the Moon"
(1994)

Montgomery's version, released in November 1993 as the lead single from Montgomery's album Kickin' It Up and accompanied by a Marc Ball-directed music video, spent four weeks at number-one on the U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, later crossing over to pop radio and reaching number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100. All-4-One's cover later became a number one hit in numerous countries.

Content

The song is a ballad in which the narrator promises his significant other that he will always love her.

Track listings
CD maxi—United States (1993)
  1. "I Swear" – 4:23
  2. "Line on Love" – 2:37
  3. "Dream on Texas Ladies" – 3:08
  4. "Friday at Five" – 2:41

Charts

"I Swear" officially debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of December 18, 1993.

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[1] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 42
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1994) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[4] 8
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 1

All-4-One version
"I Swear"
Single by All-4-One
from the album All-4-One
ReleasedApril 28, 1994
Recorded1993
Genre
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)David Foster
All-4-One singles chronology
"So Much in Love"
(1993)		 "I Swear"
(1994)		 "(She's Got) Skillz"
(1994)
Music video
"I Swear" on YouTube

Several months after Montgomery had released his original version, All-4-One recorded their own version with record producer David Foster.

All-4-One's version hit number one in numerous countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., where it remained for eleven consecutive weeks. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for seven consecutive weeks, being held off number one by Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around", which went on to spend 15 weeks at number one. This version spent a total of 18 weeks in the UK charts.

The All-4-One version of the song is slightly different to the original, in that the line "And when there's silver in your hair" from the second verse was replaced by "And when just the two of us are there." This version ranks number 88 on Billboard's All-Time Top 100 Songs list.[6]

The song is a staple throughout the film Just Friends.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It portrays the members of All-4-One hanging out on a rooftop singing interspersed with scenes with a young woman walking on the sidewalk below. They go down to walk and talk with her as they implore her not to leave. Ultimately, she says goodbye to each member before boarding a departing bus.

Track listings
CD single
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:19
CD maxi
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio mix) – 4:18
  3. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:18
  4. "I Swear" (album version) – 4:18
7" single
  1. "I Swear" (radio edit) – 3:43
  2. "I Swear" (radio remix) – 4:19

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[50] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[51] Platinum 50,000*
Germany (BVMI)[52] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[53] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[54] Platinum 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[55] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[57] Platinum 1,500,000[58]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Other versions

All-4-One and John Michael Montgomery recorded an updated duet version of "I Swear" for the deluxe edition of All-4-One's 2015 album Twenty+. A music video for this duet version was released on May 9, 2016.

Brazilian duo Leandro e Leonardo recorded a Portuguese version entitled "Eu Juro", it was recorded in 1995.

Costa Rican group Centinelas Vocal Band has performed a Latin American version entitled "Juraré".[59] It was also covered in 1997 by Sandy Lam, Chyi Yu, Prudence Liew and Teresa Carpio, and as "Ya sé" by Mexican country band Caballo Dorado in 1998.[60]

In 2008, Yao Si Ting (姚斯婷), a female Chinese singer from Guangzhou, recorded an English cover of the song.[61]

POPSTARS Germany 2010 finalists version
"I Swear"
Single by Gary Baker featuring POPSTARS
from the album No Sleep
Released19 November 2010 (2010-11-19)
GenrePop
Length4:03
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gary Baker
LaViVe singles chronology
"I Swear"
(2010)		 "No Time for Sleeping"
(2010)

The final eleven contestants from Popstars: Girls forever, ninth season of TV talent show POPSTARS in Germany, they released a cover version of the song with Gary Baker on November 19, 2010. The finalists premiered the song live on the November 18th edition of the programme; the single was available for digital download on November 16, 2010 and a physical release followed the day after the live performance of the song. The song was recorded at Noiseblock Studios in Florence, Alabama.

Track listings

CD single

  1. "I Swear" – 04:03
  2. "Empire of Love" – 03:28

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[62] 69

References
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  2. "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  3. "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  4. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  5. "Best of 1994: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  6. Bronson, Fred (August 2, 2013). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  7. "Australian-charts.com – All-4-One – I Swear". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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  11. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2517." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  12. Danish peak
  13. Eurochart peak
  14. source: Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
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    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
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  49. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
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  51. "Austrian single certifications – All 4 One – I Swear" (in German). IFPI Austria.
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  53. Dutch certifications nvpi.nl Archived 2010-01-13 at WebCite (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
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  55. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  56. "British single certifications – All-4-One – I Swear". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type I Swear in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  57. "American single certifications – All 4 One – I Swear". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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  59. Revernation Artist, CENTINELAS VOCAL BAND.
  60. 滾石唱片 ROCK RECORDS (2016-02-22), 林憶蓮 齊豫 劉美君 杜麗莎 Sandy Lam & Chyi Yu & Prudence Liew & Teresa Carpio【I SWEAR】Official Music Video, retrieved 2017-09-30
  61. iBest Cover (2017-04-26), Yao Si Ting - I Swear [Official Video], retrieved 2020-10-18
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