When the Lights Go Down (Faith Hill song)

"When the Lights Go Down"
Single by Faith Hill
from the album Cry
B-side	"Stronger" (Live) "If You're Gonna Fly Away"
Released	November 19, 2002
Format	CD single
Genre	Country pop
Length	4:06
Label	Warner Bros. Nashville
Writer(s)	Rivers Rutherford, Jeffrey Steele, Craig Wiseman
Producer(s)	Faith Hill, Dann Huff
Faith Hill singles chronology
"Cry" (2002) "When the Lights Go Down" (2002) "One" (2003)

"When the Lights Go Down" is a song written by Rivers Rutherford, Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country pop singer Faith Hill. It was released to country radio November 19, 2002 as the second single from her fifth studio album, Cry (2002).^[1] The second of three songs from the album promoted to country radio, "When the Lights Go Down" peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2003. At the time, this was Hill's lowest position on the chart since "But I Will" peaked at #35 nearly a decade previously, however subsequent single "You're Still Here" would chart two positions lower later the same year.^[2]

The song inspired the name of Hill's NBC concert special (taped in September 2002 and aired in November of that year), as well as her live DVD featuring performances from the same, released May 6, 2003.^[3][4] A Europe-exclusive CD single, released in February 2003, also contains a live version of "Stronger" taken from this concert.^[5]

Composition

"When the Lights Go Down" is a midtempo country pop-styled power ballad^[6] with a duration of four minutes and six seconds (4:06). It was written by Rivers Rutherford, Jeffrey Steele, and Craig Wiseman and was produced by Faith Hill and Dann Huff. According to the digital sheet music published on Musicnotes.com through Universal Music Publishing Group, it was originally composed and recorded in the key of F♯ major (published in the key of G major) and set in simple time (4
4) to a "moderately slow" tempo of 72 BPM.^[7] Hill's vocals range from G₃–E₅.^[7]

Music video

The video for "When the Lights Go Down" was directed by Gary Halvorson.^[8] It won the award for Hottest Female Video of the Year at the 2003 CMT Flameworthy Music Video Awards.^[3]

Track listings

Maxi CD single^[9]

1. "When the Lights Go Down" - 4:06
2. "Stronger" (Live) - 4:28
3. "If You're Gonna Fly Away" - 3:48

Chart performance

Chart (2002-03)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10]	52
Germany (Official German Charts)[11]	64
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[12]	19
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[2]	26

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Ref.
United States	November 19, 2002	Country radio	[1]
Germany	January 27, 2003	CD single	[9]

References

1. "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Country" (Week Of: November 19, 2002). Radio & Records. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
2. "Faith Hill – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Faith Hill. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
3. "Faith Hill Turns The 'Lights' Down". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. April 16, 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
4. "Faith Hill: When the Lights Go Down: Amazon.ca: Faith Hill: DVD". Amazon.ca. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
5. "Faith Hill - When the Lights Go Down". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
6. Willman, Chris (October 18, 2002). "Cry". Entertainment Weekly. Wenner Media. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
7. "Faith Hill "When the Lights Go Down" Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
8. "CMT : Music Video : When the Lights Go Down : Faith Hill". CMT. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
9. "HILL,FAITH - WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN - Maxi Single CD". musicline.de. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Faith Hill – When The Lights Go Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Faith Hill – When The Lights Go Down". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
12. "Faith Hill – Chart history" Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for Faith Hill. Retrieved January 10, 2015.