改变世界 (1997)

"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A later version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

The Clapton release was recorded for Reprise and Warner Bros. Records. While reaching the top 40 in twenty countries, it topped the charts in Canada as well. The Clapton version also registered as Billboard magazine's Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts in the United States. The single won eight awards, including three Grammy Awards at the 39th annual ceremony in 1997.

Background and recording

In an interview with American Songwriter, Gordon Kennedy retold the recording history of the song:

"Change the World" was a song written over a year by Tommy Sims, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and myself. On a recording session in Quad Studios in Nashville, in the early '90s, Wayne and I were recording some demos in an attempt to do the "artist" thing. We recorded four songs that day, three of which wound up on Garth Brooks' the Life of Chris Gaines (this would happen several years later).

During that session, Tommy was there playing bass and played us the nugget of an idea he had, wondering if it might be something that would work for the sound we were doing. He had the title and a chord progression and melody direction going. Wayne would ask him some months later for a tape of the idea so he could work on it. He wrote the lyrics to the chorus and all but one line of the second verse. Then, it went dormant again for a time before I asked Wayne about its progress. He gave me what he'd done on it. I finished writing the music, went to Columbus, Ohio, and laid down a demo track with Tommy. He was there working on a church choir album.

On the way home, I listened to a tape of the track and dictated lyrics into another little handheld recorder (I still have the micro-cassette!). I wrote the lyrics to the first verse and the missing line in the second verse. When I got home, I went into the studio and did a guitar practice and all of the vocals for a finished demo, the one Clapton heard later. None of the three of us were together when we wrote what we each wrote on the song.

Although some of the recordings took place in London, most of the song's recording was conducted in Record Plant studios in Los Angeles where basic rhythm tracks were recorded, starting with John "JR" Robinson on drums and Dean Parks on acoustic guitar. In a later session, more instruments were added, with Nathan East on bass, Michael Thompson on guitar, Greg Phillinganes on synthesizers, and Luis Conte on percussion. East recalls that the recording sessions were jam-packed because several internationally successful artists wanted to work with Babyface at the time; however, the pop producer put Clapton and "Change the World" first.

In 2013, Clapton explained his take on the song in an interview with Mojo magazine:

When I heard Tommy Sims' demo, I could hear Paul McCartney doing that, so I needed to, with greatest respect to Paul, take that and put it somewhere black. So I asked Babyface who, even though he may not be aware of it, gave it the blues thing.

The first two lines I play on that song on the acoustic guitar are lines I quote wherever I can, and they come from the beginning of "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. On every record I make where I think, this has got a chance of doing well, I make sure I pay my dues on this. So I think I've found a way to do it. Still, it has to have one foot in the blues, even if it's subtly disguised.

Personnel on the production end of recording sessions included Brad Gilderman and Thomas Russo as the recording engineers, Robbie Robertson as the soundtrack's producer, Mick Guzauski as a helper for the final mix, Babyface as producer for "Change the World" (single mix and instrumental version), and Clapton as producer for the record's b-side "Danny Boy." All recording actions were overseen by music supervisor Kathy Nelson. The music mastering for the 1996 single release was done at Oasis Mastering in Burbank, California.

Composition

Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic noted that the song is "melodic, soulful [and] catchy", due to its folk-pop and acoustic-based conception. Billboard magazine's Paul Verna felt the song also features Christian music styles. In the song, the performer expresses his desire to communicate his love to an unnamed woman ("If I could reach the stars, I'd pull one down for you," "If I could be king, even for a day, I'd take you as my queen, I'd have it no other way"). This love, he fears, will go unrequited without a drastic change in his life ("That this love I have inside, is everything it seems, But for now I find, it's only in my dreams," "And our love will rule, in this kingdom we have made, Till then I'd be a fool, wishing for the day").