I Swear

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
Released	December 13, 1993
Format	CD single, Cassette single, 7" vinyl
Recorded	1993
Genre	Country
Label	Atlantic Nashville
Writer(s)	Gary Baker Frank J. Myers
Producer(s)	Scott Hendricks
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
John Michael Montgomery singles chronology
"Beer and Bones" (1993) "I Swear" (1993) "Rope the Moon" (1994)

"I Swear" is a ballad written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for two acts in 1994. Initially, it was a number-one single on the U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery at the beginning of the year. His version crossed over to pop radio and climbed to number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. A few months later, American pop group All-4-One covered the song and achieved great success in many countries. In Latin America it has been translated “Juraré” performed by the Costa Rican group Centinelas Vocal Band. In 1998, the Mexican country band Caballo Dorado recorded a Spanish version called "Ya sé".

Content

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

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Ball and premiered in late 1993.

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" 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
US Billboard Hot 100	42
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	8
US Country Songs (Billboard)	1

All-4-One version

"I Swear"
Single by All-4-One
from the album All-4-One
Released	April 28, 1994
Format	CD single, cassette, 7" single
Recorded	1993
Genre	Pop, R&B
Label	Blitzz/Atlantic Records
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 John Michael Montgomery had released his original version, R&B/pop vocal quartet All-4-One recorded their own version with 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.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It portrays the members of All-4-One hanging out on a rooftop, until they spot a woman. The rest of the music video shows the band members kicking a cardboard box through a puddle and bantering with her until she drives off on a public 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 and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1994–95)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	1
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)	2
Canada (RPM)	1
Denmark (IFPI)	1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)	4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	6
France (SNEP)	2
Germany (Media Control Charts)	1
Ireland (IRMA)	3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	1
New Zealand (RIANZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	13
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	1
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1994)	Position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	5
Dutch Singles Chart	11
French Singles Chart	15
German Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart (Sommer Period)	2
Swiss Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9

All-time charts

Chart (1958–2013)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	88

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)	2× Platinum	140,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)	Platinum	50,000
Germany (BVMI)	Platinum	500,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	Gold	50,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Platinum	15,000
Sweden (GLF)	Gold	25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,500,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

POPSTARS Germany 2010 finalists version

"I Swear"
File:ISwearP2010.jpg
Single by Gary Baker Feat. POPSTARS
from the album No Sleep
Released	19 November 2010 (2010-11-19)
Format	CD single, digital single
Genre	Pop
Length	4:03
Label	Starwatch/Warner
Producer(s)	Gary Baker
LaViVe 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 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. 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
German Singles Chart	68

In popular culture

• The song was performed by UCLA's Bruin Harmony in the 2010 film The Social Network during a Valentine's Day a cappella music review at Harvard.
• Following the success of the All-4-One version, Filipino boy group Quamo performed the Tagalog version of this song in 1994, with lyrics almost faithful to the original.
• The song was performed in a comedic fashion by Eric Cartman in the South Park episode "Cartman Finds Love" and a part of it with special guest Brad Paisley; the show originally aired on April 25, 2012.
• The song was featured in the 2005 American film Just Friends.
• The song was sung by South Korean entertainer Ji Suk-jin in 1993 for a reporter audition for SBS, the video recording of which resurfaced on the 8th episode of Running Man, to great comedic effect.
• The song was performed by the Minions in a wedding scene between Gru (the movie's main character) and Lucy (his partner in a case investigation) in the 2013 animated film Despicable Me 2 (humorously but deliberately sung as "Underwear") and its soundtrack.
• The song was featured in an advertisement by Sky News as part of the UK General Election 2015. It consists of archive footage of David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, and Ed Miliband speaking out cleverly edited into the lyrics of the song. This advert is known as a Ballot Ballad.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Music video for the John Michael Montgomery version on MTV.com

Preceded by "Live Until I Die" by Clay Walker	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single February 5–26, 1994	Succeeded by "I Just Wanted You to Know" by Mark Chesnutt
	RPM Country Tracks number-one single February 14–28, 1994
Preceded by "Chattahoochee" by Alan Jackson	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single of the year 1994	Succeeded by "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" by John Michael Montgomery

Order of precedence
Preceded by "Bump n' Grind" by R. Kelly	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 21, 1994 – July 30, 1994	Succeeded by "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories
Preceded by "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain	Mainstream Top 40 number-one single May 28, 1994 – July 2, 1994	Succeeded by "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base
Preceded by "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet	New Zealand RIANZ number-one single July 8, 1994 – August 12, 1994	Succeeded by "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies	Canadian number-one single June 20, 1994 – July 4, 1994	Succeeded by "Don't Turn Around" by Ace Of Base
Preceded by "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain "När vi gräver guld i USA" by Glenmark / Eriksson / Strömstedt	Swedish number-one single July 15, 1994 (1 week) July 29, 1994	Succeeded by "När vi gräver guld i USA" by Glenmark / Eriksson / Strömstedt "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies	German number-one single July 22, 1994 – September 16, 1994	Succeeded by "Eins, zwei, polizei" by Mo-Do
Preceded by "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry	Swiss number-one single July 31, 1994 – October 16, 1994	Succeeded by "Let the Dream Come True" by DJ Bobo
Preceded by "Dreams (Will Come Alive)" by 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor featuring Des'Ray And D-Rock	Dutch Top 40 number-one single August 6, 1994 – August 13, 1994	Succeeded by "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by "Eins, Zwei, Polizei" by Mo-Do "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet	Austria number-one single August 21, 1994 – September 11, 1994 September 25, 1994 - October 10, 1994 October 16, 1994 - October 23, 1994	Succeeded by "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet "Hey Süßer" by Lucilectric