Twenty-two years ago today, Faith Hill’s “Let Me Let Go” soared to the number one spot on Country Charts.
The song was featured on the soundtrack for the 1999 film, Message in a Bottle, starring Kevin Costner and Paul Newman. Additionally, Hill was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Writers Pitched The Song For Years Before Faith Hill Recorded It
The song’s writers, Dennis Morgan and Steve Diamond told The Boot that they spent years pitching the song before Faith Hill finally recorded it.
“This song took several years to get recorded after we wrote it. I did five different demos of it … because I believed in it!” said Diamond. “And when I started playing it around town, people loved it, but the comment was frequently, ‘It’s got too many chord changes!”
Diamond continued, “Some songs you let go, and this song I believed in so much that I kept demoing it…Fortunately, [Hill’s producer] Dann Huff got it and loved the song and waited for the right artist to cut it on. He played it for Faith, and she loved it. She did such a fantastic job. We were thrilled.”
The song spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Chart peaking in the number one spot. Faith Hill’s other number one songs include, “Breathe,” “This Kiss,” and “The Way You Love Me.”
Most recently, Faith Hill was touring with husband, Tim McGraw, for the Soul2Soul tour. The tour marked the first time the couple has toured together since 2007.
Fans Have Different Interpretations For The Song
“Something interesting about this song is, we had an idea what the song was about when we were writing it. Clearly about a former relationship. But I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they related it to their battle with alcohol and drugs,” said Diamond during an interview. “They thought it was so powerful, almost talking to the drug or alcohol, ‘I want to let go of you. Just give me the permission or do something rotten to finally take me over that line.’ That was a real interesting perspective — somebody taking lyrics how we did not intend it.”
