Truly Madly Deeply


"Truly Madly Deeply" is a song by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released as the third single from their self-titled debut album in March 1997 by Columbia Records, Roadshow Music and Sony Records. It won the 1997 ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year and Highest Selling Single and was nominated for Song of the Year. Written by bandmates Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, the song is a reworking of a song called "Magical Kisses" that the pair wrote together during the recording of their debut album.
The song reached number one in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Two music videos were filmed for the track: one for its original Australian release and another for the international market shot in Paris. In November 2019, the song was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of recordings. The songs added to the list provide a snapshot of Australian life and have "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance".

Background and composition

Having got their breakthrough with the single "I Want You", Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones were sent to Sydney for 8 months to record material for a debut album. For Hayes, it was his first time in life being away from his family and his native Brisbane. The longing for his family and his then-wife pushed him towards writing a song that would express those feelings.
The chorus of "Truly Madly Deeply" was discussed until the last moment. Jones had doubts over the chorus they had come up with, which he felt did not fit with the rest of the song or Savage Garden's other material. During his evening meal he came up with the new chorus of "I want to stand with you on a mountain, I want to bathe with you in the sea, I want to lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me."
The next day, the duo brought up the new chorus for discussion with producer Charles Fisher in the studio, recording it as a trial. Fisher was delighted with the result, expressing his belief that Savage Garden now had a number 1 single.

Critical reception

from Billboard wrote that "this is the single that should help affirm that Savage Garden is more than a one-hit wonder." He described the song as a "percussive ballad" and complimented it for revealing "vocal skills and charisma not previously displayed". He noted further that "with its romantic lyrics and plush, guitar-etched instrumentation, this song "truly madly deeply" deserves as much airplay as top 40 programmers can heap upon it." Insider described it as "a truly sweet song, written out of homesickness, this love ballad has total staying power and is still played over 20 years later." Music & Media stated that "this Australian duo possess a fine knack for writing excellent mainstream pop with top flight radio appeal." They added that "this track, taken from their eponymous debut album, is no exception—as proven by its recent two-week stay at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart." In 2018, Stacker placed the song at number 21 in their list of "Best pop songs of the last 25 years", noting it as "a quintessential '90s pop song". In 2019, they ranked it at number 9 in their list of "Best 90s pop songs".

Versions

There are two versions of the song. The first was made available on the Australian version of the group's album, whereas the second version appears on the release of the album in Europe and America. This version was composed in 1997, and features a drum machine track instead of the more acoustic-sounding music featured on the Australian version. The European version also features on the group's greatest hits compilation, "Truly Madly Completely" and "The Singles".

Music video

Two music videos were made for the song. The original Australian video, which presents Hayes with long hair, features the band in a white room with several other people. Hayes is on a red sofa singing the song while Daniel performs on the piano. It was directed by Tony McGrath. The video used for the European market, which presents Hayes with short hair, was filmed in Paris. It was directed by Adolfo Doring. The video depicts the story of two lovers, a young man and a lady, who have been separated by circumstances. The woman arrives in Paris, possibly at Gare du Nord station, in search of her lover, who is also waiting for her. He is wandering in various places within the Montmartre area, including the Soleil de la Butte restaurant. In between the scenes involving the two lovers, Hayes can be seen walking around Paris, in locations such as the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries. He is singing, thereby acting as a narrator to the story involving the two lovers. Towards the end of the video, Hayes enters a small concert hall where Daniel Jones is playing guitar. Shortly afterwards, the young lady manages to find her lover, right in the centre of Paris, at the feet of the Tour Saint-Jacques. They are both filled with emotion on seeing each other again. The video ends with Hayes and Jones coming out of the concert hall, and coming across the two lovers who are rejoicing in their reunion. Music video is blocked in New Zealand.

Chart performance

The song was a major and sustained success in the U.S. beginning in 1997. Entering the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 26 on 6 December 1997, it peaked at No. 1 for two weeks in January 1998 and lingered for a full year on the chart. It became the only song in the chart's history to spend its first 52 weeks inside the top 30. The song spent half a year in the top ten. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and No. 2 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. It also went Top 10 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. On the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart the song hit number one for one week on 31 January before dropping to number two as Celine Dion assumed the top spot with the theme to the hit film Titanic, "My Heart Will Go On". Savage Garden's single held at No. 2 for ten weeks, before returning to the number one spot in the week of 18 April.
The song eventually set a record for the most weeks of any single in history on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary chart. In 1998 the song logged eleven weeks at number one on this chart, but its full chart span lasted 123 weeks. That record would stand for just under two years, when another of the group's ballads spent its 124th week on the chart. The song was "I Knew I Loved You", from the album Affirmation. After leaving the main Adult Contemporary chart, the song entered the Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart where it charted for another 202 weeks. The song was so popular that it re-entered Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart in March 2002 and—four and a half years after its release—again became a U.S. Top 30 bestseller, remaining on that chart until late July 2002. The original version logged its final week on the Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart on 17 June 2006. This combined with sales still makes it the #1 Billboard AC song of all time. In 2013, the song was listed at No. 35 on Billboards All Time Top 100.
The song also reached No. 1 in their home country of Australia, and in Canada. It reached No. 2 in Norway, Sweden, Austria and Ireland, and went top ten in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. In 1998, the song was certified a Gold single in France, for sales of 200,000 copies. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association, as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "Truly Madly Deeply" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.

Track listings

Australia

Standard
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "Promises" – 4:11
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
Limited edition
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "Promises" – 4:11
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
  4. "I Want You"
  5. "I Want You"

    UK

CD1
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  3. "This Side of Me" – 4:09
  4. "Love Can Move You" – 4:47
CD2
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
  3. "I Want You" – 3:52
  4. "I'll Bet He Was Cool" – 3:57
Cassette
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "I Want You" – 3:52

    North America

  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:37
  4. "I'll Bet He Was Cool" – 4:58

    Europe

CD1
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:37
  2. "I'll Bet He Was Cool" – 4:58
CD2
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:38
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
  4. "This Side of Me" – 4:09
  5. "Love Can Move You" – 4:47

    Release history

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Singles 73

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Austria 13
Belgium 21
Belgium 40
Canada Top Singles 6
Canada Adult Contemporary 40
Europe 12
France 21
Germany 37
Netherlands 56
Sweden 9
Switzerland 33
UK Singles 10
US Billboard Hot 1004

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Sandy and Junior version

The song was covered in 1998 by Brazilian brother-sister singing duo Sandy & Junior. The Portuguese-language version, "No Fundo Do Coração", was released as the third single from the teens' eighth album, Era Uma Vez . The album was certified Diamond in Brazil in 1999 by the Brazilian Association of Discs Producers for sales of over 1.8 million copies in Brazil alone. The album was their last for PolyGram Records before moving to Universal Music Group.

Cascada version

German Eurodance group Cascada covered "Truly Madly Deeply" on the album Everytime We Touch and released it as the second single in the UK and Germany. Although the album version of the song is a ballad, there is also a Eurodance version of the song more in keeping with their typical style, which is the main single version. Both versions are featured on the UK edition of the album. First released in the United States exclusively in the iTunes Store on 27 February 2006, the U.S. physical release was 13 March 2007.

Track listing

UK CD single part 1
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:57
  2. "Everytime We Touch" – 3:19
UK CD single Part 2
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:57
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:14
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:34
  4. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 5:03
  5. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 8:32
  6. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:49
  7. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:07
German 12-inch single
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:00
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 8:29
German CD single
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:55
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:36
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:27
  4. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:12
  5. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:18
U.S. 12-inch single
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:58
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:12
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:38
  4. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:58
  5. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 8:30
  6. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:34
  7. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
  8. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:58
  9. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:48
  10. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:00
Australian single 2007
  1. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:30
  2. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 2:54
  3. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:14
  4. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 3:07
  5. "Truly Madly Deeply"
  6. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 5:03
  7. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 4:35
  8. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 6:49
  9. "Truly Madly Deeply" – 8:30
Other remixes
The Cascada single entered the UK Singles Chart at number 17 solely on downloads and peaked at number 4 the following week, after its physical release. In Ireland, it remained in the top 4 for four weeks.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release and track listings