I Don't Have to Crawl
{{Infobox song
| name = I Don't Have to Crawl
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Emmylou Harris
| album = Evangeline
| B-side = "Colors of Your Heart"
| released = {{Start date|1981|05}}
| recorded = {{Start date|1978|06}}
| studio = Enactron Studios
| genre = Country rock{{cite web |last1=Mason |first1=Stewart |title=Evangeline: Emmylou Harris: Songs, reviews, credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/evangeline-mw0000853060 |website=AllMusic |access-date=27 July 2023}}
| length = 3:47
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer = Rodney Crowell
| producer = Brian Ahern
| prev_title = Mister Sandman
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = If I Needed You
| next_year = 1981
}}
"I Don't Have to Crawl" is a song written by Rodney Crowell that was originally recorded by American singer and songwriter Emmylou Harris. It was the second single spawned from her 1981 album Evangeline. It reached charting positions on the North American charts, including the Canadian country top 40.
Background and recording
Carrying on the country rock musical legacy of mentor Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris found mainstream commercial success beginning in the 1970s. After the 1975 studio album Pieces of the Sky, Harris recorded and released a series of discs that received critical acclaim and success. She had several chart-topping country singles including "Together Again" (1976) and "Beneath Still Waters" (1980). Harris took a brief touring hiatus after welcoming a second child. Her 1981 album Evangeline took recordings that were "left off" previous discs.{{cite web |last1=Ankeny |first1=Jason |title=Emmylou Harris Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/emmylou-harris-mn0000159699/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=27 July 2023}} "I Don't Have to Crawl" was one of two singles spawned from Evangeline. It was composed by musical collaborator Rodney Crowell and was recorded in June 1978 at Encatron Studios, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The song was produced by Brian Ahern.{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Emmylou |title="I Don't Have to Crawl"/"Colors of Your Heart" (7" vinyl single) |journal=Warner Bros. Records |date=May 1981 |id=WBS-49739}}
Release, chart performance and promotion
"I Don't Have to Crawl" first appeared on Evangeline, which was originally released in January 1981.{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Emmylou |title=Evangeline (Liner Notes) |journal=Warner Bros. Records |date=April 30, 1980 |id=BSK-3508 (LP); WB-M5-3508 (Cassette)}} In May 1981, the track was released as a seven-inch vinyl single by Warner Bros. Records. It was backed on the B-side by another Crowell-penned song called "Colors of Your Heart". "I Don't Have to Crawl" debuted on the American Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in June 1981. Spending eight weeks there, it reached the number 44 position in July 1981. It was Harris' first single since 1973's "Too Far Gone" to peak outside the country top 40 up to that point.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|isbn=0-89820-177-2|authorlink=Joel Whitburn}} It also reached the top 40 of the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart, peaking at number 34 in 1981.{{cite magazine|title=Search results for "Emmylou Harris" under "Country Singles"|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=gmrhouli7kvfvaeu848ka389j0&q1=emmylou+harris&q2=Country+Singles&interval=20|magazine=RPM|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016041153/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=gmrhouli7kvfvaeu848ka389j0&q1=emmylou+harris&q2=Country+Singles&interval=20|archive-date=16 October 2012|url-status=dead}}
Along with the preceding single ("Mister Sandman"), "I Don't Have to Crawl" received a promotional music video. It was directed by Ethan Allen Productions in Los Angeles, California.{{cite magazine |title=WB Video |magazine=Record World |date=May 23, 1981 |page=22 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/80s/81/RW-1981-05-23-OCR-Page-0022.pdf#search=%22emmylou%20harris%20i%20don't%20have%20to%20crawl%22 |access-date=27 July 2023}}
Track listing
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1981)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| Canada Country Singles (RPM)
|align="center"|34 |
| scope="row"| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard){{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100: 1959-2004 |date=2005 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=978-0898201628}}
|align="center"|6 |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|44|artist=Emmylou Harris|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 27, 2023}} |
Cover Versions
- 2025 - John Greene, Sunburn for the Soul
References
{{reflist}}
{{Emmylou Harris singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Rodney Crowell