Maybe I Mean Yes
{{Short description|1991 single by Holly Dunn}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Maybe I Mean Yes
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Holly Dunn
| album = Milestones: Greatest Hits
| B-side = "Daddy's Hands"{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2012|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2012|pages=107–108|isbn=978-0-89820-203-8}}
| released = {{start date|1991|7}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = {{duration|m=2|s=59}}
| label = Warner Bros. Nashville
| writer = {{hlist|Dunn|Chris Waters|Tom Shapiro}}
| producer = {{hlist|Dunn|Waters}}{{cite journal|last=Wix|first=Kimmy|date=July 6, 1991|title=Reviews: Singles|journal=Cash Box|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Cash-Box/90s/1991/CB-1991-07-06.pdf}}
| prev_title = Heart Full of Love
| prev_year = 1991
| next_title = No One Takes the Train Anymore
| next_year = 1991
}}
"Maybe I Mean Yes" is a song by American country music singer Holly Dunn. It was a new song from her 1991 compilation Milestones: Greatest Hits, from which it was released as a single in 1991. Dunn wrote and produced the song with her brother Chris Waters. The song was withdrawn from airplay at Dunn's request, just weeks after its release and while climbing the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, due to controversy over the song's lyrics.
Content
Written by Dunn along with her brother Chris Waters and songwriter Tom Shapiro, the song is about a flirtatious woman. Dunn herself described the song as a "lighthearted look at one couple's attempt at dating, handled in an innocent, nonsexual, flirtatious way."
Critical reception
Kimmy Wix of Cash Box wrote that the song "drives her scorching vocals to an all-time-high performance" and that it "also ranks high on the list with commanding lyrics, spicy instrumentation and a barreling tempo that conjures up a musical storm."
Controversy
The song was the subject of controversy at the time of its release concerning the lyric "When I say 'no' I mean 'maybe', or maybe I mean 'yes'." Due to negative feedback from listeners who perceived this lyric as condoning date rape, Dunn sent letters to radio stations and television stations, asking for the single to be withdrawn from rotation.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1991/08/16/holly-dunns-controversial-single/|title=Holly Dunn's controversial single|last=Meyers|first=Kate|date=August 16, 1991|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=May 22, 2017}}{{cite magazine|last=Morris|first=Edward|date=August 10, 1991|title=Dunn's No Means 'Yes' To Press But Radio Starts To Ease Off Single|magazine=Billboard|pages=8, 71|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-08-10.pdf}} Dunn also stated that "My co-writers and I stand by our original intent 100%."{{cite magazine|last=Morris|first=Edward|date=August 10, 1991|title=Dunn Says No To Her 'Maybe I Mean Yes' Urges Radio /TV To Stop Playing Controversial Song|magazine=Billboard|page=31}} Dunn also agreed to stop performing the song in concert.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-27-ca-246-story.html |title=Just Say No to 'Maybe,' Dunn Asks : Broadcasting: Don't play my new single, country singer requests. Critics says 'Maybe I Mean Yes' invites rape. |last=Philips |first=Chuck |date=July 27, 1991 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=22 May 2017}}
Chart performance
The song peaked at No. 48 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated August 10, 1991, after only five weeks on the charts. Despite Dunn's decision to withdraw the song having already been enacted, it increased in airplay for that week, rising from the No. 53 position.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1991) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|48|artist=Holly Dunn}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Holly Dunn}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Holly Dunn
Category:Songs written by Chris Waters
Category:Songs written by Tom Shapiro