2007Released
4:04

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Torn. By Songfacts®.

In 1991, the songwriters Anne Preven and Scott Cutler wrote this song with Phil Thornalley, a producer who had worked on albums by The Cure, XTC, and Edwyn Collins. The song was first recorded by the Danish singer Lis Sørensen as "Braendt," with Danish lyrics written by Elisabeth Nielsen, appearing on Sørensen's 1993 album Under Stjernerne Et Sted. Preven and Cutler formed a band called Ednaswap, and released the first English version of "Torn" on their 1995 debut album. Ednaswap got little attention, but the song was released in Denmark again in 1996, this time by the Norwegian singer Trine Rein and with the English lyrics. "Torn" found its way to Natalie Imbruglia when the song's co-writer Phil Thornalley ended up working on her first album. Imbruglia is an Australian actress who was on the Aussie soap opera Neighbours from 1992-1994 (the same one Kylie Minogue starred in). Thornalley had her record the song, and it was released as her first single in 1997, launching her singing career. Imbruglia's debut album Left Of The Middle was released in 1998 with "Torn" as the first track. Thornalley co-wrote five other songs on the LP, and became one of the most popular producers in pop, with a client list including Ronan Keating, Bryan Adams, and Mel C. He and Preven teamed up again to write the #1 UK hit "Mama Do" for Pixie Lott.

This song is about a woman who thought she found the perfect man, only to find out he was Mr. Wrong all along. To say she is taking it hard is an understatement: she's so upset that she ends up cold, shamed, lying naked on the floor. Anne Preven didn't write the lyric about anyone in particular - she was dating her co-writer Scott Cutler at the time. All that pathos is something she encountered when, as a teenager, she worked in a New York mental hospital that treated suicidal adolescents (her father was a psychiatrist there and insisted she work there). One girl under her care ran away and made a suicide attempt - something she never forgot.

This song was a hit in the UK long before it made any impact in America. Released as a UK single on October 27, 1997, it went straight to #2, where it stayed for three weeks (held off by "Barbie Girl" by Aqua). It didn't top the US Airplay chart until May 16, 1998.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Torn.
FKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
96BPM

Album

The album Torn is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Torn.
Brightside Recordings
This compilation (P) 2007 Brightside Recordings, a division of Blue Sky Music Limited under exclusive license to Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited

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