"If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her 1986 rock album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. It was written by Desmond Child and produced by Jim Steinman. Child has since stated that the song was re-written as "You Give Love a Bad Name" for Bon Jovi after he was dissatisfied with the chart performance of "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)". It was successful in Europe, reaching number six in France and sold over 250,000 copies. The song also reached number 77 on the US Hot 100, and has since been Tyler's last hit single in the country. Tyler re-recorded the song on her 2004 album Simply Believe.
Background and composition
After the success of Faster Than the Speed of Night in 1983, Tyler went on to work with Jim Steinman on a second album. "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" was released as the third single from Tyler's 1986 album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire after the international success of first single "Holding Out for a Hero", which was originally released in 1984 from the soundtrack to the film Footloose. Steinman recruited Desmond Child for two tracks (the other being "Lovers Again"). Steinman told Child that he wanted a song about androgyny. "I want a special song. The verses have to sound like Tina Turner, the B Section has to sound like The Police, U2, or Hall & Oates, and the chorus has to sound like Bruce Springsteen," he continued.
After he had completed his work on Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire and the single had peaked, Child went to work with Bon Jovi a few months later. He co-wrote "You Give Love a Bad Name" with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora using the same composition and made the song a hit. "I was sore at the record company for not pushing that song ["If You Were A Woman (And I Was a Man)"], and I said, "I'm going to prove that that song's a hit!" So we wrote it again."
Critical reception
The album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire received generally positive reviews from music critics. People magazine described the album as "bombastic", and that "most of the time the bombast is kept within tolerable limits." Allmusic retrospectively complimented "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)", though described the whole album as a substandard to Faster Than the Speed of Night for lacking "a cranium-blasting "Faster Than the Speed of Night" or chart-busting "Total Eclipse of the Heart"." Jerry Smith of the Music Week magazine considered the track a Tyler "typical number" with a "ponderous title", describing it as "a sanitised American rock single that is made for the radio". The song was similarly described as a "typical Bonnie Tyler ballad" by Paul Speelman of The Age, who added that the song has "a good, solid arrangement".
Commercial performance
Upon its release, "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" debuted at number 42 in France, rising to number 6 two months later. It was certified Silver by the SNEP with sales of over 200,000 copies in France.
Elsewhere in continental Europe, "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" was a hit in Finland, Switzerland and West Germany, where it peaked at number 11, 16 and 36 respectively, the single stayed in the European Hot 100 Singles for 22 weeks. The song failed to significantly impact the UK charts, however, spending three weeks in the chart, peaking at number 78. Across the Atlantic, the song peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 87 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.
Music video
In conjunction with the single release, Tyler recorded a music video for "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)". Three versions of the video were published. The longest, uncut version runs to 5:54. The "extended" version is only 5:29 and is missing a few lines of dialogue (e.g. "You ready? You ready? you ready?" "I was born ready") and rather than the transformation of the Rambo character into a Marilyn Monroe character, an explosion of light is used and the third version runs to 4:40 and omits the opening dialogue sequence and all of the additional dialogue bar "Welcome to The Dive!".
The screenplay for this music video was written by Jim Steinman and he also produced and co-directed it.
Excerpts of the music video are shown on a TV during Tyler's 1992 music video for "The Desert Is in Your Heart".
Synopsis
The video opens with some exposition from an elderly woman with an English accent. She speaks of her past — she was a singer and owner of a club called The Dive in an area called The Deep End - and the video reflects what happened in her past—at the turn of the 21st century, during a time of warfare.