For My Sunday Song #87, I have chosen “Constant Craving” by the amazing k.d. lang.  The song is off her album ‘Ingenue’ in 1992.  The song did well on the charts, obviously, but it was the song that gave k.d. a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Performance in 1993.  The song was also up for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

The song had a more commercial feel then her previous releases.  She had been going for a more country style, but her androgynous appearance hindered her acceptance into Nashville and country music.  She had hits on the country charts such as “Cryin’ (w/ Roy Orbison) and other songs, but they were never truly embraced her.  Thankfully for us,  she turned more pop and gave us this beauty of an album and song.

“Constant Craving” is such a beautiful song set at a mid-tempo with loads of different acoustic guitars, an accordion and of course k.d.’s amazing and gorgeous voice.  For the background vocals, they used numerous layers of her vocals as well as the Reclines singer, Sue Leonard to assist on the high vocal parts.  For me, it was the song that really turned me on to lang.  It had such a haunting feel to it and with the utter desperation and wanting of the lyrics and I was hooked.

As far as the meaning of the song, k.d. lang didn’t quite get it until recently. In an interview in 2017 with NPR, she stated the following…

On not liking or understanding “Constant Craving,” the album’s final track and biggest hit, until just recently:

“I felt like it was incongruent to the rest of the record. And it’s funny because yesterday in rehearsals of Ingénue, for the first time, I felt what [the song’s] purpose was and why we put it on as the last song on the record. It’s an acquiescence. It’s a summation of human desire. It’s like yes, OK, we all are heartbroken. We’re all nervous. We’re all vulnerable. We’re all hopeful, but at the end of the day, constant craving has always been. And it really, emotionally, just surfaced for me, the purpose of that song. But we’re doing the record in sequence on tour in Australia next week, so to have ‘Constant Craving’ come to the end of this very insular, quiet performance is fascinating.”

The video for the song was up for Best Female Video of the year at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards and it won.  It was filmed in black & white and according to wikipedia, it was based on the recreation of the premiere of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot in Paris, 1953.  It is a beautiful shot video and wonderful accompaniment to the song.

Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy!  Happy Sunday!

“Constant Craving”