The women of '90s country are a force to be reckoned with. Shania Twain, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, and Mary Chapin Carpenter are all on the list of women who blazed the country music scene in the '90s. Their songs like "Man! I Feel Like A Woman," "Fancy," "Blue," "Independence Day," and "Passionate Kisses" can still be found on greatest hits playlists today. One of the most memorable songs of the decade is Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Passionate Kisses."
"Passionate Kisses"
"Passionate Kisses" was written and recorded by singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams for her 1988 eponymous album. In 1993, Mary Chapin Carpenter released her version as the third single from her studio album Come On Come On.
The song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, No. 57 on the Hot 100, and No. 11 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. The pop-country song made Carpenter's ability to crossover very apparent. Carpenter won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance Grammy award in 1994. Williams found herself with a Grammy as well for Best Country Song.
"It almost brought me to tears one night when we were doing that song in — I think it was Charleston, South Carolina," Williams recalled in an A.V. Club interview. "Mary Chapin Carpenter had a place there, and she came to the show, and I knew she was in the audience. I said, 'This is a song that my friend Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded on her album, and it opened a big door for me because it led to me winning a Grammy for Country Song Of The Year, which neither I nor anyone else thought was a remote possibility. I always get a little choked up when I talk about it because I was so young and more naïve then, and Mary was already a star, really. It was my first Grammy, and it just really started everything for me. When I get to the line 'It's my right,' all the women in the audience yell out and go nuts. I love it."
Don't forget to add "I Feel Lucky," "Down At The Twist and Shout," "Shut Up and Kiss Me," "I Take My Chances," and "Never Had It So Good" to your list of Mary Chapin Carpenter's best songs.
You can hear Carpenter's version of the song in her official music video below.
'Passionate Kisses' Lyrics:
Is it too much to ask
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you
Is it too much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band
Pens that won't run out of ink
And cool quiet and time to think
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you
Do I want too much
Am I going overboard to want that touch
I shout it out to the night
"Give me what I deserve, 'cause it's my right."
Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)
Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you
