There's Got to Be a Way

 

"There's Got to Be a Way"
General information
Release date	May 6, 1991
Recorded	February 1990
Studio	Cove City Sound Studios The Power Station
Genre	R&B. Pop
Length	4:52
Album	Mariah Carey (album)
Label	Columbia Records
Songwriter(s)	Mariah Carey
Producer(s)	Ric Wake Narada Michael Walden
Credits	"There's Got to Be a Way" credits
Singles chronology
Previous	"I Don't Wanna Cry"
Current	"There's Got to Be a Way"
Next	"Emotions"
Mariah Carey (album) chronology
"Vision of Love"
"There's Got to Be a Way"
"I Don't Wanna Cry"

"There's Got to Be a Way" is the second song and fifth single by Mariah Carey from her album, Mariah Carey. The song was written by Mariah Carey and Ric Wake, and produced by Ric Wake. The song was recorded in February 1990 and was officially released as the fifth single on May 6, 1991. Mariah lobbied to co-produce the song, but she was denied permission by Columbia Records. The song was released as the final single from her debut album in the second quarter of 1991 in the United Kingdom and other European markets.

In order to maintain a then-unbroken string of number one Billboard Hot 100 singles, the song was not released in the United States and received little promotion. The single was released instead of "I Don't Wanna Cry" for the UK market and failed to reach the top 40 where Mariah's previous three singles managed to.

Song Background

The protagonist of this dance song declares "There's got to be a way to connect this world today" and pleads for other ways to help fix the state of the world. It is one of Mariah Carey's few socially conscious songs and deals with racism and poverty. The song is notable for featuring a gospel choir singing the chorus near the end of the song in the vein of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror".

Critical reception

In Chris Nickson's review of the song he states: “There’s Got to Be a Way” was, lyrically, a piece of social concern about some of the ills in our society: homelessness, apartheid, bigotry (a subject close to Mariah’s heart), and famine. Restrained in the verses, the chorus had a “churchy” feel, mostly due to the backing vocals, which began to take off before the middle instrumental break and then soared at the key change close to the song’s end as Mariah began to demonstrate fully the extent of her range, flitting through the upper register like a bird.

Music Video

The single's video which was directed by Larry Jordan, starts off with Mariah walking the streets as she laments homeless people and racism. She is soon joined by friends, and they all break into an impromptu dance in the street. Remixes of the song were commissioned by Shep Pettibone. The 7" remix was also used for the music video.

George Floyd Snippet

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd (an African-American man) was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by a police officer. The death of Floyd ignited a nationwide protest demanding justice for his killing. On May 28, Mariah posted an image of Floyd with the caption:

“	Say His Name. #GeorgeFloyd 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤‬	”
– Mariah via Instagram on May 28, 2020

On May 30, Mariah posted a video of her singing "There's Got to Be a Way" in response to his killing.The video of her singing the song captions:

“	I wrote this song for my first album. Still looking for answers today. We have to make a change. We can't be silent. #BlackLivesMatter Text 'FLOYD' to 55156 to demand #JusticeForFloyd 🎵 I don't understand how there can be regulated bigotry There's got to be a way to connect this world today 🎵	”
– Mariah via Instagram on May 30, 2020

The snippet of her singing the lines "I don't understand how there can be regulated bigotry. There's got to be a way to connect this world today" would be her first live performance of the song.

Charts

Country	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	54

See also

[[Category:Single [[Category:Songs]