Concrete Angel

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This article is about the 2002 song. For the 2012 song, see Christina Novelli § 2012—2013: Breakthrough.
"Concrete Angel"
Martina McBride Concrete single.png
Single by Martina McBride
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side"Where Would You Be"
ReleasedNovember 18, 2002
Recorded2001
GenreCountry pop
Length4:12
LabelRCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Martina McBride singles chronology
"Practice Life"
(2002) 		"Concrete Angel"
(2002) 		"This One's for the Girls"
(2003)
Music video
"Concrete Angel" on YouTube

"Concrete Angel" is a song written by Stephanie Bentley and Rob Crosby, and recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in November 2002 as the fourth and last single from McBride's Greatest Hits compilation album. The song reached number 5 on the country music charts.[2] "Concrete Angel" was ranked No. 1 by Rolling Stone on its list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time in 2019.[3]

Content[]

The song is a power ballad, centering on a main theme of child abuse. The narrator tells a story about a 7-year-old named Angela Carter, who endures abuse at the hands of her grandmother aka Nana Stacy. The abuse is silently questioned by Angela's teachers and neighbors, but goes unreported. By the song's end, Angela is killed by her grandmother during another act of abuse, and goes on to an afterlife where "she is loved" more than she was on earth.

The song is very similar to the life of Judith Barsi, a child actor who was murdered by her father at the age of ten under very similar (and yet far more gruesome) circumstances. However, the relation is a pure coincidence.

Personnel[]

The following musicians perform on this track:[4]

  • Matt Chamberlain – drums
  • David Huff – programming
  • B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar
  • Martina McBride – lead vocals
  • Jerry McPherson – electric guitar
  • Steve Nathan – piano, synthesizer
  • Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
  • Glenn Worf – bass guitar

Music video[]

The video was directed and produced by Deaton Flanigen. Angela Carter (played by Noel Wiggins) is the 7-year-old daughter of an abusive mother. As she is walking to school, another little girl looks at her and then laughs at her, which could imply she was also a victim of bullying. While she is at school, the teacher and her classmates ignore the bruises on her body, either because they think she just had a minor accident or they want to avoid having problems with her family. One day, a young boy (played by Luke Benward) around her age befriends her. One night, Angela and the boy are talking to each other from their bedroom windows, and her mother catches her and beats her to death (which is shown by her mother's shadow). After the beating, police officers and an ambulance are shown at her house (assuming that some neighbors had heard the noise and her mother had been arrested). At the funeral, Angela's grave marked as 1995-2002 is shown, surrounded by a group of people, including her school teacher and her only friend. It is implied that the boy is the ghost of a young child who was also killed from being abused and that he came to comfort Angela and show her friendship before she died and that he also came to take Angela to Heaven along with the souls of other children who were also the victims of abuse. The music video ends with the boy passing through the adults, hugging the spirit of Angela, and both running to meet a group of other deceased children who were also killed by abusive parents as they run off into the horizon. (Implying that the children are going to Heaven.) When the video was originally released, it featured the phone number for the American Child Abuse Hotline and encouraged viewers to report abuse. The music video received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Cover versions[]

Chart performance[]

"Concrete Angel" debuted at number 52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 30, 2002.

Chart (2002–03) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 47

Year-end charts[]

Chart (2003) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 33

Certifications[]

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold

References[]

  1. ^ "Greatest Hits - Martina McBride | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 219.
  3. ^ Ryan, Cady Drell,Reed Fischer,Keith Harris,Rob Harvilla,Daniel Kreps,David Menconi,Marissa R. Moss,Nick Murray,Mike Powell,Linda; Drell, Cady; Fischer, Reed; Harris, Keith; Harvilla, Rob; Kreps, Daniel; Menconi, David; Moss, Marissa R.; Murray, Nick; Powell, Mike; Ryan, Linda (September 17, 2019). "40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time".
  4. ^ Greatest Hits (CD booklet). Martina McBride. RCA Records. 2001. 67012.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ "Martina McBride Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "Martina McBride Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Best of 2003: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2003. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  8. ^ "American single certifications – Martina McBride – Concrete Angel". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links[]

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