Everybody Lay Down

"Everybody Lay Down" is a song by American singer Pat Benatar, which was released in 1993 as the lead single from her ninth studio album Gravity's Rainbow. The song was written by Neil Giraldo and Benatar, and produced by Don Gehman and Giraldo. "Everybody Lay Down" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in June 1993.[2]

"Everybody Lay Down"
Single by Pat Benatar
from the album Gravity's Rainbow
ReleasedApril 26, 1993[1]
Length
  • 4:25 (album version)
  • 3:57 (single version)
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pat Benatar singles chronology
"So Long"
(1991)		 "Everybody Lay Down"
(1993)		 "Somebody's Baby"
(1993)

Background

Speaking of the song's lyrical message, Benatar told the Southtown Star in 1993, "'Everybody Lay Down' is really about complacency. You see it, you don't do anything about it, but you whine. That's the thing I hate. Put up or shut up. You know, nobody will vote, but then they'll sit there for five hours at the dinner table complaining about the person that they were too lazy to go and not vote for. So that's what it's about. It's like talk shows. Everybody is so ready to just get on there and spill their guts and I'm like, who's interested?"[3]

Release

"Everybody Lay Down" was released as a radio single from Gravity's Rainbow and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. The senior director of album promotion for Chrysalis/EMI, Neil Lasher, told Billboard in 1993, "When I started traveling around the country talking about Pat, I was told that some of her older stuff wasn't being played anymore, and that the blues album [True Love] was not relevant. Then I started playing people 'Everybody Lay Down' and they literally wanted to grab the tape from me."[4]

Critical reception

On its release as a single, Larry Flick of Billboard described "Everybody Lay Down" as a "catchy throwdown that takes Benatar back to the days of now-classic hits like 'Promises in the Dark'". He added, "The difference is a more worldly vocal delivery and a lyric depth that is the true meat of this track." In light of the song's strong airplay, he considered it would be "wise" of Chrysalis to give the single a full, commercial release.[5]

In a review of Gravity's Rainbow, Andrea Odintz of Rolling Stone described the song as a "rhythmic anthem" and the "type of melodic hard rock that remains Benatar's winning formula". Odintz added, "In fact, it's so catchy that the irony of the lyrics may be lost."[6] Gerry Krochak of the Regina Leader-Post felt the song "shows that she hasn't lost one ounce of the powerful, throaty vocals that made a copycat out of Alannah Myles". He added, "It's a well structured number, with a funky bass line and solid chorus that complement Benatar's obvious vocal assets."[7] Chuck Campbell of the Scripps Howard News Service wrote, "Benatar refamiliarizes her audience with her vocal prowess on the choruses of 'Everybody Lay Down,' an invective against apathy."[8]

Track listing
7–inch single (Jukebox release)[9]
  1. "Everybody Lay Down" – 4:25
  2. "Promises in the Dark" (Live) – 5:11
CD single (US promo)[10]
  1. "Everybody Lay Down" (Edit Version) – 3:57
  2. "Everybody Lay Down" (Album Version) – 4:25
CD single (Japanese release)[11]
  1. "Everybody Lay Down" (Edit Version) – 3:57
  2. "Everybody Lay Down" (Album Version) – 4:25

Personnel

Everybody Lay Down[12]

Production

  • Don Gehman – producer, engineer
  • Neil Giraldo – producer
  • Rick Will – engineer
  • Ed Thacker – mixing
  • Danny Alonso – assistant mixer

Charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 50
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] 3

References
  1. "Stewart sets 'Unplugged' LP, TV Date - Benatar Rocks" (PDF). R&R. No. 988. April 16, 1993. p. 47. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  2. "Pet Benatar - Everybody Lay Down". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  3. Everson, John (June 3, 1993). "Full speed ahead for rocker Pat Benatar at age 40". The Southtown Star.
  4. Verna, Paul (June 12, 1993). "Benatar at beginning of 'Rainbow' - label sees no end of potential singles" (PDF). Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  5. Flick, Larry (June 5, 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 74. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  6. Odintz, Andrea (30 September 1993). "Album Reviews: Pat Benatar - Gravity's Rainbow". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  7. Krochak, Gerry (June 28, 1993). "Albums - Some Coles burn, others just spark". The Regina Leader-Post. p. C12.
  8. Campbell, Chuck (July 4, 1993). "Album Reviews - Vandross' soothing voice unmatched". Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire). p. 4G.
  9. Everybody Lay Down (US 7-inch jukebox single). Pat Benatar. Chrysalis Records. 1993. S7-17592.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Everybody Lay Down (US CD promo single sleeve). Pat Benatar. Chrysalis Records. 1993. DPRO-04693.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Everybody Lay Down (US CD single sleeve). Pat Benatar. EMI Records. 1993. TODP-2418.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Gravity's Rainbow (US CD album booklet). Pat Benatar. Chrysalis Records. 1993. 0946 3 21982 2 8, F2-21982.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1000." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  14. "Pat Benatar Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
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