| information | Title: Take A Bow
Writers: Madonna and Babyface
Producers: Madonna andBabyface
Album: Bedtime Stories (1994), Something To Remember (1995) and GHV2 (2001)
Edition Date: Segundo single en Diciembre de 1994
Length of the album version: 5 ' 21''
Credits: ©1994 ECAF / Sony Songs, Inc. BMI / WB Music Corp. / Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. admin. by WB Music Corp Ascap. | | coments | This is the Madonna ballad that conquered the USA, staying for 7 weeks in number one. Take A Bow was released on december 1994, and was the second single from the romantic Bedtime Stories.
Written and produced by the famous Babyface (who also makes background vocals), Take A Bow is a beautiful song that had an excellent video. Madonna was so happy about this single, that she decided to include it in her greatest ballads album Something To Remember, some months later. This album also features You'll See, the second part of Take A Bow, which is the track that follows this one. Take a Bow also appears in Madonna's second greatest hits album, GHV2.
Looking at all these facts, some may think Take A Bow is the most susccessful Madonna song. However, this is not a fan favourite song as Vogue, Like a Prayer, Rain, or the recent Music, which are in the highest positions in the fans' lists. Take A Bow didn't even do so good at sales, reaching just one gold record. And it didn't cause such social impact as Like A Prayer, the Vogue dance craze, the controversial Erotica... | | videoclip | 
| The video was filmed in two spanish villages of the Andalusian area: Ronda (was used for the street takes and its Palacio del Moro -Arabian Palace- was used for the interior parts), and Antequera (using the wonderful bullfighting ring, the oldest in Spain). The video was filmed in november, 1994, and using the bullfighting theme and scenery, Madonna shows us the romance between a bullfighter (Emilio Muñoz) and a movie star. The director was Michael Haussman, who made the video win an award in the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. For the 4 minute video, Haussman recorded more than 36 hours, about 20 film kms.
The Madonna visit to Andalusia wasn't very discreet. Surrounded by several bodyguards, she hired a whole hotel for herself for the week of the recording. As she didn't like the food, she made her personal chef come from the USA.She even used one stunt in the shot that she runs and scratches the wall.
As the video has the 40's look, Madonna sent it to Alan Parker to convince him that she was the one to make the role of Eva Peron in Alan Parker's new film Evita. As a curiosity, two months after the filming of the video Madonna got pregnant of her first daughter, Lourdes Maria.
Madonna is dressed with Galliano, Versace and Prada creations, and the underwear she uses in the video was bought in Seville (the Andalusian city where the Webmasters are from). The grey suit designed by Galliano was auctioned at Sotheby's by internet, and reached almost $14'000.00. The stylist was Lori Goldstein, who has worked with her in some other videos.
The story of Take A Bow continues in the You'll See video, which uses some of the scenes recorded in Spain, and is also directed by Michael Haussman. |
| | emilio muñoz |  The role of the bullfighter in the video is played by a real bullfighter, Emilio Muñoz. He was #18 in the bullfighter's ranking in Spain, getting a lower #38 a few weeks after the video.
In the visit to Spain Madonna made to promote Bedtime Stories, she had said she was to film a video with a bullfighter, and some rumours said it was going to be the famous spanish bullfighter Jesulin De Ubrique. | | collector items | | | The european single and maxi-single have the same cover. Cd single includes the Edit, Album and Instrumental versions and the Cd maxi: Indasoul Mix, Indasoul Instrumental, Album Version, Album Instrumental and Silky Soul Mix.
Part of the copies of this maxi-single made in germany had some misprints on the cover. | | | The USA Cd maxi was released in ecopack, and the tracklisting appears twice: once, printed in the package; and another time in a sticker which completes the remixers credits. It includes the following versions: InDaSoul Mix, InDaSoul Instrumental, Album Version, Album Instrumental and Silky Soul Mix. | | | Japanese edition in 3" CD, containing the album and InDaSoul Mix versions. |  | Japanese edition of the maxi single (with lateral sticker). It includes the Indasoul Mix, Album Edit, Silky Soul Mix, Indasoul Instrumental, Silky Soul Instrumental and Album Instrumental versions, and the Album Edit and Junior Wet Dream Mix of Bedtime Story. | | | Limited edition Picture Disc for UK in 7'' vinyl. |
This list of collectibles is not complete, it's just an orientative guide of the most important things. | | lyric | | Take A Bow | Take a bow
The night is over
This masquerade is getting older
Light are low
The curtains down
There's no one here
(There's no one here)
(There's no one in the crowd) Say your lines but do you feel them
Do you mean what you say
When there's no one around
(No one around)
Watching you, watching me, one lonely star
(One lonely star)
(You don't know who you are) I've always been in love with you
(Always with you)
I guess
You've always known it's true
(You know it's true)
You took my love for granted
Why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye (bye bye), say good-bye Make them laugh, it comes so easy
When you get to the part
Where you're breaking my heart
(Breaking my heart)
Hide behind your smile
All the world loves a clown
(Just make'em smile)
(The whole world loves a clown) Wish you well, I cannot stay
You deserve an award
For the role that you played
(Role that you played)
No more masquerade
You're one lonely star
(One lonely star)
(And you don't know who you are)
I've always been in love with you
(Always with you) | I guess
You've always known it's true
(You know it's true)
You took my love for granted
Why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
I've always been in love with you
(Always with you)
I guess
You've always known it's true
(You know it's true)
You took my love for granted
Why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye (bye bye), say good-bye All the world is a stage
(World is a stage)
And everyone has their part
(Has their part)
But how was I to know
Which way the story'd go
How was I to know you'd break
(You'd break, you'd break, you'd break)
You'd break my heart I've always been in love with you
(I've always been in love with you)
I guess
You've always known
You took my love for granted
Why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye I've always been in love with you
(Always with you)
I guess
You've always known it's true
(You know it's true)
You took my love for granted
Why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye Say good-bye (bye bye), say good-bye
Say good-bye |
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| | more controversy | |  We are now used to hear that Madonna videos are censored, banned,..., but this time the critics were slightly different. Some american groups fighting animal rights (one of them was P.E.T.A.) said Madonna was insensible filming a video including bullfighting, because they think that is really cruel. Madonna said she only wanted to express the pasional and artistic meaning of the song and the bullfighting, and she added that although in real life the bull suffers, in the video we cannot see any harm to the animal.
The Enlace Madonna webmasters want to say that we are against bullfighting, as many spanish people, and we are only giving facts of this song.
| | cover |  The cover is made by Fabien Baron and Patrick Li, who used a picture taken by Gregory Scaffidi of the Secret video look.. | | in the chart | | Take a Bow is the Madonna song that has been more weeks in USA #1 (seven weeks), after 11 weeks of climbing positions. It has the record of being the Madonna song that has been more weeks in the top-5 and in the top-10. It stayed 9 weeks as the more aired song on the US radio. This song had such a success that was included in every Billboard chart from december 1994 until january 1996. However, it reached a poor #16 in UK being the less successful Madonna single in this country (along with Oh Father). It also reached #1 in Canada, in Japan (for 3 weeks),... | | official versions | 1. Album Version / Video Version (5:20)
2. Edit / Album Edit (4:25)
3. Instrumental/Album Instrumental (5:20)
4. InDaSoul Edit (4:00)
5. InDaSoul Mix (4:57)
6. InDaSoul Instrumental (4:57)
7. Silky Soul Mix (4:10)
8. Silky Soul Instrumental (4:10) | | live | | Take A Bow was performed live by Madonna and Babyface in the anual edition of the American Music Awards on 31st january, 1995, where she appeared with a very oriental look. 
| | awards | |  Madonna got the award for Take a Bow as the best female video in the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards
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The role of the bullfighter in the video is played by a real bullfighter, Emilio Muñoz. He was #18 in the bullfighter's ranking in Spain, getting a lower #38 a few weeks after the video.
