Heading West (song)
1989 single by Cyndi Lauper
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"Heading West" was the third single from Cyndi Lauper's album A Night to Remember released worldwide. It was not released as a single in North America.
| "Heading West" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Cyndi Lauper | ||||
| from the album A Night to Remember | ||||
| B-side | "Insecurious" | |||
| Released | December 4, 1989 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory (New York, NY) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | Epic Records | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Heading West" on YouTube | ||||
"Heading West" was written by Lauper, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The same team wrote "My First Night Without You, and the latter two wrote "True Colors", and "I Drove All Night". The song is about moving on from a past relationship, which was the overall theme of the album. A video was also released which was black and white and had Lauper in an empty field. The song was released outside of the U.S. The single was a minor hit in the UK. Cyndi Lauper said in an interview with O Globo newspaper that "'Heading West' was a great song."[1]
French Canadian pop star Mitsou covered the song as the title track for a 1992 EP and also released it as a single. She added a French spoken word monologue to the end of the song.
Critical reception
Upon single release Melody Maker observer Mick Mercer left positive review. As per him, this song as all singer's songs contain "lyrical incident". He concluded: "A rousing, if awkwardly shuffling, tune, give her a chance and it will hollow you out.[2]
Music & Media described the song as a "lightweight production" that was "highly melodic" and a "slow-stepping ballad from an eccentric singer".[3] In a later review, the song was described as "deceptively laid-back" with an "effective and dramatic build-up" and praised as her "best effort since "True Colors"".[4]
Track listing
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Chart performance
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[5] | 117 |
| Colombian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Polish Singles Chart | 43 |
| UK Singles Chart[6] | 68 |