"Five Candles (You Were There)" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the second radio single from their 1997 studio album Much Afraid. The song was initially written for the soundtrack to the motion picture Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey. However, the ending credits, when the song would have been played, were changed to an outtakes and bloopers reel, thus cutting the song from the film. A working title of the song during the writing and recording studio sessions was "The Wish", which fits in with the themes of Liar Liar, just as the eventual title, "Five Candles", as the story of the film revolves around the wish Max made as he blew out the five candles for his fifth birthday. The song was later used in the 1998 Michael Keaton film, Jack Frost, and was featured on that film's soundtrack.
| "Five Candles (You Were There)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Jars of Clay | ||||
| from the album Much Afraid | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:38 (Radio Edit) 3:48 (Album Version) | |||
| Label | Essential/Silvertone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, Matt Odmark | |||
| Producer(s) | Stephen Lipson | |||
| Jars of Clay singles chronology | ||||
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Track listing
editWritten by Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, Matt Odmark
- "Five Candles (You Were There)" (Radio Edit) – 3:38
- "Five Candles (You Were There)" (Album Version) – 3:48
Performance credits
edit- Dan Haseltine - vocals, percussion
- Charlie Lowell - keyboards, piano, organ, background vocals
- Stephen Mason - guitars, bass, background vocals
- Matt Odmark - guitars, mandolin, background vocals
- Neil Conti - drums
Technical credits
edit- Stephen Lipson - producer
- Robert Beeson - executive producer
- Heff Moraes - engineering, mixing
- Chuck Linder - recording
- Mike Griffith - engineering
- Adam Hatley - engineering assistant
- Stephen Marcussen - mastering
- Don C. Tyler - digital editing