It's Midnight Cinderella

"It's Midnight Cinderella" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in June 1996 as the fifth single from his album Fresh Horses. The song reached a peak of number 5 on the U.S. country charts in mid-1996. It was written by Brooks, Kent Blazy and Kim Williams.

"It's Midnight Cinderella"
Single by Garth Brooks
from the album Fresh Horses
ReleasedJune 10, 1996
StudioJack's Tracks (Nashville, Tennessee)
GenreCountry
Length2:23
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)Kent Blazy
Kim Williams
Garth Brooks
Producer(s)Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks singles chronology
"The Change"
(1996)
"It's Midnight Cinderella"
(1996)
"That Ol' Wind"
(1996)

Content

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"It's Midnight Cinderella" is an up-tempo where the male narrator makes passes on a female via allusions to the Cinderella fairy tale.

In the verses, it is revealed that the female's partner has left her ("I guess your Prince Charming wasn't, after all"). The narrator, in the second verse, then describes his plan to have sex with her ("Gonna learn to love midnight inside this pumpkin shell").

Critical reception

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic cited the song as a standout track on Fresh Horses, calling the song "sassy" and "suggestive", and saying that it worked because Brooks "lets his guard down" on the song.[1] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly called it a "bordering-on-risqué fairy tale[…] that adventrously [sic] pushes the envelope of country lyrics."[2]

Chart performance

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"It's Midnight Cinderella" made its chart debut on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) in December 1995 after the album's release, as an album cut along with "That Ol' Wind", "Rollin'", and then-current single "The Beaches of Cheyenne".[3] The song charted for several weeks as an album cut before reaching Top 40 on the chart week of July 20, 1996, and peaked at number 5 on the chart week of September 7.

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[4] 2
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 5

Year-end charts

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Chart (1996) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[6] 31

References

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  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Fresh Horses review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. ^ Nash, Alanna (1995-12-08). "Horses Around: Garth Brooks takes us on an amusing but bumpy ride". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  3. ^ Stambler, Irwin; Lyndon Stambler; Grelun Landon (2000). Country Music: The Encyclopedia. Macmillan. p. 51. ISBN 0-312-26487-9.
  4. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9679." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. September 9, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Garth Brooks Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.