"God" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos

Tori Amos

Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...

. It was released as the second single from her second studio album Under the Pink

Under the Pink

Under the Pink is the second solo album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Upon its release in January 1994, the album peaked at US #12 and on the back of the hit single "Cornflake Girl", the album debuted at UK #1, her highest-charting UK album debut to date. It had sold around 220,000 copies in the...

. It was released on February 3, 1994 by Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in North America and on October 3 by EastWest Records

East West Records

East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...

 in the UK.

Background

The song reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 as well as #1 on the US Modern Rock Chart which is to date her only number one song on that chart.

Inspiration, meaning and response

The song was Amos' response to patriarchy and the repression of women through religion. Lyrically it was heavily confrontational of male-deity headed religions, with lyrics like "God, sometimes you just don't come through/Do you need a woman to look after you?" American radio was very hesitant to play the song because of its heavy use of guitars, so a promotional CD was released in the USA with two commercially unavailable mixes of the song: the "No Guitar" mix and the "Some Guitar" mix. The B-sides to the American release included Amos' reworking of the traditional song "Home on the Range

Home on the Range

"Home on the Range" is the state song of Kansas, U.S.Home on the Range may also refer to:* Home on the Range , a drama directed by Arthur Jacobson* Home on the Range , a Disney animated feature film...

", with new lyrics reflecting her Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 heritage, as well as a two-song instrumental piano suite. An American cassette single featured the b-side "Sister Janet".

A completely different single was released in Europe on CD, 12" and 7" vinyl single, and cassette. The 7" single was a glossy dual sided picture disc. They featured ambient and jungle house remixes of the track by CJ Bolland.

Track listing

US CD single

1. "God" – 3:58
2. "Home on the Range" (Cherokee Edition) – 5:25
3. Piano Suite: "All the Girls Hate Her" – 2:23
4. Piano Suite: "Over It" – 2:11

US cassette single

1. "God" – 3:58
2. "Sister Janet" – 4:02

US promotional CD single

1. "God" (Some Guitar) – 3:58
2. "God" (No Guitar) – 3:58
3. "God" – 3:58

UK / German CD single

1. "God" – 3:58
2. "God" (The Dharma Kayã Mix) – 12:34
3. "God" (The Rainforest Resort Mix) – 10:32
4. "God" (The Thinking Mix 2) – 9:50

UK 12" single

1. "God" (The Thinking Mix 2) – 9:50
2. "God" (a cappella vocal and Rain Mix) – 4:42
3. "God" (The Rainforest Resort Mix) – 10:32
4. "God" (The CJ Bolland Mix) – 5:58

UK 7" / Cassette single

1. "God" – 3:58
2. "God" (a cappella vocal and Rain Mix) – 4:42

Music video

The music video for "God" features Amos in a variety of religiously-themed situations, notably showing mundane situations in day to day life and making visual correlations with religious rituals. This includes visually comparing a tefillin

Tefillin

Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...

 used by a rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 with a basketball player using a belt on his arm while injecting drugs. The video is often remembered for scenes of Amos singing in front of a lit candle, dancing with a plethora of brown rats

Brown Rat

The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....

 (possibly at the Rat temple

Karni Mata

Karni Mata was a female Hindu sage born in the Charan caste and is worshiped as the incarnation of the goddess Durga by her followers. She is an official deity of the royal family of Jodhpur and Bikaner. During her lifetime, she laid the foundation stone of two of the important forts in Rajputana...

); this was commented on in an episode of the television show Beavis and Butt-head

Beavis and Butt-Head

Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...

, and parodying a snake cult

Church of God with Signs Following

The Church of God with Signs Following is the name applied to Pentecostal Holiness churches that practice snake handling and drinking poison in worship services, based on an interpretation of the following biblical passage:...

.

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	72
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1
Australia ARIA Charts ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	65
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...  Top Singles	87
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	44