Ask Me

Infobox Single
Name = Ask Me


Artist = Amy Grant
from Album = Heart in Motion
Recorded =
Released = 1991
Format =
[Recorded =]
Genre = CCM, Adult Contemporary
Length = 3:53
Label = A&M Records, Word Records, EMI Records
Writer = Amy Grant
Producer = Michael Omartian
[Certification =
Chart position =
NoReviews = yes
Last single = That's What Love is For
(1991)
This single = Ask Me
(1991)
Next single = Good for Me
(1992)"Ask Me" is a 1991 single by Christian music and pop music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the fifth single from the "Heart In Motion" album, and the third from the album released to Christian radio.

"Ask Me" is a downbeat song with heavy use of percussion. The lyrics detail the plight of a young girl who is the victim of sexual abuse. The song is based on doubt and subsequent affirmation of faith in God. Grappling with the age-old question of why God allows tragedies, Grant sings, "Ask me if I think there's a God up in the Heavens, where did he go in the middle of her shame? I see no mercy..."

Grant wrote the song after having a conversation with one of her best friends from childhood. Though Grant had known the woman all her life, she was stunned to learn that she had been sexually abused as a child. Unable to process the revelation, Grant retired to her basement to cry and ask God how such a thing could happen. By the end of her time in the basement, Grant had written "Ask Me".

Official versions

Audio versions

* Original album version (3:53), available on the album "Heart In Motion"
* Original album version (3:53), available on Grant's 2005 "iTunes Originals" digital album
* Original album version (3:53), available on Grant's 2007 digital album, ""
* Digitally Remastered version (3:53), available on the 2007 EMI Records re-release of "Heart In Motion"
* Live version (4:11), available on Grant's 2006 live album, Time Again... Amy Grant Live

Video versions

* Live concert performance, included on Grant's 2006 concert DVD, Time Again... Amy Grant Live

Background

During 1991, Grant achieved enormous success on both pop and Christian radio with seven singles from her popular "Heart in Motion" album. At the time of "Heart in Motion"'s release, Grant was represented by two record labels, something of an anomaly in the industry. A&M Records marketed her music to mainstream radio and secular retailers. Word Records marketed her music to Christian radio and Christian retailers. By the time "Ask Me" was released, A&M had already marketed three singles from "Heart in Motion" to pop radio, while Word Records had marketed two singles to Christian radio. Grant urged A&M to release "Ask Me" to mainstream radio stations as the next major single from "Heart in Motion", believing her success up to that point and the power of the lyrics would carry the song in the mainstream despite its strong religious theme. A&M refused, however, believing the song was too religious for pop radio stations. Word Records released the song as the third "Heart in Motion" single for Christian radio.

Word issued a promotional CD single with "Ask Me" as the lead track and Julie Miller's "Broken Things" as a supporting track. The CD was labeled with a "Prevent Child Abuse" banner and a phone number providing support to victims. The song did not have the same chart success that Grant's other singles from the album had achieved, perhaps due to Word's packaging the song as a public service piece and coupling it with another artist's song during the single's promotion.

Grant has spoken and written at length about "Ask Me", pointing it out as one of the songs she takes the most pride in as a songwriter and lamenting A&M's decision to refuse its mainstream radio release. Grant has said that she continues to hear more encouraging feedback from the public about "Ask Me" than perhaps any other song she has recorded. Accordingly, "Ask Me" is a staple of Grant's concert set lists and was included on both the CD and DVD release of her 2006 Time Again tour. Grant also included the song in her 2007 autobiography, and its accompanying digital album.