Heal the Pain

"Heal the Pain" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter George Michael and released on Epic Records in February 1991. A contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song, it was the fourth of five UK singles taken from his second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990).

"Heal the Pain"
Single by George Michael
from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
B-side	"Soul Free"
Written	June 1990[1]
Released	4 February 1991 (1991-2-4)[2]
Genre	Pop
Length	4:46
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"Freedom! '90" (1990) "Heal the Pain" (1991) "Cowboys and Angels" (1991)
Licensed audio
"Heal the Pain" on YouTube

The song entered the UK Singles Chart in February 1991 and peaked at number 31. It followed a pattern of being slightly lower than its predecessor (the previous three singles had peaked at numbers 6, 23 and 28, respectively). One more single from the album would continue the pattern, by not even breaking the threshold of the top 40. "Soul Free", also taken from Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, appeared as the B-side. For the fourth US single, Columbia Records used "Soul Free" as the A-side and "Cowboys and Angels" as the B-side, but the single did not chart.

The band Lemon Jelly have used an uncredited sample of the track on the B-side of their single "Rolled/Oats". Brazilian singers Fernanda Takai and Samuel Rosa recorded a version of the song in Portuguese titled "Pra Curar Essa Dor", for Takai's fourth studio album, Na Medida do Impossível, released in 2014.

Critical reception

Adam Sweeting from The Guardian named "Heal the Pain" one of the "best tracks" of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. He added that the song "with its close harmonies and neck-brushing acoustic guitars, is the Paul McCartney ballad the Fab One never wrote."^[3] A reviewer from Music & Media wrote, "Comforting, Beatles-type pop. If The Beatles are the healer, Michael is the dealer."^[4] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, declaring it as a "gentle acoustically jangling, intimately sung ballad", noting that it was Michael's personal favourite. He concluded, "Not a Top 10 hit, but a breath of fresh air."^[5]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1991) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 36 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 25 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 16 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 31

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Europe (European Hit Radio)[11] 78

2006 version

"Heal the Pain"
Promotional single by George Michael and Paul McCartney
from the album Twenty Five (US release)
Released	2006 (UK release of Twenty Five) 2008 (US release, also as single)
Recorded	week of 28 November 2005
Genre	Pop
Length	4:46
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"This Is Not Real Love" (2006) "Heal the Pain" (2008) "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" (2008)
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"Ever Present Past" (2007) "Heal the Pain" (2008) "Sing the Changes" (2008)

In 2005, it was announced that Michael would be recording a version of the track with Paul McCartney, in whose style the song was written. Michael appeared on the Chris Evans show on BBC Radio 2 on 5 December 2005, and announced that he had recorded the song with McCartney "last week" but did not know what he was going to do with it yet. The track was included on the greatest hits collection Twenty Five (2006), and was released as a promotional single from the US release of the album in 2008.