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"What I Am"
Single by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
from the album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
B-side	"I Do" "Walk on the Wild Side"
Released	November 1, 1988 (1988-11-01)
Studio	Rockfield (Wales, UK)
Length	4:54 (album version) 3:40 (single edit)
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Edie Brickell Kenny Withrow
Producer(s)	Pat Moran
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians singles chronology
"What I Am" (1988) "Circle" (1988)
Music video
"What I Am" on YouTube

"What I Am" is a song written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow and recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for their debut album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (1988). The song is highlighted by a guitar solo that notably features an envelope filter. It peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart, and became a top-20 hit in Australia and New Zealand. "What I Am" was ranked number 23 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s".

English music duo Tin Tin Out collaborated with Spice Girl Emma Bunton to release a cover of "What I Am" in November 1999. This version became the more successful one in the UK, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and receiving a Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry.

American R&B group New Edition sampled the song in "Something About You" from their 1996 album Home Again.

Background

Edie Brickell said:

The lyrics came from my one elective in my first year in college, world religions. From the time I could first think, I wondered, What does the rest of the world think? I know what these Texas folks think, but what’s going on in the rest of the world? So I took this world religions class, and I was immediately annoyed at the chatter going on in the classroom. To adopt behaviors, to adopt some sort of dogma, I felt defeated the purpose of evolution. That song just blossomed from irritation.

On the "choke me in the shallow water" lyric, she said, "That’s the part that was irritating about the class. Everybody was getting so deep in terms of making things up—'Does this mean this and does that mean that?' I was just irritated, like, just kill me now before I get out there and lose myself and my sense of who I am."

Composition

"What I Am" is written in the key of B minor in
₄ time with a tempo of 89 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of Bsus2–Dsus2–Asus2, and the vocals span from G₃ to B₄.

Critical reception

Betty Page from Record Mirror wrote, "Like so many other singles this week, this is pleasantly quirky but not terribly inspiring. Edie's yet another female singer/songstress who sings and strums a guitar in a rustic fashion which makes you forget what the song sounds like before it's finished." Cash Box called it "one of the catchiest, anti-philosophical, tongue-in-cheek ditties since Peggy Lee's 'Is That All There Is?.'"

Track listings

US, European, and Australian 7-inch single; US cassette single

A. "What I Am" (LP version) – 4:54

B. "I Do" (LP version) – 2:00

Canadian and UK 7-inch single

A. "What I Am" (edit) – 3:43

B. "I Do" (LP version) – 2:00

12-inch and UK mini-CD single

1. "What I Am" (LP version)
2. "I Do" (LP version)
3. "Walk on the Wild Side" – 5:52

Personnel

New Bohemians

• Edie Brickell – vocals
• Kenny Withrow – guitar
• Brad Houser – bass guitar
• Brandon Aly – drums
• John Bush – percussion

Additional personnel

• Robbie Blunt – guitar
• Chris Whitten – drums
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards
• John Henry – background vocals

Charts

Release history

Tin Tin Out and Emma Bunton version

"What I Am"
Single by Tin Tin Out and Emma Bunton
from the album Eleven to Fly
B-side	"Weird (Save Yourself)"
Released	November 1, 1999 (1999-11-01)
Recorded	June 1999
Studio	Sarm West (London, England)
Length	3:54
Label	Virgin VC
Songwriter(s)	Edie Brickell Kenny Withrow
Producer(s)	Tin Tin Out
Tin Tin Out singles chronology
"Eleven to Fly" (1999) "What I Am" (1999) "Anybody's Guess" (2000)
Emma Bunton singles chronology
"What I Am" (1999) "What Took You So Long?" (2001)
Music video
"Tin Tin Out - What I Am ft. Emma Bunton" on YouTube

The song was covered by English electronic music duo Tin Tin Out and English singer Emma Bunton. It was released on November 1, 1999, as the second single from Tin Tin Out's second studio album, Eleven to Fly (1999). It also appeared on Bunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me (2001). Bunton recorded her vocals at London's Sarm West Studios in June 1999. The collaboration was the first release for Bunton to appear as a solo artist.

Tin Tin Out and Bunton's version debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, 29 places higher than the original version 11 years previously. It sold 106,300 copies during its first week of release and has sold over 234,000 copies in the UK. "What I Am" was the UK's 88th-best-selling single of 1999.

Track listings

Standard CD and UK cassette single

1. "What I Am" (radio version)
2. "What I Am" (Gangstarr remix)
3. "Weird (Save Yourself)" (featuring Wendy Page)

UK 12-inch single

A1. "T.W.M." (DJ Jam X & De Leon remix)

B1. "What I Am" (Gangstarr remix)

B2. "What I Am" (Groove Chronicles remix)

European CD single

1. "What I Am" (radio version)
2. "What I Am" (Gangstarr remix)

Personnel

Personnel are taken from the UK CD single liner notes.

• Edie Brickell – writing
• Kenny Withrow – writing
• Emma Bunton – vocals
• John Jorgenson – guitars
• Lindsay Edwards – guitars, keyboards
• Marcus Cliffe – bass
• Preston Heyman – percussion
• Tin Tin Out – production
• Stylorouge – design
• Rankin – photography

Charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

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7. What I Am (US & Australian 7-inch single vinyl disc). Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Geffen Records. 1988. 7-27696.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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13. What I Am (UK mini-CD single liner notes). Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Geffen Records. 1989. GEF 49CD, 921 153-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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External links

• "What I Am" on YouTube

• 1988 songs
• 1988 debut singles
• 1989 singles
• 1999 singles
• Edie Brickell & New Bohemians songs
• Emma Bunton songs
• Geffen Records singles
• Hut Records singles
• Rock ballads
• RPM Top Singles number-one singles
• Songs critical of religion
• Song recordings produced by Pat Moran
• Songs written by Edie Brickell
• Sy Smith songs
• Tin Tin Out songs
• Trip hop songs
• Virgin Records singles