Would?

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title: "Would?" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1992-songs", "1992-singles", "alice-in-chains-songs", "songs-about-drugs", "songs-inspired-by-deaths", "songs-written-by-jerry-cantrell", "columbia-records-singles", "song-recordings-produced-by-rick-parashar", "music-videos-directed-by-josh-taft"] description: "1992 single by Alice in Chains" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Would?" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1992 single by Alice in Chains ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Would?
cover	Would? by Alice in Chains limited edition EP commercial overseas.jpg
caption	CD variant of international retail limited edition EP
type	single
artist	Alice in Chains
album	Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Dirt
released
recorded	1992
genre	* Grunge
* {{nowrap	alternative metal{{cite web
length	3:27
label	Columbia
writer	Jerry Cantrell
producer	* Alice in Chains
prev_title	Sea of Sorrow
prev_year	1991
next_title	Them Bones
next_year	1992
misc
::

| name = Would? | cover = Would? by Alice in Chains limited edition EP commercial overseas.jpg | alt = | caption = CD variant of international retail limited edition EP | type = single | artist = Alice in Chains | album = Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Dirt | released = | recorded = 1992 | studio = | genre = * Grunge

• alternative metal | length = 3:27 | label = Columbia | writer = Jerry Cantrell | producer = * Alice in Chains
• Rick Parashar | prev_title = Sea of Sorrow | prev_year = 1991 | next_title = Them Bones | next_year = 1992 | misc =

"Would?" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains, written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell as a tribute to his friend Andrew Wood, lead vocalist of Mother Love Bone, who died in 1990. Cantrell sings the verses of the song, while Layne Staley sings the chorus.

The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 film Singles—where the members of Alice in Chains make a cameo appearance—and later appeared on the band's second studio album Dirt, also released in 1992. "Would?" was released as a single and peaked at No. 31 on *Billboard'''s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1992, at No. 19 in 1996, and in 2019 the song peaked at No. 15 on the Hot Rock Songs chart after it was featured in the trailer for the season 2 of the Netflix show The Punisher. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' *MTV Unplugged'' in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. In 2009, "Would?" was named the 88th Best Hard Rock Song of All Time by VH1.

Lyrics

The song, written by guitarist/co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell, concerns the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. It was produced, engineered, and mixed by Dave Jerden.

In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song: ::quote I was thinking a lot about Andrew Wood at the time. We always had a great time when we did hang out, much like Chris Cornell and I do. There was never really a serious moment or conversation, it was all fun. Andy was a hilarious guy, full of life and it was really sad to lose him. But I always hate people who judge the decisions others make. So it was also directed towards people who pass judgments. ::

Reflecting on the song in a 2017 interview, Cantrell said: ::quote A really significant thing for all of us - was kind of a heavier foreshadowing of some things that would directly affect us and our friends - was the death of Andy Wood. That song was me thinking about him like we all did, and trying to put that down and just kind of write a little ode for him. Because he wasn't there, and everything was taking off... It was a nice thing to be able to use that song, it was very poignant I thought, because we kind of carried him with us. ::

Release and reception

"Would?" was released as a single in June 1992, coinciding with the release of the movie Singles in which the band members made a cameo appearance. The song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was released as a single in the UK on January 11, 1993, and reached the Top 20 in the UK and the Top 40 in the Netherlands (their highest-charting song in both countries). It is one of the band's best-known songs.

Steve Huey of AllMusic said that the song is "a touch more melancholy than many of the group's best-known rockers" and "one of the band's most fully realized individual moments." James Hunter of Rolling Stone called the song "a Seattle song that in 1999 evokes no grunge nostalgia. It's timeless, one of the most stylish singles of the decade, the work of a band which understands that life gets way out of hand but that first-rate rock recordings can't."

The song was named one of the top tracks of the 1990s by Pitchfork Media in 2010. In 2014, the entertainment magazine Paste ranked the song number three on its list of the 50 Best Grunge Songs.

On January 10, 2019, "Would?" was featured in the trailer for the season 2 of the Marvel/Netflix superhero show The Punisher. Following the release of the trailer, the song peaked at No. 15 on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart in the week of January 26, 2019.

Music video

The music video for "Would?" was released in 1992 and was co-directed by Cameron Crowe and Josh Taft. The music video won the award for Best Video from a Film at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.

Live performances

Alice in Chains performed an acoustic version of "Would?" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, and the song was included on the Unplugged live album and home video release. Live performances of the song can also be found on the "Heaven Beside You" single and the live album, Live.

Cover versions

The song was covered by Opeth on their single "Burden", a song from their 2008 album Watershed.

Breaking Benjamin also covered the song in February 2020, with guest vocalist Gavin Rossdale of Bush taking Cantrell's parts.

Metallica and Korn both covered the song at MoPOP's Founders Award fundraiser in December 2020.

Track listing

| title1 = Would? | length1 = 3:27 | title2 = Man in the Box | length2 = 4:46 | title3 = Brother | length3 = 4:27 | title4 = Right Turn | length4 = 3:17

Personnel

Alice in Chains

• Layne Staley – lead vocals
• Jerry Cantrell – guitar, co-lead vocals
• Mike Starr – bass
• Sean Kinney – drums Production
• Produced by Alice in Chains and Rick Parashar
• Engineered by Bryan Carlstrom, assisted by Annette Cisneros and Ulrich Wild
• Mixed by Dave Jerden, assisted by Annette Cisneros
• Mastered by Steve Hall and Eddy Schreyer

Charts

::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for "Would?""] | Chart (1992–93) | Peak position | Australia (ARIA) | Australia Alternative (ARIA) | European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media) | Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 69 | | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | | 77 | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | ::

::data[format=table title="2019 chart performance for "Would?""] | Chart (2019) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for ''MTV Unplugged'' version"] | Chart (1996) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Certifications

Release history

::data[format=table title="Release dates and formats for "Would?""]

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.	United States	United Kingdom	Australia
June 1992	June 1992		Columbia	url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Hard-Report/1992/Hard-1992-06-05.pdf	title=Alice In Chains "Would?", Columbia	work=The Hard Report	page=41
January 11, 1993		date=January 9, 1993	title=New Releases: Singles	magazine=Music Week	page=6}}
February 28, 1993		date=February 28, 1993	title=New Release Summary – Product Available from : 28/02/93: Singles	magazine=The ARIA Report	page=20	issue=160}}
::

References

References

1. Danaher, Michael. (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs".
2. Leas, Ryan. (August 1, 2018). "30 Essential Grunge Songs".
3. Robinson, Joe. (November 9, 2011). "Top 11 Metal Albums of the 1990s".
4. (January 1, 2009). "Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs". [[VH1]].
5. Liner notes, ''[[Dirt (Alice in Chains album). Dirt]]''. 1992.
6. Liner notes, ''[[Music Bank (album). Music Bank]]'' box set. 1999.
7. (July 8, 2017). "Jerry Cantrell wrote Alice in Chains' "Would?" as a tribute to Andrew Wood from Mother Love Bone". YouTube.
8. (August 5, 1994). "A Band Called Alice". [[Goldmine (magazine).
9. Huey, Steve. "Would?". [[AllMusic]].
10. Hunter, James. (September 2, 1999). "Nothing Safe: Best of the Box".
11. (August 30, 2010). "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 200-151".
12. Chapstick, Kelsey. (January 10, 2019). "See Bloody New 'The Punisher' Season 2 Trailer Set To Alice In Chains' "Would?"".
13. "Hot Rock Songs – The week of January 26, 2019".
14. "Top Music Video – ''Music Bank: The Videos''".
15. (February 5, 2008). "OPETH Covers ALICE IN CHAINS, ROBIN TROWER During New Album Sessions". Blabbermouth.net.
16. Childers, Chad. (July 21, 2020). "Breaking Benjamin + Gavin Rossdale Cover Alice in Chains' 'Would?'".
17. (December 2, 2020). "Watch METALLICA, KORN, MASTODON, Others Perform ALICE IN CHAINS Covers At Museum Of Pop Culture Ceremony".
18. Ryan, Gavin. (2011). "Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010". Moonlight Publishing.
19. (April 4, 1993). "Alternative Charts Top 20".
20. (January 30, 1993). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
21. Pennanen, Timo. (2006). "Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972". Tammi.
22. (June 5, 1992). "Alice In Chains "Would?", Columbia". The Hard Report.
23. (January 9, 1993). "New Releases: Singles".
24. (February 28, 1993). "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 28/02/93: Singles".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::