{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2016}} {{Infobox song | name = Concertina | cover = ToriAmosConcertina.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Tori Amos]] | album = [[To Venus and Back]] | released = February 8, 2000 | recorded = March 1999 | studio = Martian Engineering ([[Cornwall]])<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r429231|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic Review], ''AllMusic''</ref> | venue = | genre = * [[Art pop]] * [[trip hop]] | length = 3:57 | label = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] | writer = Tori Amos | producer = [[Tori Amos]] | prev_title = [[Glory of the 80's]] | prev_year = 1999 | next_title = [[Strange Little Girl]] | next_year = 2001 }} "'''Concertina'''" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter and pianist [[Tori Amos]], released as the fourth and last single from her fifth studio album ''[[To Venus and Back]]'' (1999). The commercial [[CD single]] was released in February 2000.
==Background and release== The title of the song refers to the musical instrument [[concertina]]. The lyrics use it as a metaphor to describe the experience of discomfort and unease in a social setting, likening it to being a squeezebox.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yessaid.com/toriamos.html|title=t o r i p h o r i a - the World of Tori Amos|website=Yessaid.com|access-date=May 21, 2023}}</ref> When recording the song, Amos wanted to combine the acoustic piano with electronic drums, as she felt the dichotomy complimented the themes of the lyrics, which describe sensory discomfort in a "fierce calm" and being changed "particle by particle".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://toriamos.com/go/galleries/view/255/1/28/albums/index.html |title=Everything Tori | concertina |access-date=January 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082926/http://toriamos.com/go/galleries/view/255/1/28/albums/index.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In the interview for her cover story in ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' in October 1999,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yessaid.com/interviews/99-10AP.html |title=Alternative Press - October 1999 |access-date=January 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623101956/http://www.yessaid.com/interviews/99-10AP.html |archive-date=June 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Amos commented on the content of the song:
{{cquote|Do you ever feel like you walk in a room, and you don't know why, but you're just so uncomfortable you're crawling out of your skin, even though nobody's touched you, physically? That's in "Concertina", when you feel like you haven't excavated enough of your different personalities that when one pops up, you're not sure where it came from, and you try to hack it out of yourself. It shocks you that you could have this kind of fault, or that other people could bring it out in you.}}
Since 1999, the song has been featured in all of Amos' world tours,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.toriset.org/s.php?c=503&t=0|title = Tori Amos Setlist Database|website=Toriset.org}}</ref> except the 2005 Original Sinsuality Tour in support of ''[[The Beekeeper (album)|The Beekeeper]]''.
"Concertina" was included on the setlist for the DVD release of Amos' concert for ''[[Live from the Artists Den]]'' in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://theartistsden.com/toriamos |title=Tori Amos | Live from the Artists den |access-date=January 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202203732/http://theartistsden.com/toriamos |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Track listing== Enhanced CD single, February 8, 2000:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://toriamos.com/go/galleries/view/751/1/342/singles/index.html |title=Everything Tori | Concertina Singles |access-date=January 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220005636/http://toriamos.com/go/galleries/view/751/1/342/singles/index.html |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
# Concertina (The single mix) 3:58 # [[Famous Blue Raincoat]] (Live) 5:24 # Twinkle (Live) 2:49 # Music video for "[[Glory of the 80s]]"
Promotional CD single, February 8, 2000:
# Concertina (The single mix) 3:57 # Concertina (The album mix) 3:57
==Promotion and chart performance== No music video was filmed for the song. A promo CD single featuring both the single and album mix of the song was released to radio stations. ''Concertina'' was performed live on the television show [[Later... with Jools Holland]]. The song was featured in setlists during Amos' 1999 concert tour in support of the album.
{|class="wikitable" ! Title ! Chart ! Position |- | "Concertina" (2000) | [[Adult album alternative|US AAA]] | align="center"|18 |- | "Concertina" (2000) | Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales (U.S.) | align="center"|48 |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.toriamos.com Tori Amos official website]
{{Tori Amos}}
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[[Category:Tori Amos songs]] [[Category:2000 singles]] [[Category:Atlantic Records singles]] [[Category:Songs written by Tori Amos]] [[Category:1999 songs]]