Vow (4:32)

“Vow” is a song by Garbage, released as their debut single in 1995. It first appeared on a Volume magazine compilation in December, 1994, and picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel. “Vow” generated significant buzz and word-of-mouth that it was eventually chosen as Garbage’s first single release.

Released worldwide after a low-key independent record label pressing in the United Kingdom, “Vow” went on to top the alternative charts in Australia and reach the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Garbage hadn’t initially planned its release as a single, or its inclusion on their debut album, 1995’s Garbage.

In 2007, “Vow” was remastered and included on Garbage’s greatest hits album Absolute Garbage.

“Vow” began in rough demo form in January, 1994, during sessions between band members Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker located in either Marker’s basement recording studio or at their own Smart Studios business in Wisconsin university town Madison.After Marker saw Shirley Manson’s group Angelfish on 120 Minutes, the band invited Manson to Smart Studios to sing on a couple of tracks. After a dreadful first audition, she returned to Angelfish. Manson eventually returned to Smart for a successful second time, where she began to work on the then-skeletal “Queer” and “Vow” (ad-libbing lyrics).

The genesis of “Vow” came from a newspaper article Vig had read about a sado-masochistic couple who couldn’t keep away from each other, an intense relationship showing that violence can come from psychological stand point.