About The Song
“When It Comes to You” is a song written by Mark Knopfler and originally recorded by the British rock band Dire Straits for their 1991 album On Every Street. American country music artist John Anderson covered the song, with Knopfler contributing electric guitar, and released it in April 1992 as the third single from his album Seminole Wind on the BNA label. The B-side is “Cold Day in Hell.” The Anderson version runs approximately 3:52 in length. Production was handled by James Stroud, with additional production credit listed for John Anderson on some editions.
The single peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It reached number 2 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. The release date for the single is documented as April 13, 1992. It followed “Straight Tequila Night,” which had reached number 1, and preceded the title track “Seminole Wind,” which peaked at number 2. The parent album Seminole Wind, released February 10, 1992, peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 35 on the Billboard 200. The album later received double-platinum certification from the RIAA.
Anderson’s recording of the Knopfler composition formed part of his commercial resurgence in the early 1990s after a period of lower chart activity in the late 1980s. The Seminole Wind project marked his first major success with the newly established BNA Records. Mark Knopfler’s guitar work appears on the track, consistent with accounts that he participated in the session after granting permission for the cover. Session personnel associated with the album and single include contributions from musicians such as Buddy Emmons on steel guitar, Glenn Worf on bass, Milton Sledge on drums, Gary Smith on keyboards, Joe Spivey on fiddle, and background vocalists including Carl Jackson and Curtis Young. Engineering and mixing credits list Lynn Peterzell and Julian King.
The music video for Anderson’s version was directed by Steve Boyle. Chart documentation confirms the number 3 peak on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with no significant crossover onto the Billboard Hot 100. Year-end tallies for 1992 placed the single at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs year-end chart and number 28 on the corresponding Canadian RPM year-end list. Publishing credits list Mark Knopfler as the sole writer, with administration through Straitjacket Songs Ltd. and Almo Music Corp.
“When It Comes to You” continued the sequence of strong singles from Seminole Wind. The album’s overall performance, including multiple top-ten country singles, reestablished Anderson as a consistent chart presence in the early 1990s. Later compilations and greatest-hits packages issued by BNA and related labels regularly include the track. No additional major U.S. pop-chart peaks are recorded for the original 1992 single beyond its country-chart positions.
The combination of Knopfler’s songwriting, the guest guitar contribution, and the production approach of James Stroud and John Anderson contributed to the single’s radio performance. Catalog editions preserve the 1992 masters. The track remains part of Anderson’s documented 1990s output alongside the other Seminole Wind singles. Anderson’s overall chart history includes five number-one Hot Country Songs hits and multiple top-ten entries across three decades. This single stands as one of the key releases from his BNA period.
Discography sources list the single under the BNA catalog number 62235. Promo CD and vinyl editions were issued in 1992. The edited single version runs shorter than the album cut in some pressings. Subsequent reissues and digital releases continue to feature the recording as part of Anderson’s mid-career catalog.
Video
Lyric
If we can’t get along, we ought to be apart
And I’m wondering where’d you get that cold, cold heart
Set me free, sign my release
I’m tired of being a villain of the peaceYou’ve been giving me bad times, tell me what’d I do
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to you
Saying things that you didn’t have to
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to youYou only get one life, and this I know
I want to get my licks in now before I go
Fire of love is dead and cold
I got to satisfy the hunger in my soulYou’ve been giving me bad times, tell me what’d I do
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to you
Saying things that you didn’t have to
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to youIf we can’t get along, we ought to be apart
And I’m wondering where’d you get that cold, cold heart
Set me free, sign my release
I’m tired of being a villain of the peaceYou’ve been giving me bad times, tell me what’d I do
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to you
Saying things that you didn’t have to
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to you
How come I always get a hard time, honey, when it comes to you