" The Same Thing" is a pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 song written by Rick Nowels

Rick Nowels

Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is a Grammy / Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter/producer who has worked with many of the most vibrant artists in contemporary music...

 and Ellen Shipley

Ellen Shipley

Ellen Shipley, born 24 March 1949 in New York, is a US musician and songwriter.-Biography:Shipley is best known for work with Rick Nowels. Together they've written for Kim Wilde and worked on the Belinda Carlisle albums Belinda, Heaven on Earth, Runaway Horses, and Live Your Life Be Free...

, produced by Nowels for Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...

's third album Runaway Horses

Runaway Horses (album)

-Peak Positions:- End of year chart :- Certifications :-Singles:The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.-Personnel:*Kenny Aronoff — drums*Bekka Bramlett — background vocals...

(1989). It was released as the album's fifth single in the UK on October 2, 1990 (see 1990 in music

1990 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...

) as a CD single

CD single

A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

. It peaked at number six on the UK singles chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 and spent ten weeks in the top seventy-five.

Notable differences

The single version of "(We Want) The Same Thing" is drastically different than the version found on her album Runaway Horses

Runaway Horses (album)

-Peak Positions:- End of year chart :- Certifications :-Singles:The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.-Personnel:*Kenny Aronoff — drums*Bekka Bramlett — background vocals...

. While the album version has a heavily accented punk rock staccato

Staccato

Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...

 sound, the single version was changed into an incredibly powerful pop anthem: one of her most successful to date. The intro of the single version is notable for its chants of 'Hey!' repeated four times before a vibrant drum piece introduces the song. In the Runaway Horses album booklet, the lyrics listed for "(We Want) The Same Thing" vary from the actual version on the album. The lyrics in the booklet match the lyrics for the single version.

Album version (verse 2)

I look in your eyes and

I know deep inside that

We want the same thing

So let's break the chains that

Just make us insane 'cause

We want the same thing

Hey what's the problem here

Can we negotiate

I want to kiss your lips

Before it's too late...

Single version (verse 2)

I look in your eyes and

I know deep inside that

We want the same thing

Breakin the chains that

Just keep us in shame 'cause

We want the same thing

No matter what we say

No matter what we do

Beyond the battlelines

Baby, we know what's true...

Track listing

CD single

1. "(We Want) The Same Thing" (summer remix) — 4:17
2. "Circle in the Sand" (sandblast multi-mix)
3. "Shades of Michaelangelo" — 5:50

12-inch Record

1. "(We Want) The Same Thing" (extended summer remix) — 5:13
2. "Circle in the Sand" (sandblast multi-mix)

7-inch Record

1. "(We Want) The Same Thing" (extended summer remix) — 5:13
2. "Shades of Michaelangelo" — 5:50

Versions

• "(We Want) The Same Thing" (album mix) — 3:59
• "(We Want) The Same Thing" (7-inch summer remix) — 4:17
• "(We Want) The Same Thing" (extended summer remix) — 5:13

Charts

The song sold around 160,000 in the UK.

Chart (1990)	Peak position
German Singles Chart	53
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	22
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	6