"Constant Craving" is a song written by k.d. lang

K.D. Lang

Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...

 and Ben Mink

Ben Mink

Ben Mink is a Canadian songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.Born of Polish parents, Mink was raised in Toronto Ontario. He got his start performing with the rock/country group Mary-Lou Horner, which became the house band at bar and nightclub....

, and performed by k.d. lang on her album Ingénue

Ingenue (album)

Ingénue is the second solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1992. It has more of a cabaret flavor than Lang's previous work, and was her most successful album on the pop charts both in her native Canada and internationally....

. The song first made the charts in 1992, and won her the Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...

 in 1993 and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video

MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video

The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...

. The track also appears on the 2008 compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest

Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest

Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest is a compilation album of songs performed by some of Canada's "best and brightest" musicians, released in September 2008 under Rhino Records and sold exclusively at Starbucks locations through their Hear Music label.-Track listing:#Feist -...

, which highlights some of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's best musicians from a variety of genres.

"Constant Craving" peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. It also reached #2 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

. In the UK, the song was initially a modest hit when released in 1992, but after being re-released in 1993 in the wake of its American success, it peaked at #15 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 ...

 in its fourth week.

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was filmed in black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

. It presents a fanciful recreation of the premiere of Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett

Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...

's play Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 1953. Here, she is depicted singing backstage while the actors perform. The director, Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...

, says the song's lyrics of desperation and waiting fit well with the themes of Beckett's play. The video won the award for Best Female Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards

1993 MTV Video Music Awards

The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 2, 1993, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1992, to June 15, 1993. The show was hosted by Christian Slater at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This was Kurt Cobain's final VMA appearance.This year marked the introduction of...

 much to Lang's surprise.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 later unwittingly used a refrain

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

 very similar to that of "Constant Craving" in their 1997 single "Anybody Seen My Baby?

Anybody Seen My Baby?

"Anybody Seen My Baby?" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones featured on their 1997 album Bridges to Babylon.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song also carries writing credits for k.d. lang and Ben Mink. The song is known for its chorus, which sounds strikingly...

". After discovering this, they gave writing credits on that song to k.d. lang and Mink, shared with the original authors Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....

 and Keith Richards

Keith Richards

Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...

.

Abigail version

12" Vinyl Single released in 1993 by Klone Records

1. "Constant Craving" (Vocal Version)
2. "Constant Craving" (Instrumental)
3. "Don't Tell Me Why" (Vocal Version)
4. "Don't Tell Me Why" (Instrumental)

CD Maxi Single released in 1993 by Klone Records

1. "Constant Craving" (Radio Version) - 4:06
2. "Constant Craving" (Original Mix) - 6:24
3. "Constant Craving" (Trade Mix) - 9:34
4. "Don't Tell Me Why" - 4:50

12" Vinyl Single released by ZYX Music in 1995
(titled was changed to Constant Craving '95)

1. "Constant Craving '95" (Illusive Mix) - 8:01
2. "Constant Craving '95" (Gailforce Mix) - 8:01
3. "Constant Craving '95" (Original Mix)
4. "What Goes Around Comes Around" (Ace Mix) - 6:03

CD Maxi Single released in 1995 by ZYX Music

1. "Constant Craving '95" (Radio Edit) - 4:04
2. "Constant Craving '95" (Illusive Mix) - 8:01
3. "Constant Craving '95" (Gailforce Mix) - 8:01
4. "What Goes Around Comes Around" (Ace Mix) - 6:03

Cover versions

• Montreal
  Montreal
  Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
  
   based electropunk band Lesbians on Ecstasy
  Lesbians on Ecstasy
  Lesbians on Ecstasy is an electronic band from Montreal, Quebec.The band toured across Canada and the U.S. with Le Tigre before the release of their first recording.The first album, the self-titled Lesbians on Ecstasy was released on October 26, 2004...
  
   reworked the song as "Kündstant Krøving" on their 2004 album Lesbians on Ecstasy
  Lesbians on Ecstasy (album)
  Lesbians on Ecstasy is the self-titled debut album of Montreal based electropunk group Lesbians on Ecstasy. It contains 11 songs, including a live bonus track. The first single is the track "Tell Me Does She Love The Bass", a reworking of the 1988 Melissa Etheridge hit "Like the Way I Do".This...
  
  .

Charlotte Martin

Charlotte Martin

Charlotte Ann Martin is an American singer-songwriter, who performs predominantly on the piano. She has written several studio albums, two of which have received mainstream commercial releases, 2004's On Your Shore and 2006's Stromata...

has also recorded a cover of the song on her album Reproductions.