At the Same Time

Album: Higher Ground (1997)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about how we're all in it together; whatever we're going through, there are many others going through it at the same time.

    It was written by Ann Hampton Callaway, a Jazz/Cabaret singer known for improvising songs based on audience suggestions. When we spoke with Callaway, she explained how Streisand helped her bring this song together: "She got on the phone with me and I was a little intimidated to speak with her, but I said, 'Barbra, what do you want me to do here?' She said, 'I want it to be simple but profound.'

    What does that mean? 'I want people to understand exactly what you mean the first time you hear a song, and then the second time and third time, every time after that, to have new meanings unfold.' As it turns out, that simple guidance has been something I think of every time I write a song now. It's been a wonderful filter for everything I try to do."
  • Ann Hampton Callaway wrote the first version of this song in 1987, but wouldn't let anyone have it because she was determined to have Streisand record it. Callaway's friend Amanda McBroom, who wrote the song "The Rose," passed the song along to Streisand's record company, who loved the song, but asked for a rewrite, since Streisand is very particular about her songs. "I said I would be willing to do whatever it takes," Callaway told us. "I think it was 150 rewrites later, she said, 'OK, I think this is perfect. I think I'm ready to do it.' It was just a thrill to have that message out in the world in her voice. I knew in my guts never to give up on that dream."
  • Higher Ground was Streisand's eighth #1 album in the US, where it sold 3 million copies. But hit singles were rare for the singer in the '90s. One of them was the album's lead single, "Tell Him," a duet with Celine Dion that went to #3 in the UK. The other was the Top 10 hit "I Finally Found Someone," her 1996 duet with Bryan Adams for the movie The Mirror Has Two Faces.

Comments: 1

  • This Was The Song That We Played For Our Presence Daughter Natalia’s Baby Naming. from Belair, MarylandWhen you realize how many children are alone in this world, and how easy it is to give them love, a home and a future, this song encapsulates that moment in time. We are here to lift others up. No child should be left alone in this world.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."