| But You Know I Love You | |
| Cover: | KennyLoveYou.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Kenny Rogers and The First Edition |
| Album: | The First Edition '69 |
| B-Side: | Homemade Lies |
| Released: | 1968 |
| Recorded: | 1968 |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 3:01 |
| Label: | Reprise |
| Producer: | Jimmy Bowen |
| Prev Title: | Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) |
| Prev Year: | 1968 |
| Next Title: | Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town |
| Next Year: | 1969 |
"But You Know I Love You" is a song written by Mike Settle, which was a 1969 pop hit for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, a group that included Settle and Kenny Rogers. The song also became a major country hit by Bill Anderson in 1969. In 1981, a cover version of "But You Know I Love You" by singer Dolly Parton topped the country singles charts.
In the song, "But You Know I Love You", the narrator voices regret over not being able to remain with his/her significant other, due to career demands and the need to travel for his/her job. At the time, Mike Settle was guitarist for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, with Kenny Rogers singing lead and Settle harmonizing. The fall 1968 release, with a brass-tinged country-folk sound to broaden the group's fan base, peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 just under a year after "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" peaked. During the group's rendition on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that aired on 8 December 1968, the audience was unwittingly fooled to start clapping too soon, right after the false ending but way before the real ending.
| Chart (1969) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 11 | |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 9 |
Bill Anderson's cover version of "But You Know I Love You" from his album My Life/But You Know I Love You (Decca DL 75142) rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1969.
| But You Know I Love You | |
| Cover: | ButYouKnowIloveyou.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Dolly Parton |
| Album: | 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs |
| B-Side: | Poor Folks' Town |
| Released: | March 16, 1981 |
| Recorded: | 1980 |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 3:20 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Producer: | Mike Post |
| Prev Title: | 9 to 5 |
| Prev Year: | 1981 |
| Next Title: | The House of the Rising Sun |
| Next Year: | 1981 |
Country entertainer Dolly Parton (who, in 1983, would have the number 1 duet "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers) in 1980 included "But You Know I Love You", based on the occupation of on-the-road singer, on her album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. In March 1981, Parton released the song as the album's second single, following the success of "9 to 5," and it reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart on 20 June 1981, succeeding Rogers' accompanying Dottie West on "What Are We Doin' in Love" at the top slot.[1] Parton's version also crossed over, bowing at number 82 on 4 April 1981 and peaking at number 41 on 16 May 1981 on the Hot 100 and No. 14 on the AC chart.