Credits

Album

True Blue

The Immaculate Collection

Something To Remember

Single

Video

For the video director James Foley used mainly scenes from the movie At Close Range, but also shots from Madonna, who is sitting all by herself on a chair surrounded by darkness. She's wearing a tight flower dress, rather conservative compared to the videos of Like A Virgin and Material Girl. No controversy, this is an emotional, more vulnerable Madonna.

Tour

During the Who's That Girl Tour Madonna built in a quiet moment in between the uptempo songs Where's The Party and Into The Groove. All alone on stage she did an emotional version of Live To Tell. At the end she lays down on the ground and then slowly gets up and disappears in the dark. It was one of the very few slow and moving performances of the concert with Madonna showing off her already improved vocals.

Live To Tell was performed on the Blond Ambition Tour as part of the church medley. Dressed in a black gown, Madonna sings this beautiful ballad as she kneels down on a confession bench. During the instrumental part she twirls around, then stands still with her head tilted back, building up the tension. As she continues the song, it flows into Oh Father.

This gorgeous masterpiece was performed 16 years later on the Confessions Tour as it's Madonna's most confessional song. First we hear tales of 3 dancers about how they survived tough times and how they ended up dancing professionally. Then, with some organ music, the most talked about moment of the show arrives: a mirrored cross emerges from beneath with Madonna hung up on it. She's wearing a red blouse and velvet pants with a crown of thorns on her head. The whole audience is amazed by that iconic image while she starts her sorrow rendition of the ballad. After the second chorus, the counter above her stops at 12 million (number of children in Africa who die of aids in a year), she climbs off the cross and sings the inspiring bridge as a beautiful acapella. She then takes off her crown of thorns and as the screens behind her show explosions, she lies down on stage as if she's dying, mirroring the fate of those who raise their voices but never get understood. It truly is one of the best performances of her entire career.