"If I Needed You" is a song written by Townes Van Zandt and performed on his
1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt.
It was covered 9 years later by American country music artists Emmylou Harris
and Don Williams as a duet, and was released in September 1981 as the first
single from Harris' album Cimarron.
The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 on the
RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
The song was written about Townes's business partner and producers wife Anne
Mittendorf Eggers.
Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" was not only covered by Emmylou Harris
and Don Williams, but also by Andrew Bird on Hands of Glory,
Guy Clark on Songs and Stories, Lyle Lovett on Step Inside This House, and
others.
The song was also recorded by Doc Watson for his record Then and Now.
On his record Live at the Old Quarter, Townes introduces the song
"If I Needed You" by saying, "This was recorded by Doc Watson, and it really blew
my mind, you know…"
The song is also covered in the Belgian film The Broken Circle Breakdown, where
the Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band, including actors Johan Heldenbergh
and Veerle Baetens sing it live.
It also appears on the original soundtrack of the film.
In 1997, Dead Ringer Band covered the song on their album, Living in the Circle.
In 2012, Mumford & Sons released a version of the song. Kasey Chambers covered
the song on her 2011 album Storybook.
In 2018, the Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Álvarez released a version of the
song in his tenth album, properly called "10".
An acoustic version of the song, performed by Terry O'Quinn and Michael
Dorman, appears in the pilot episode of the television show Patriot, which aired
on November 5, 2015.
A version in Swedish, Om jag behövde dig appears on the 2016 album Vid Grinden
by Georga and is performed as a duet with singer Frida Wiljansros.
Joey + Rory recorded it on their album "Made to Last" in 2013.
Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole covered the song on their album,
The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (2017).
In 2017, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires recorded a cover for a Don Williams
tribute album.
Gove Scrivenor recorded a version on his "Shine On" album in 1998