So Help Me Girl

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So Help Me Girl is a song written by Howard Perdew and Andy Spooner. It was recorded by American country singer Joe Diffie and released in January 1995 as the third single from his album Third Rock from the Sun. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. A music video directed by Gerry Wenner was released in early 1995.

Gary Barlow, best known from Take That, covered So Help Me Girl for his debut solo album Open Road. The UK release was on July 14, 1997, and the song was later released in the US after Barlow’s team reworked it for American audiences. Produced by David Foster, the track was released in 65 countries and topped charts in 13. In the UK it reached number 11, and in the US it peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and about number 58 on the Radio Songs chart.

Critical reception was mixed: Billboard praised the American version for Barlow’s charisma and pop-pop country blend, while Music Week gave it 3 out of 5 and The Times called the new version a dreary pop ballad.

Two different music videos were made for the Gary Barlow version—one for Europe, which mirrors Diffie’s video and shows a night of infidelity, and another for the US with scenes on a bridge and through windows before finishing the performance.

In 2024, Mark Wills and Nate Smith covered the song on Hardy’s mixtape Hixtape: Vol. 3: Difftape.