1991 Hit Was Inspired by The Words of a Homeless Veteran

Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," a cynical love song about a woman who has had her heart broken one too many times, is now one of the blues singer's signature hits, hitting the U.S. Billboard Top 20, and going on to greater adoration in its longevity.

The dreamy, bittersweet, piano-led pop track was listed as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone, ranking at #372, in addition to a rare Grammy Hall of Fame induction. While Raitt composes most of the work in her discography, the song was written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, who found inspiration in the most unusual of places: an article quoting a homeless veteran's advice to a fellow person living on the streets.

In an interview with Stereogumfor the 25th anniversary of the track in 2016, Shamblin recalled an article from his local newspaper, The Tennessean. "The way I remember what was said in the story, there was a guy living under a bridge, somewhere close to downtown Nashville," Shamblin recalled. In the resurfaced version of the 1989 article, the callously-titled "Winos Sleep it Off....Wherever."

The article went on to describe one man living on the streets, who was in the process of a devastating divorce, speaking to a fellow homeless person, said to be a Vietnam Veteran (via MEL Magazine), who gave him some hard truths as he comforted him. "In the story, he said his wife came to pick him up, under the bridge, and took him down to the courthouse to get a divorce," Shamblin recalled of the former. "And he said, 'We hugged, and we cried, and then we went through the divorce,' And he said, 'You know, you just can't make a woman love you.'"

The words of the unidentified man clearly resonated with Shamblin enough to stick with him for a song released 2 years later, as well as listeners, with Raitt's album, Luck of the Draw, going on to sell 7 million copies in the U.S. alone, in addition to countless covers of the tear-jerker by musical superstars, from Adele to George Michael to Boyz II Men.

"'I Can't Make You Love Me' is no picnic," Raitt said over 10 years later (via NPR). "I love that song, so does the audience. So it's almost a sacred moment when you share that, that depth of pain with your audience. Because they get really quiet, and I have to summon some other place in order to honor that space."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 7:34 AM.