Chosen as the Butterfly album's second single, “Butterfly” was sent to US radio as an airplay-only single on September 29, 1997. “‘Butterfly’ was a wish list of things I hoped somebody would say to me, but I wrote it as though I were talking to someone else,” Mariah told VH1. “The lines ‘Spread your wings and prepare to fly / For you have become a Butterfly / Fly abandonedly into the sun’ is like someone saying, ‘Do your thing.’ There's another line: ‘Wild horses run unbridled / Or their spirit dies.’ You can't restrain a free spirit — either you're going to break them or they're going to leave and never come back.”
“Butterfly” peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart during the week of November 15, 1997, but was unable to chart on the Hot 100 chart since there was no commercial release. Internationally, the song peaked at number twenty-two in the United Kingdom and at number twenty-seven in Australia.
The original version of “Butterfly” was remixed by Brazilian DJs Memê and DJ Grego. A dance version of the song titled “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” was also included on the Butterfly album. “When I first wrote the song it was just gonna be a house record with David [Morales],” Mariah said in a press conference in 1997. “As I wrote it, I decided that it should be a ballad and so I decided to do another version.” David Morales also produced two additional “Fly Away” remixes.
To celebrate the song's 25th anniversary, a new remix of “Butterfly,” produced by Amorphous, was included on the 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition of the Butterfly album as a bonus track.
| Song | Remix | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Butterfly | Radio Edit
|
3:30 |
| Butterfly | Memê's Extended Club Mix — Part 1 & 2
Produced by Memê. |
8:40 |
| Butterfly | Memê Club Radio
Produced by Memê. |
4:18 |
| Butterfly | Memê Latinbeats
Produced by Memê. |
6:00 |
| Butterfly | TV Track
Produced by Memê. |
8:40 |
| Butterfly | TV Track — Short
Produced by Memê. |
4:18 |
| Butterfly | Memê's Instrumental
Produced by Memê. |
8:40 |
| Butterfly | Memê's Instrumental — Radio
Produced by Memê. |
4:18 |
| Butterfly | Sambatterfly
Produced by DJ Ippocratis "Grego" Bournellis. |
8:20 |
| Butterfly | Sambatterfly — Edit
Produced by DJ Ippocratis "Grego" Bournellis. |
4:35 |
| Butterfly | Sambatterfly For Clubbers
Produced by DJ Ippocratis "Grego" Bournellis. |
8:20 |
| Butterfly | Classic Bossa Nova
Produced by DJ Ippocratis "Grego" Bournellis. |
4:10 |
| Butterfly | Amorphous Anniversary Club Remix
Produced by Amorphous. |
6:06 |
| Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) | Fly Away Club Mix
Produced by Mariah Carey and David Morales. Additional production by Satoshi Tomiie |
9:52 |
| Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) | Def ‘B’ Fly Mix
Produced by Mariah Carey and David Morales. Additional production by Satoshi Tomiie |
8:46 |
The music video for “Butterfly,” co-directed by Mariah and Diane Martel, was inspired by the 1956 film Baby Doll. “For the video I did a scene down south in Buford, in a Forrest Gump location. The one where they said ‘Run, Forrest, run.’ ” Mariah told the New York Post. “I had a scene with a baby foal and I fed him and it was so wonderful. And then I was up in a cherry picker. What can I tell you, it's just me and my big ideas.”
The European “Butterfly” Single includes the song and the Fly Away Club Mix of “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise),” while the Maxi Single — released on both CD and 12" Vinyl — also includes the Album Version and the Def ‘B’ Fly Mix of the reprise.
“Butterfly” was commercially released on November 24, 1997, in the United Kingdom. CD 1 includes the Album Version of “Butterfly,” two versions of “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” (Album Version and Fly Away Club Mix), and the Mobb Deep Mix of “The Roof.” CD2 is a collection of ballads including “Butterfly,” the live version of “One Sweet Day” from Madison Square Garden, the Spanish version of “Hero” and “Without You.” “Butterfly” was also released on Cassette, including “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” as a bonus track.
In Australia, “Butterfly” was released on CD and Cassette, both including the Album Version of the song, three versions of “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” (Album Version, Fly Away Club Mix and Def ‘B’ Fly Mix), and the Morales Dub Mix of “Honey.”
The Japanese “Butterfly” 3" CD single was released on November 27, 1997, and features two versions of “The Roof” as bonus tracks: Album Version and Mobb Deep Mix.
When you love someone so deeply
They become your life
It's easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside
Blindly I imagined I could
Keep you under glass
Now I understand to hold you
I must open up my hands
And watch you rise
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
I have learned that beauty
Has to flourish in the light
Wild horses run unbridled
Or their spirit dies
You have given me the courage
To be all that I can
And truly feel your heart will
Lead you back to me when you're
Ready to land
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
I can't pretend these tears
Aren't overflowing steadily
I can't prevent this hurt from
Almost overtaking me
But I will stand and say goodbye
For you'll never be mine
Until you know the way it feels to fly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun (Fly… to the sun)
If you should return to me (I will know you're mine)
We truly were meant to be (Spread your wings and fly)
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
So flutter through the sky
Butterfly
Spread your wings and fly
Butterfly
Lyrics: M. Carey. Music: M. Carey, W. Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
