Love this article! I used “Question” 17 years ago to propose to my wife by showing her a video that I created in secret, using her family as the cast. Posing her three year old niece as the main character (Scarlett?!) and her five year old nephew as me/Simon. Afterwards I posted the video on YouTube to show our family, only to watch our family grow to over 30,000 views! Give it a watch if you’d like! I also recreated it 10 years later for our anniversary, this time using our own children!! - if for some reason the link doesn’t work, search “Question for Rana” on YouTube and you’ll find it. Cheers!!
I do indeed have a story! Not about me, but my daughter. She and I were chatting with you after your show at Boston City Winerya couple of years ago. I said to you that it was nice to hear Question, because my daughter had just gotten engaged a few weeks before that. You said to her, “How did they ask?’’, which was an incredibly sensitive, inclusive way to pose that particular question. She proceeded to tell you the details of her boyfriend’s proposal to her. I knew the time and place, but not all the specifics. I figured she would tell me if she wanted me to know. so, I listened, and heard, for the first time, the details of the proposal. And I remember thinking, “I’m hearing this story for the first time because she’s telling it to Rhett!” ♥️So, thank you for being a good listener and questioner.
Congrats on 25 years of Question. I hope you and Erica have a wonderful summer! xoxo
We used it as the last song before walking down the aisle at our wedding on the Kohala Coast (Hawaii). Thanks for sharing the story and enjoying reading everyone else’s connection to the song!
My wife and I didn't get engaged to "Question," though it was the first dance at our wedding =)
But our favorite memory of the song is the day after I asked her to marry me in a treehouse in Petaluma CA, we went to a lovely restaurant called Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay. We danced to "Question" in a small shack by ourselves, decorated with fishing and nautical gear at the end of a long pier, with the gorgeous water of the bay and green hills of the Point Reyes Peninsula behind us. It is as special as our wedding to us.
We saw Rhett perform a few years ago in San Francisco, and were waiting in line to share this story with him and encourage him to visit Nick's Cove, but ran out of time. Maybe Rhett will read this comment!
Fan since the early 90s here. My story is a roundabout engagement one...he was going to propose but we were running into so many potential conflicts. Instead of being overwhelmed at the barriers we were facing, I'd play Question and feel comforted, hopeful and trusting that this was 100% our path, despite major challenges. It worked :) Question was our "first dance” at our wedding and this fall will be our 20th anniversary! Thank you Rhett for a song that will always hold special meaning for us as a married couple and for me personally, reminds me to trust my instincts. And please don't stop doing the annual written lyrics because my husband still needs to get this for me so I can frame it...maybe # 20 is the year it arrives!
I introduced my bestie to the Old 97s back in the late 90s, and when she got engaged, she told me by saying they had gone for a walk and took the long way. 💕 (She and her husband and my husband and I have been to many, many shows together. Hopefully many more in our future.)
My husband introduced me to Old 97's, and we had been dating for a couple of years when "Satellite Rides" came out in 2001. He instantly knew he wanted to use the song "Question" to propose. Step one - taught himself to play the guitar at age 26 without my knowledge. Step two - asked my dad for my hand in marriage at Christmas of 2001, believing he had the song down. And then he tried to sing and play at the same time - ha! Not easy for a newbie. Finally in June of 2002, he proposed at a cute little ice cream shop named Sweeties, across from the Metro in Chicago. When we walked in for ice cream, he was acting strangely, commenting on how many people were in the shop, obviously nervous about both the proposal and the audience. After we sat down, he immediately walked back up to the owner, who handed him a guitar from behind the counter. He played and sang, and the entire shop clapped and cheered when I said yes. I was completely floored—I didn't even know he could play!
We will be happily married for 22 years this September. Thank you, Rhett, for such an amazing song and I loved reading the backstory. We still attend every show when you or the band are town!
It all started when my now husband burned me a CD, and "Big Brown Eyes" was on it. The Old 97s music became a backdrop of the early years in our relationship. We've easily been to a dozen shows together. We had tickets to the the 15yr anniversary of "Too Far to Care" tour here in Austin, and only later did I find out that my husband had the ring for a while, and had tried emailing(?) to ask if he could propose during that song. He never heard back but he remembers when "Question" was played that night, that Rhett was looking around the audience, and he regretted not bringing the ring anyway.
It all worked out though, because he proposed in June of that year while we were kayaking on Town Lake. And as it turns out, we have the signed poster from that show at Antones's too, so it's an extra nice little memory for us.
My husband played this in the car on the way to dinner, where he proposed. The hint went totally over my head! Our 20th anniversary is next month. Question always makes me feel young again when I hear it. ❤️
At our wedding, I made little 4-song CDs to give out as gifts to attendees and QUESTION was one of the songs. The other 3 were, (I believe!?) Jeffrey Gaines doing IN YOUR EYES (or wedding was "Say Anything" themed...kinda), Jack Ingram's HEY YOU and maybe....Replacements WITHIN YOUR REACH? Anyway, such a great song and I love the story on how it was conjured!
My husband and I did our first dance to Question at our wedding almost 17 years ago. He’s a Texas native and who introduced new to the Old 97’s. It was a great first dance song because it’s short so eyes didn’t have to be in us too long. We still kiss every time at the end of the song when you sing it at a show.
We made our guitar playing friend learn Indigo Girl’s Power of 2 for the ceremony.
I bought like 10 copies of satellite rides when in came out. I gave it to various girlfriends and took them to rhett miller shows on date nigths, everywhere from club fez nyc to world cafe philly. Cant go wrong bringing your girl to see rhett.
Last year I did what I thought I would never do again. I did the corny acoustic guy thing and played
Question then popped the question.
Now its just me and my betrothed kate forevs..
Rhett, we love you and thanks for all the help and points with the ladies.
I subscribe to your email and listen to Old 97's, not only because I love the music, but my sister Tina and I went to school with Ken, Chapel Hill.
Here is a short story, probably not exactly the one you are asking for. I have never been a writer, always the artist, so I'm sorry for any errors.
My first marriage was right after high school, John "Johnny" Harris, known since 8th grade, but only lasted 7 years. He was in the Marine Corps, so it took me away from home.
In 1999, while living in North Carolina and working on Camp Lejuene Marine Corps Base, I met my current husband. He's originally from Minnesota, so I had to learn a few things about hockey. The proposal wasn't very romantic, but he did call my dad first (without ever meeting him in person, very sweet). We decided to marry in the same Baptist church my parents were married, in Dallas. Baptist church means the reception was "dry", but my husband is Catholic, and a Marine, so there needed to be a "wet" one. The friends from Chapel Hill, West Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina all stayed at the same hotel we reserved our honeymoon suite. Needless to say, the "wet" reception was at the hotel. So, we spent our honeymoon night with family and great friends, some I have known since 4th grade, watching the Dallas Stars on June 10, 2000.
25 years later, our merged family is 3 kids, 3 grandkids, all grown. I just had to tell you, my heart warmed when I found out you wrote "Question" on my wedding night. That is, if it was the final game.
Love this article! I used “Question” 17 years ago to propose to my wife by showing her a video that I created in secret, using her family as the cast. Posing her three year old niece as the main character (Scarlett?!) and her five year old nephew as me/Simon. Afterwards I posted the video on YouTube to show our family, only to watch our family grow to over 30,000 views! Give it a watch if you’d like! I also recreated it 10 years later for our anniversary, this time using our own children!! - if for some reason the link doesn’t work, search “Question for Rana” on YouTube and you’ll find it. Cheers!!
https://youtu.be/EnFQdNDI_Gs?si=xcYixMKmo4RayILp
I do indeed have a story! Not about me, but my daughter. She and I were chatting with you after your show at Boston City Winerya couple of years ago. I said to you that it was nice to hear Question, because my daughter had just gotten engaged a few weeks before that. You said to her, “How did they ask?’’, which was an incredibly sensitive, inclusive way to pose that particular question. She proceeded to tell you the details of her boyfriend’s proposal to her. I knew the time and place, but not all the specifics. I figured she would tell me if she wanted me to know. so, I listened, and heard, for the first time, the details of the proposal. And I remember thinking, “I’m hearing this story for the first time because she’s telling it to Rhett!” ♥️So, thank you for being a good listener and questioner.
Congrats on 25 years of Question. I hope you and Erica have a wonderful summer! xoxo
We used it as the last song before walking down the aisle at our wedding on the Kohala Coast (Hawaii). Thanks for sharing the story and enjoying reading everyone else’s connection to the song!
Such a beautiful song, in English and in French (i’ve heard you do both, multiple times)
My wife and I didn't get engaged to "Question," though it was the first dance at our wedding =)
But our favorite memory of the song is the day after I asked her to marry me in a treehouse in Petaluma CA, we went to a lovely restaurant called Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay. We danced to "Question" in a small shack by ourselves, decorated with fishing and nautical gear at the end of a long pier, with the gorgeous water of the bay and green hills of the Point Reyes Peninsula behind us. It is as special as our wedding to us.
We saw Rhett perform a few years ago in San Francisco, and were waiting in line to share this story with him and encourage him to visit Nick's Cove, but ran out of time. Maybe Rhett will read this comment!
Fan since the early 90s here. My story is a roundabout engagement one...he was going to propose but we were running into so many potential conflicts. Instead of being overwhelmed at the barriers we were facing, I'd play Question and feel comforted, hopeful and trusting that this was 100% our path, despite major challenges. It worked :) Question was our "first dance” at our wedding and this fall will be our 20th anniversary! Thank you Rhett for a song that will always hold special meaning for us as a married couple and for me personally, reminds me to trust my instincts. And please don't stop doing the annual written lyrics because my husband still needs to get this for me so I can frame it...maybe # 20 is the year it arrives!
I introduced my bestie to the Old 97s back in the late 90s, and when she got engaged, she told me by saying they had gone for a walk and took the long way. 💕 (She and her husband and my husband and I have been to many, many shows together. Hopefully many more in our future.)
My husband introduced me to Old 97's, and we had been dating for a couple of years when "Satellite Rides" came out in 2001. He instantly knew he wanted to use the song "Question" to propose. Step one - taught himself to play the guitar at age 26 without my knowledge. Step two - asked my dad for my hand in marriage at Christmas of 2001, believing he had the song down. And then he tried to sing and play at the same time - ha! Not easy for a newbie. Finally in June of 2002, he proposed at a cute little ice cream shop named Sweeties, across from the Metro in Chicago. When we walked in for ice cream, he was acting strangely, commenting on how many people were in the shop, obviously nervous about both the proposal and the audience. After we sat down, he immediately walked back up to the owner, who handed him a guitar from behind the counter. He played and sang, and the entire shop clapped and cheered when I said yes. I was completely floored—I didn't even know he could play!
We will be happily married for 22 years this September. Thank you, Rhett, for such an amazing song and I loved reading the backstory. We still attend every show when you or the band are town!
It all started when my now husband burned me a CD, and "Big Brown Eyes" was on it. The Old 97s music became a backdrop of the early years in our relationship. We've easily been to a dozen shows together. We had tickets to the the 15yr anniversary of "Too Far to Care" tour here in Austin, and only later did I find out that my husband had the ring for a while, and had tried emailing(?) to ask if he could propose during that song. He never heard back but he remembers when "Question" was played that night, that Rhett was looking around the audience, and he regretted not bringing the ring anyway.
It all worked out though, because he proposed in June of that year while we were kayaking on Town Lake. And as it turns out, we have the signed poster from that show at Antones's too, so it's an extra nice little memory for us.
My husband played this in the car on the way to dinner, where he proposed. The hint went totally over my head! Our 20th anniversary is next month. Question always makes me feel young again when I hear it. ❤️
At our wedding, I made little 4-song CDs to give out as gifts to attendees and QUESTION was one of the songs. The other 3 were, (I believe!?) Jeffrey Gaines doing IN YOUR EYES (or wedding was "Say Anything" themed...kinda), Jack Ingram's HEY YOU and maybe....Replacements WITHIN YOUR REACH? Anyway, such a great song and I love the story on how it was conjured!
My husband and I did our first dance to Question at our wedding almost 17 years ago. He’s a Texas native and who introduced new to the Old 97’s. It was a great first dance song because it’s short so eyes didn’t have to be in us too long. We still kiss every time at the end of the song when you sing it at a show.
We made our guitar playing friend learn Indigo Girl’s Power of 2 for the ceremony.
We made you
I bought like 10 copies of satellite rides when in came out. I gave it to various girlfriends and took them to rhett miller shows on date nigths, everywhere from club fez nyc to world cafe philly. Cant go wrong bringing your girl to see rhett.
Last year I did what I thought I would never do again. I did the corny acoustic guy thing and played
Question then popped the question.
Now its just me and my betrothed kate forevs..
Rhett, we love you and thanks for all the help and points with the ladies.
Dave "SlotCar" and Kate
I did not know Ken went to UNC.
I know Brunswick, have been through there. I grew up in the Akron suburbs (Fairlawn).
I subscribe to your email and listen to Old 97's, not only because I love the music, but my sister Tina and I went to school with Ken, Chapel Hill.
Here is a short story, probably not exactly the one you are asking for. I have never been a writer, always the artist, so I'm sorry for any errors.
My first marriage was right after high school, John "Johnny" Harris, known since 8th grade, but only lasted 7 years. He was in the Marine Corps, so it took me away from home.
In 1999, while living in North Carolina and working on Camp Lejuene Marine Corps Base, I met my current husband. He's originally from Minnesota, so I had to learn a few things about hockey. The proposal wasn't very romantic, but he did call my dad first (without ever meeting him in person, very sweet). We decided to marry in the same Baptist church my parents were married, in Dallas. Baptist church means the reception was "dry", but my husband is Catholic, and a Marine, so there needed to be a "wet" one. The friends from Chapel Hill, West Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina all stayed at the same hotel we reserved our honeymoon suite. Needless to say, the "wet" reception was at the hotel. So, we spent our honeymoon night with family and great friends, some I have known since 4th grade, watching the Dallas Stars on June 10, 2000.
25 years later, our merged family is 3 kids, 3 grandkids, all grown. I just had to tell you, my heart warmed when I found out you wrote "Question" on my wedding night. That is, if it was the final game.
Thanks for listening/reading
Cheryl Knox Dean