It was released on September 22, 2003, in the United States as the second single from her second studio album, Hotel Paper (2003).

"Breathe" peaked at number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending December 13, 2003.

The song stayed on the chart for 18 weeks and became Branch's sixth top-40 hit.

[1] Directed by Marc Klasfeld, the video shows Branch playing with her band inside a house.

Eventually, Branch tosses her guitar out to sea and she and her band finish playing at the beach.