Stay Still

Album: Witness (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • While guitarist Eric Lambert usually lays down the musical foundation for Blessthefall songs, singer Beau Bokan is responsible for nearly all of the band's lyrics. Bokan generally sticks to a straightforward, confessional style - lyrics that feel like they're ripped from the pages of a diary. This goes a long way to creating a powerful, direct emotional resonance with listener. This effect is increased by Bokan's professed habit of only writing things from real life. None of his songs, he says, are stories or fictitious happenings; they're all ghosts from his past that he's trying to wrestle out through music.

    "Stay Still" is an especially personal song, even for Bokan. The song was written about a friend of the singer's who was killed in a plane crash. The lyrics sound almost like an unsent letter written to the deceased friend, giving the listener the sense of hearing a final, one-sided conversation between two intimate friends.
  • While Bokan does not want the band to be pigeonholed into the Christian rock genre, he says that his faith plays a large part in his songwriting. This is apparent in "Stay Still" by the line "Oh Lord, don't tell me this is happening" - it's repeated six times over the course of the song.
  • "Stay Still" appears on 2009's Witness, Blessthefall's second album and its first with Beau Bokan as lead singer and songwriter. Bokan has said he obsessively worked on perfecting and rewriting each song on the album so that fans of previous singer Craig Mabbitt would be convinced that he was a worthy replacement. Witness saw the band tightening up their song structures and achieving a heavier sound. Many critics hailed it as a bold step forward for the band, and Bokan's performance as the new singer was widely praised.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.