Have to Stay
by Dido

Album: Still on My Mind (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This atmospheric ballad was inspired by Dido's unconditional love for her son Stanley, who was born in 2011. Dido was adamant she wasn't going to pen a song about motherhood, as she felt such a joyous pure love was not something to write about. But the idea was niggling at her and she knew she had to write. The creative process not only produced this song but also "opened the floodgates" for the Still On My Mind album.

    She recalled to the BBC: "After I had a kid, I don't think that anything I wrote was very good for a couple of years. But it opened this emotional part of my brain again that writes songs and then everything else came really quickly after that."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."