The Steps
by Haim

Album: Women in Music Pt. III (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "The Steps" is an angsty guitar-led rocker where the Haim sisters sing/scream about their sloppy, independent ways. Their partners cannot comprehend their way of living, but the girls don't care - they're doing fine.

    Every time I think that I've been takin' the steps
    You end up mad at me for makin' a mess
    I can't understand, why you don't understand me
    Baby


    Danielle Haim described the "you don't understand me" lyric as "therapeutic."
  • The video, co-directed by Danielle Haim and acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, follows each Haim sister as they go about their morning routines. Each of them makes a mess of getting ready in the morning.
  • Haim gave the song its live TV debut on March 9, 2020 when they performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
  • The song has a galloping drum pattern that sounds as if the band recorded in their childhood living room. "We were trying to break down the barrier of sounding like we were in the studio," explained Danielle to the BBC. "Before now we've gone for a tighter drum sound - but on this one we wanted it to feel like you're just standing next to us."
  • Haim performed "The Steps" on the Grammy Awards in 2021. It was nominated for Best Rock Performance, but lost to "Shameika" by Fiona Apple.

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