Leave It Alone

Album: Petals for Armor (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Leave It Alone" is an intense and poignant track where Hayley Williams reflects on personal loss. In late 2018, the Paramore frontwoman's 80-year-old grandmother fell down a set of stairs. She suffered from head trauma and Williams feared her Nan would die. Though she improved, the accident caused the songstress to think deeply about life and love.

    "I just thought, 'What is the point of loving people?'" she recalled to Zane Lowe on Beats 1. "In the best case scenario is I fall in love, we have a life together, and then we lose one or the other. The more you love, the more you stand to lose."

    Williams decided to write a song with the band's bassist Joey Howard as a way of coping. It became the first song written for her Petals For Armor project.
  • The second verse finds Williams reflecting on the aftermath of her grandmother's fall.

    You don't remember my name somedays
    Or that we're related
    It triggers my worry
    Who else am I gonna lose before I am ready?
    And who's gonna lose me?


    Said Williams: "We had already said goodbye to her. The weirdest thing is that she got better, but it prolonged the grief because she's not really here with us. She doesn't really remember everything. Thankfully she knows who I am, she knows who my mom is... It felt like there was a lot of death at the time, people we knew... family friends."
  • Paramore guitarist Taylor York produced the track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.