Slowly

Album: You're Stronger Than You Know (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • James Morrison struggled for a long time to write the follow-up to his 2015 Higher Than Here album. His label at the time was pushing him to write uplifting music when he was in the pits of despair as his relationship with his long-term partner Gill was not going well.

    Morrison feared he'd lost his songwriting mojo until he came up with this piano ballad, which tackles his unhappy upbringing with his parents which was affected by alcoholism and depression. "Trying to escape where you've come from is hard," said Morrison. "I was brought up in alcoholism and depression and that stuff is hard to fight against. There are a lot of people in the world who have lost or had difficulties with their parents. Being ultra-personal is quite difficult, but if it can help people I'll definitely leave it in."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."