The Weakness In Me

Album: Walk Under Ladders (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On of Joan Armatrading's most enduring songs, "The Weakness In Me" deals with infidelity and guilt in rather emotional fashion. "It's about somebody who has an affair and they've fallen for the person that they're having the affair with, but they love the person they were with whilst they were having the affair," she explained in a Songfacts interview. "It's a question of who do they choose, because they love both. In choosing one they will lose the other that they don't want to lose. So, it's that dilemma."
  • Armatrading used some notable session musicians on this track. Tony Levin, know for his work with Peter Gabriel, played bass; Andy Partridge of XTC played guitar; Nick Plytas played organ and guitar; Thomas Dolby added synthesizer.

    Dolby became a big name two years later when he had a hit with "She Blinded Me With Science," but before that, he was often called upon to lend a synth sheen to certain tracks, as he had quite a command of the instrument. You can hear him on Def Leppard's Pyromania album.
  • Steve Lillywhite produced the Walk Under Ladders album. He had worked on albums for Ultravox, Peter Gabriel, and U2 by this point, and would later produce The Pretenders, The Pogues and The Rolling Stones.

Comments: 1

  • Inyani Bosco from South Sudanits so inspiring and wonderful
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.