For You

Album: Song for Our Daughter (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "For You" is a simply-strummed tune that Laura Marling wrote at home with her musician boyfriend George Jephson. The unequivocal declaration of gratitude for an imaginary child is tagged with a reminder that love doesn't necessarily bring fulfillment, but is "the line that marks the start."
  • This country-pop number appears in its original demo form on Song For Our Daughter, with George Jephson contributing the male vocals. Marling told Apple Music she kept her "terrible guitar solo" because she found it amusing. "I thought it sounded like a five-year-old picking up a guitar for the first time," she said.
  • Marling was a late convert to Paul McCartney; she'd always been into his fellow Beatle John Lennon, but it was only when Marling heard Macca's 2005 song "Jenny Wren" that she had a full awakening. "For You," she told the BBC, is a "little homage" to McCartney at his warmest and most openhearted.
  • Marling told NME about her Paul McCartney conversion: "I listened to 'Jenny Wren.' It's from 2005, on a Paul McCartney you wouldn't think twice about – not to be harsh – but it is the most astonishingly beautiful song. I suddenly realied that there was an entire catalog that I hadn't paid attention to that was full of these stunningly beautiful songs. I'd never thought he was bad, but I'd overlooked him, certainly."
  • The song is the closing track of Songs For My Daughter. Marling based the record around the concept of her addressing a fictitious child who is portrayed in this instance as a newborn baby. Said Marling, "When I listen back to it now, it makes more sense to me than when I wrote it ... The sentiment of that album [is] how would I guide my daughter, arm her and prepare her for life and all of its nuance?"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

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.

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?