Songfacts®:

• Michael Kiwanuka's marriage to his wife Charlotte in 2016 wasn't just the best day of his life, but also the beginning of what he calls "the best adventure." Charlotte, a Christian musician, has been a profound source of stability and joy for Kiwanuka, who often credits her with helping him navigate life's choppy waters. If there's a metaphorical shore to cling to when the tides of life get rough, Charlotte is it.
  
  Kiwanuka's heartfelt gratitude for Charlotte often spills over onto social media, where he paints their life together as something extraordinary, a life "like no other." But it's in his music where their relationship truly sings. This Small Changes track, "Stay By My Side," is a love letter he wrote for her.
• In rolling tides
  You're hoping that I won't leave the shore
  Stay by my side
  
  Water, in this context, is a symbol of emotional depth and commitment. The "rolling tides" reflect the inevitable ebb and flow of a long-term relationship, but the refrain assures us that Kiwanuka isn't going anywhere. It's a steadfastness that echoes the album's larger themes of personal growth and embracing life's transitions, from fatherhood to middle age.
• This isn't the first time Charlotte has been the muse in her husband's songwriting. On his 2019 track "Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love)," he immortalized her as a beacon of healing love. But with Small Changes, the reflections run deeper. Kiwanuka wrote the album during a particularly transformative period: moving from London to Southampton, becoming a father, and reckoning with the big, existential questions that seem to sneak up on you when hit middle age.
  
  "I wasn't writing songs like this five years ago," he admitted to Uncut magazine, candidly describing how married life has softened some of his gloomier tendencies. "Life does this thing. I remember writing the lyrics for 'Stay By My Side' thinking, even in the storms, the rocky waves, I'm not going anywhere. That's the plan."
• The album is a collaborative effort with Danger Mouse and Inflo, the team behind his mercury Prize-winning Kiwanuka and its predecessor, Love & Hate.