Don't Stop

Album: The Stories We Tell Ourselves (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist Jonny Hawkins wrote this song about finding the strength to persevere when he is struggling inside by pushing forward and digging deep. Some of the lyric refers to him gaining greater clarity.

    My new year's resolution
    To choke out my illusions
    To cut through the confusion


    Hawkins explained to HM magazine that this is a literal New Year's resolution he made at the beginning of 2017. "I had a very fun New Year's Eve," he recalled, "but I also had a very sobering moment in the month of January where I was by myself and a lot of things sunk in that had transpired in the last two years."
  • Sonically, "Don't Stop" is a progressive metal song with an electronic and industrial beat and elements of nu-metal. "I think 'Don't Stop' is totally genre-bending for us," said Hawkins. "We find inspiration in so many different kinds of music and felt it was important to not make rules about what we could or couldn't do with this record."
  • The single version contains guest vocals in the bridge by Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix.
  • Hawkins told Kerrang in a 2019 interview that "Don't Stop" is his favorite song to perform live. "This has so much energy and I go crazy and get to be more reckless," he said. "I don't have to worry about melody, because in the chorus and the verse it's more screamy. I don't have to judge myself as there's definitely less pressure so much on this one."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Thomas Dolby

Thomas DolbySongwriter Interviews

He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.