How by Regina Spektor

Album: What We Saw From The Cheap Seats (2012)

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Songfacts®:

This sparse piano ballad is a straightforward breakup song, a rarity for Spektor, who is better known for her stream of conscious lyrical content. Speaking with American Songwriter magazine, producer Mike Elizondo, called it, "one of the most beautiful vocals I've ever been a part of capturing. It really felt like she was laying her heart out there. She was coming clean with how she's feeling in that particular moment. It's pretty special when you can get a performer like her to pull that off."
The intimate video was directed by Margo Weathers, and is a combination of animation and live action. It uses handmade paper collages designed by Bic Owen, which adorn Spektors' costumes as she sings to camera. They were animated in stop motion by The Academy in Seattle.

Comments: 2

Vetriano from Nyprofound sadness and loss in the lyrics, feels like the partner has passed away. You can read the lyrics or listen to the song that way- think of a long, loving marriage where a spouse died and the survivor does not want to move on.
Ma Steel from PaI feel like this song is about a love that died. It just resonates with that kind of loss… “you were a guest here…” on earth.

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