What I Wouldn't Do

Album: Harmony (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first track on Serena Ryder's fifth studio album, Harmony, "What I Wouldn't Do" is about falling in love. Ryder wrote the song with Jerrod Bettis, who also produced the track.

    Ryder released her first album in 1999 and won the Juno award for Best Adult Alternative Album for her 2008 set Is It O.K. She had suffered from depression since the age of 13, however, and had to cancel the subsequent tour after a panic attack. After a few months living with her manager, she found the right combination of drugs and therapy to treat her depression. When it came time to write songs for the Harmony album, she was both revitalized and enamored. "I'm super, super in love, and it was a song that I was writing for my partner. So it was a very easy song to write," she told us. (Here's our full Serena Ryder interview.)
  • Every song on the Harmony album represents either earth, fire or water. Ryder told us: "'What I Wouldn't Do' is a water song. 'Your love is a like a river that I'm floating down.' It's all about water, the imagery's all about water. It's all about surrender."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."