Please Don't

Album: Here Lies Love (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the first single from Here Lies Love, a concept album by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and English DJ Fatboy Slim about the life of the ex First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos and her relationship with a servant from her childhood. The album features 22 guest vocalists and on this track American electronic/indie rock singer-songwriter Santagold is the artist behind the mic.
  • Marcos and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, were the First Lady and President of the Philippines from 1965 until 1986 when the pair were overthrown in a popular revolt. They fled to Hawaii, where Ferdinand Marcos died three years later. Outside the Philippines Imelda is often remembered for symbols of the corrupt extravagance of her husband's political reign, such as having over 3000 pairs of shoes. In the mid 1990s she was found guilty of corruption, however her conviction was overturned on appeal.
  • Speaking to BBC 6 Music, Fatboy Slim explained: "It's a story-telling thing, like Evita, but coming at it from a different angle in that it tells the untold story that people didn't know about Imelda Marcos. It's not just about the shoes."
  • The album was adapted into a Rock musical directed by Alex Timbers that premiered at The Public Theater in New York City in 2013. It won five prizes at the following year's Lortel Awards for Off-Broadway productions.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.