I Know Alone
by Haim

Album: Women in Music Pt. III (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • When Danielle, Alana and Este Haim originally wrote "I Know Alone," it was an intimate exploration of finding comfort when being alone. Danielle told Apple Music it's about "coming out of a dark place, and feeling like you don't really want to deal with the outside world." She added: "Sometimes, being at home alone is the most comforting. And if you name the feeling - if you name 'alone' - it's like your friend."

    By the time Haim released the song on April 29, 2020 amid the global coronavirus lockdown, the lyrics had taken on a different meaning. "It's so weird that we wrote this such a long time ago, and it resembles what's going on today," Danielle recounted. "But for me, when I just want to be left alone, I find comfort in my every day routine. And it almost feels like that's what's comforting to me. And that's what we wanted the song to sound like, eerie but has a beat that you can dance to."
  • The accompanying video shows the sisterly trio dancing on an empty backyard basketball court. All three keep to coronavirus-safe distance guidelines by staying six feet apart.
  • This is one of three songs on Women in Music Pt. III inspired by a "not leaving the house type of depression" that struck Danielle after Haim wrapped up their Sister Sister Sister Tour. "It was just a dark time for me in general," Danielle told the BBC. "I was kind of dealing with myself and my spirals, and the first line I wrote was, 'I know alone like no-one else does.' It really struck a chord."

    The other two songs are "Now I'm In It" and "I've Been Down."
  • This woozy floor-filler takes influence from Underworld's 1995 track "Born Slippy." Este Haim told NME she'd been listening to "Born Slippy" and the rest of the Trainspotting soundtrack in the week leading up to writing of "I Know Alone."

    Danielle Haim added: "Since our first album, that song has always been something that we were obsessed with and referencing. We've watched so many festival performances of it."

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