Leave It Alone

Album: Petals for Armor (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Leave It Alone" is an intense and poignant track where Hayley Williams reflects on personal loss. In late 2018, the Paramore frontwoman's 80-year-old grandmother fell down a set of stairs. She suffered from head trauma and Williams feared her Nan would die. Though she improved, the accident caused the songstress to think deeply about life and love.

    "I just thought, 'What is the point of loving people?'" she recalled to Zane Lowe on Beats 1. "In the best case scenario is I fall in love, we have a life together, and then we lose one or the other. The more you love, the more you stand to lose."

    Williams decided to write a song with the band's bassist Joey Howard as a way of coping. It became the first song written for her Petals For Armor project.
  • The second verse finds Williams reflecting on the aftermath of her grandmother's fall.

    You don't remember my name somedays
    Or that we're related
    It triggers my worry
    Who else am I gonna lose before I am ready?
    And who's gonna lose me?


    Said Williams: "We had already said goodbye to her. The weirdest thing is that she got better, but it prolonged the grief because she's not really here with us. She doesn't really remember everything. Thankfully she knows who I am, she knows who my mom is... It felt like there was a lot of death at the time, people we knew... family friends."
  • Paramore guitarist Taylor York produced the track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?