Medicine

Album: It'll All Make Sense in the End (2021)
Charted: 41
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In January 2020, while performing a concert in Madrid, James Arthur had a panic attack so brutal he immediately had to leave the stage. The next day they rushed him into hospital with an infected gallbladder, which had to be removed immediately.

    Arthur canceled the rest of his tour, spent a week in a Swiss hospital, then when he got back to Britain he turned his home into a rehab and underwent intensive therapy. With the support of his girlfriend, the dancer Jessica Grist, Arthur recovered sufficiently to embark on his UK arena tour in March.

    Then coronavirus and lockdown hit. Having built a studio and invested in industry-standard recording gear, Arthur could start working on his fourth studio album, It'll All Make Sense in the End. This autobiographical track is the first song he wrote for the record, which he released as its lead single on March 5, 2021.
  • The song finds Arthur paying tribute to the healing, restorative powers of love over adversity. For him, Jessica Grist's love was the best medicine during his tough time. "The last year has forced any couple to look at themselves," said Arthur. "It held a mirror up to us all, didn't it? And my partner was hugely supportive through that whole time. There are some pretty dark lyrics in there: 'When I'm suicidal, you don't let me spiral.'"
  • Arthur wrote the uplifting ode to his romantic partner with:

    Red Triangle, who are a British songwriting and production duo comprising Rick Parkhouse and George Tizzard. They previously worked on four tracks on Arthur's Back From The Edge album. Red Triangle also co-produced "Medicine" along with Matt Rad (Martin Garrix's "In The Name Of Love," Niall Horan's "Seeing Blind").

    London-based singer-songwriter James "Yami" Bell (Tiesto's "The Business").
  • It'll All Make Sense in the End is more guitar-heavy than Arthur's previous records. "I purposefully didn't put any ballads or pianos on the album," he told Officialcharts.com. "I definitely pushed it. The core of this record is all rock guitars, basically to the point where they maybe weren't needed - I just crowbarred them in. I don't want to repeat myself and do 'Say You Won't Let Go' again."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.