What He Wrote

Album: I Speak Because I Can (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song inspired by wartime love letters is a hugely emphatic reading of the desperate nature of thwarted love.
  • Marling has moved on since she released her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim as a painfully shy 18-year-old. She explained to The Sun March 26, 2010 that this song, inspired by letters from a wife to her husband in the Second World War, reflects that time when she was still looking for her identity. Said Marling: "I assumed they were found with the husband but the wife was so angry that he was going to war that she was rigid. She wants to say 'I love you' or 'Sorry' but she couldn't because of it and it reminded me of when I couldn't tell people what I wanted to do because I was so terrified of everyone. The only thing I wanted to do was play music and that was the only time when I wasn't rigid."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

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

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.