You Set Me Free

Album: The Spirit Room (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about having a new person come into your life that makes you forget everything that has been going wrong. They make you feel like you can fly. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Christie - Philadelphia, PA
  • Michelle Branch was just 17 when she signed with Maverick Records. The label paired her with producer John Shanks, who had worked with BBMak, Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, and Unwritten Law. Shanks and Branch got on quite well; the first day they met, they wrote "You Set Me Free" in just a few hours. When they played it for the label, Maverick agreed to fund more sessions with Shanks, who produced the album's singles: "Everywhere," "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye To You."
  • When John Shanks recorded this song with Branch, he was impressed with her vocal phrasing, especially the way she added an extra sound to words at the end of lines ("deny-ah"). He called these Michelle-isms, and they became her signature sound.
  • This was the first song Branch recorded in a record company-owned studio. It was recorded in the old A&M Records studio, which later became Henson Studios.

Comments: 3

  • Theresa from Murfreesboro, TnEnergetic pop song, the album is awesome!
  • George from Calumet City, IlThis song owns!
  • Shandra from Lincoln, NeThis song gives me chills, it makes me want to find a person that can make me feel that loved and would do anything for me.
see more comments

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.