What I Wouldn't Do

Album: Harmony (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first track on Serena Ryder's fifth studio album, Harmony, "What I Wouldn't Do" is about falling in love. Ryder wrote the song with Jerrod Bettis, who also produced the track.

    Ryder released her first album in 1999 and won the Juno award for Best Adult Alternative Album for her 2008 set Is It O.K. She had suffered from depression since the age of 13, however, and had to cancel the subsequent tour after a panic attack. After a few months living with her manager, she found the right combination of drugs and therapy to treat her depression. When it came time to write songs for the Harmony album, she was both revitalized and enamored. "I'm super, super in love, and it was a song that I was writing for my partner. So it was a very easy song to write," she told us. (Here's our full Serena Ryder interview.)
  • Every song on the Harmony album represents either earth, fire or water. Ryder told us: "'What I Wouldn't Do' is a water song. 'Your love is a like a river that I'm floating down.' It's all about water, the imagery's all about water. It's all about surrender."

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.