If You Can't Sleep

Album: Volume 2 (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • She & Him is an American indie folk band consisting of singer and pianist Zooey Deschanel and guitarist and producer M. Ward. Descanel sings this lullaby pretty much a cappella. She explained to Pitchfork Media: "I originally recorded that song with ukulele and a bunch of harmonies and then I just muted the ukulele and was like, 'Oh, that sounds good.' I'll write and make chords with my voice sometimes if I don't have an instrument even though it takes a million times longer [laughs]. Then I sent it to Matt as an a cappella demo and we just did more harmonies. I don't like to plan harmonies too much, because there's something fun that happens when you just sing a pass, then sing another pass, and layer them on top of each other. All of a sudden you've got all these parts. We were talking a lot about the Beach Boys and how they triple their vocals, so I was like, 'Every line has to be tripled.' It was exhausting, but fun."
  • Deschanel told The Sun April 2, 2010: "I wrote it as a lullaby and wanted to make my voice sound as much like a string section as possible. I loved being in a choir growing up, over-dubbing harmonies is so much fun. I loved recording this song although it was hard work. It was a great challenge."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.