Don't Leave
by Snakehips (featuring )

Album: Single release only (2017)
Charted: 27
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Released on January 6, 2017, this song marks the first time that British duo Snakehips' have worked with with Danish pop singer MØ. The collaboration started when Snakehips' Oliver Lee and James Carter sent a scratch demo of the song to MØ when she was touring. She recalled in a NME video:

    "I remember when I got the first kind of draft, I guess. I was on tour and I was in my bunk and I was drunk. We had just played a show in Slovakia or something like that, and I heard the draft and I was just feeling it so hard and I was texting the people back: 'We need to get on this one like so much.'"
  • Snakehips worked further on the track with British singer-songwriter Joe Janiak (Ellie Goulding's "Beating Heart," Britney Spears' "Make Me") and RAYE (aka Rachel Keen), who featured on hit singles by Jonas Blue' ("By Your Side") and Jax Jones ("You Don't Know Me.") Oliver Lee recalled:

    "We kind of wrote it with an old buddy of ours called Joe and this girl Rae, as well. And, I mean, we didn't write the lyrics but it's kind of like a relationship type thing. Yeah, it was kind of cool to do something different, it was kind of a different sound for us a little bit, and it was just cool to get the new vibe going."
  • The Snakehips duo continued to send MØ their work in progress. The Danish songstress was especially taken in by the lyrics in which she pleads to her lover not to end their relationship, as what they have is special. MØ explained: "It's just really playing out the love story. I remember, again, when I heard the song for the first time, I was so striked by the lyrics because I felt like I've lived that story."

    Finally, when the song was ready, MØ recorded her vocals in James Carter's kitchen.
  • The music video was directed by Malia James, whose other credits include the clips for Troye Sivian's "Youth" and Hailee Steinfeld's "Rock Bottom." Said MØ: "I feel we tried with the video to just really make the raw emotion of the song and the lyrics come through."

Comments: 1

  • Sb from Australia Wow
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?