Lessons

Album: Heavy Is the Head (2019)
Charted: 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This heartfelt song finds Stormzy addressing his split from long-term girlfriend, radio and TV host Maya Jama. The rapper is believed to have added the breakup track as a late addition to Heavy Is The Head. As well as referencing highs like headlining Glastonbury in his lyrics, he also wanted to address the lows in his personal life as well.
  • Stormzy and Maya split up in August 2019 after being together for four years.

    Greatest love I ever knew, I poured it down the drain
    Maybe it's the only way we both call it a day
    You gave me the world and then I gave you disrespect
    Hand on my heart, this is my biggest of regrets
    Thought I'd say it here than rather fling it in a text
    Until you're ready to forgive I'm always wishing you the best


    It seems that Stormzy did something that caused the split. Speaking on BBC Radio 1Xtra's Breakfast Show, he said the breakup was the result of "a public disrespect that needed a public apology," Stormzy went on to confess to disrespecting Maya, who he said loved him "wholeheartedly."

    He added: "I'm going on the record now and I'm apologizing and I'm trying to lay it all bare. I'm trying to be very truthful and very clear in my truth. I'm not trying to shy away from it."
  • Stormzy previously paid homage to Maya Jama on his Gang Signs & Prayer track "Cigarettes & Cush."
  • So what does Maya Jama think about Stormzy rapping about their relationship? Speaking during an online Q&A with Madison Beer, she admitted people should expect to have their life immortalized in a song if they date a musician. "I feel that going out with an artist," she said, "you kind of sign an invisible contract where it's like, 'This is this, it's everybody's business.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."