I Won't Let You Down

Album: Clancy's Tavern (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This ballad is the only track on Clancy's Tavern that Keith wrote on his own. He said: "It's one of my favorite things I have written by myself in the last couple years. I actually said one day in a conversation: 'don't expect too much from me and I won't let you down,' and I thought that it needed to be a song title. I wrote about two lonely rebels, a boy and a girl, finally falling in love. And the guy says: 'I ain't got a pot of gold, I ain't even got a rainbow, but I've heard that love is where treasure can be found, don't expect too much from me and I won't let you down.' Kind of a first take for the two rebels who let their hearts go."
  • Keith originally penned this for 2010's Bullets in the Gun but held it back as he considered it "was such a good ballad."
  • Many of Keith's generation will feel the male protagonist is a character familiar to them. He told Reuters: "My father had a lot of similar traits, but it is really about that generation. A lot of people come up to me and say 'That's my dad, that's my old man.' This guy is a kid at heart, probably around 30. He's met some girls in the past who he thought were right and it didn't work out, and he knows it was probably his fault. Now he's found someone who thinks she can change him and he's OK with that. The guy decides to be up-front with the girl, so he tells her 'Look, I love you and you love me, but I might not be capable of a relationship.'"

Comments: 1

  • Edna from Albuquerque, NmAwesome!! This should of been a single!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Music Video Director David Hogan

Music Video Director David HoganSong Writing

David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.