Stay (Bernard Butler song)

Background

The song begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, which leads into Butler's vocals. Drums, electric guitar, keyboards and backing vocals all get introduced gradually, before coming together in one last climax and quiet coda. Butler has said that "Stay" is not a love song but a song about change. "The process of change is hard but you've got to do it. It's about when you know you've got to do something but there's an element of risk. It's about when I first went to France to record. A lot of the lyrics come from a conversation with Elisa, my wife. I wrote them on the train over to France."

The music video for the title song was directed by David Mould, whose directing credits include Suede's "Trash", the first single released after Butler's departure. B-side "Hotel Splendide" features lead vocals from Edwyn Collins.

Reception

Reception to Butler's debut single was very positive. Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote: "The title track is one of the more self-consciously grandiose things out there, but its big advantage is that it builds rather than overwhelms." Scottish Newspaper Daily Record declared it "Single of the Week" writing: "Bernard is having to play catch up again after Suede got their act together with the classic 1996 LP Coming Up. Now signed to Oasis label Creation, his first solo single - on which he plays all the instruments bar drums - sounds fabulous."

Select praised the song's composition, writing: "a classic rock collage: descending chords a la "Dear Prudence", "Whatever", "The Changingman", an impassioned middle eight that sounds almost gospel-esque, a huge arrangement, and plaintive lyrics, sufficiently simple to need no deciphering whatsoever."

The single charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 60,000 copies.