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Sam Smith Debuts 'Drowning Shadows,’ Which He Calls His ‘Saddest Song'

sam smith in the lonely hour drowning shadows

It’s about Smith having to make a choice: Does he go out to a gay bar or go home alone? Guess which one he picked.

If you thought that Sam Smith's music couldn't get any sadder, well strap in, because he's just put out "the saddest song I've ever written."

"Drowning Shadows," which will be featured on the November 6 deluxe edition of his debut LP In the Lonely Hour, premiered yesterday on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show.

"I wanted to remind everyone where I come from as a songwriter and what my intent was when I was writing this album," Smith.

Smith actually wrote "Drowning Shadows" before "Stay With Me," "I'm Not the Only One" and other early songs, but couldn't make it work during the recording sessions.

"I always loved it, but something didn't happen right with the production when we were going through different versions of it," he said. "Something didn't work. I thought of it recently when we were thinking about the repackage, and we went in and just did it with piano."

The track is about the cab rides Smith took leaving the recording studio. He'd arrive at a literal and figurative crossroads.

"One road would lead to gay clubs I used to go out to, and the other road would go home," he said. "I was in such a lonely, sad place when I was writing this album that sometimes, I'd literally have to choose. The lyric is, 'Do I go home for nothing or stay out for more?'"

During his interview with Lowe, he talked about recovering from vocal cord surgery and writing the follow-up to In the Lonely Hour. He says that he wants to lead a normal life for a year so he can be more relatable. That being said, he's not taking himself totally out of the game. "I've written a few songs, which I absolutely love."

[h/t Rolling Stone]

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