I’m sure that you’ve heard Babylon, arguably David Gray’s most famous song. If you ever listen to the radio in the late 90′s, it’s bound to pop up. But that’s not the song we’re going to talk about. Today, we converse about the first track off of the White Ladder album, Please Forgive Me.

The thing that I love about this song, is the simplicity. It starts out with really basic progressions, and just builds on it.

It starts out with a run-of-the mill drum loop. Some simple string synths and a piano with a bit of reverb. Then bit picks up, repetitive high-hat hits, with a backing bass part. Then we get a little high string synth part. Then, at the sort of, apex, if you will of the lyrics, a little guitar part is added. After that, simple hand claps! Then we back down to just piano and strings, as we return to the first verse again. Then we get pulled back in, with a little drum breakdown part, and fade out.

All of that, is pretty text book song writing, in my opinion. But there’s something about it, that doesn’t really seem to be annoying, or really repetitive. Which is impressive, in my opinion, because, like I said, he’s really just taking the same chord progression over and over and over, and building more and more and more on it.

But, the real triumph  of this song, I think, is the really good lyrics that are hidden in the song. To take it at face value, it’s just your run of the mill love song. This guy is really in love with this girl, ect ect. But if we look closely, just in the first verse, he’s breaking out very… descriptive lyrics.

Feels like lightning running through my veins
Everytime I look at you

“Lightning running through my veins”! Very very nice. Also the last verse, the sort of climax of the song, really hits it home for me. There’s something about his voice, perhaps maybe the way he sings it. I don’t know but the last verse:

I got half a mind to scream out loud
I got half a mind to die
So I wont ever have to lose you girl
Wont ever have to say goodbye
I wont ever have to lie
Wont ever have to say goodbye

is very powerfully and movingly delivered. I must also confess, myself being a hopeless romantic, I have experienced the sentiments expressed in this song, and David Gray does an excellent job describing them. All in all, a good listen. Really, I would encourage you to check out the rest of the album. It’s got some pretty good tracks on it.

-James out