Rather Have You
from Wild & Precious Life by Sara Melson
-
Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
$1 USD or more
-
Buy the Full Digital Album
-
Full Digital Discography
Get all 13 Sara Melson releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Songbird, From A Mile Away (feat. Spearfisher), Alley Cat, Wound Too Tight (Danny Hechter Remix), Wound Too Tight, Christmas Lullabies, Wild & Precious Life, Live at Pianos NYC, and 5 more.
Purchasable with gift card$50.99 USD or more (15% OFF)
about
Rather Have You is about loneliness.
It’s a co-write with a singer-songwriter friend of mine, Dora Pereli. She came over one day with a verse she had on acoustic guitar. I had a melody in my head that seemed to fit the chords well, plus all these lyrics I’d been writing the day before, that were basically about how all I seemed able to do was write lyrics and songs about love, rather than actually experiencing a healthy relationship in real life. I often feel like I’m essentially living this “meta” life, wherein I’m repeatedly vicariously sublimating what’s supposed to be the experience of life itself -- real love -- into my art, rather than experiencing it “IRL”, if you will.
Of course, I’m so grateful to have the outlet of writing and singing through which to express emotion. Loneliness would be even harder to endure without that. It’s just that sometimes it can be frustrating to be continuously sublimating into the creative realm what I wish to actually experience, even if it does inspire some cool songs. It’s just ultimately not as satisfying as the real thing. Nothing is. A song can’t take the place of love.
So thematically, that’s what the song is about. It asks a plaintive, mournful rhetorical question: “Is life just my art, and love my muse?”... In other words, is this it? Is this my role on this planet, to observe and write about it --- rather than live it? Is my fate only to comment upon life from a distance, rather than really be in it?
In terms of arrangement and production, what started out as a straight-up folk song ended up going through different phases. Working it out with my band, it started to take on more an R&B/ soul vibe, and ultimately, Eric Breiner from PeachMusicLA, who produced the track, took it into a retro-sounding, Motown direction, complete with a super hooky bass part, played by Sean Sobash, and gorgeous horns by Vikram Devasthali. Eric arranged the strings, I played the organ, and Sean, Eric, and I all sang the chorus of backing vocals that serves as the gospel-sounding choir throughout.
What I like about the production is how, sonically, it sounds vintage and old, and yet that quality is juxtaposed with lyrics about podcasts, checking my phone, and a somewhat sarcastic delivery of “namaste”. You just don’t expect to hear phrases like that in the context of that kind of 60s-style production, so it’s a bit jarring when you do, but in a good way. The song definitely has humor in it, and yet, it’s sort of sad and poignant, too, despite the peppy groove.
I’d certainly rather have the song, than not have the song. But ultimately… I’d rather have you.
Sara
It’s a co-write with a singer-songwriter friend of mine, Dora Pereli. She came over one day with a verse she had on acoustic guitar. I had a melody in my head that seemed to fit the chords well, plus all these lyrics I’d been writing the day before, that were basically about how all I seemed able to do was write lyrics and songs about love, rather than actually experiencing a healthy relationship in real life. I often feel like I’m essentially living this “meta” life, wherein I’m repeatedly vicariously sublimating what’s supposed to be the experience of life itself -- real love -- into my art, rather than experiencing it “IRL”, if you will.
Of course, I’m so grateful to have the outlet of writing and singing through which to express emotion. Loneliness would be even harder to endure without that. It’s just that sometimes it can be frustrating to be continuously sublimating into the creative realm what I wish to actually experience, even if it does inspire some cool songs. It’s just ultimately not as satisfying as the real thing. Nothing is. A song can’t take the place of love.
So thematically, that’s what the song is about. It asks a plaintive, mournful rhetorical question: “Is life just my art, and love my muse?”... In other words, is this it? Is this my role on this planet, to observe and write about it --- rather than live it? Is my fate only to comment upon life from a distance, rather than really be in it?
In terms of arrangement and production, what started out as a straight-up folk song ended up going through different phases. Working it out with my band, it started to take on more an R&B/ soul vibe, and ultimately, Eric Breiner from PeachMusicLA, who produced the track, took it into a retro-sounding, Motown direction, complete with a super hooky bass part, played by Sean Sobash, and gorgeous horns by Vikram Devasthali. Eric arranged the strings, I played the organ, and Sean, Eric, and I all sang the chorus of backing vocals that serves as the gospel-sounding choir throughout.
What I like about the production is how, sonically, it sounds vintage and old, and yet that quality is juxtaposed with lyrics about podcasts, checking my phone, and a somewhat sarcastic delivery of “namaste”. You just don’t expect to hear phrases like that in the context of that kind of 60s-style production, so it’s a bit jarring when you do, but in a good way. The song definitely has humor in it, and yet, it’s sort of sad and poignant, too, despite the peppy groove.
I’d certainly rather have the song, than not have the song. But ultimately… I’d rather have you.
Sara
lyrics
A lot of couples I know
Love to give me advice
They tell me I need to grow
Before I can share this life
Well it’s true I need to change
So namaste
If they only knew
How much I meditate
I’ve probed the depths of my inner core
I’ve had enough of myself
I’m ready for more
Am I destined only to brood and write
Or will I ever have real love in real life
Is life just my art and love my muse
I’d rather have you, If I could choose
I’m not ashamed to admit
I hate sleeping alone
Eating dinner with a podcast while I check my phone
Everyone’s saying they’re so happy by themselves
Guess I’m the only one who could use a little help
I’m ready to go through this next part together
With someone by my side forever
Am I destined always to be alone
Or do I get to have a chance to make a home
Is life just my art, and love my muse
I’d rather have you if I could choose
If I could choose
Is life just my art
And love my muse
I’d rather have you
If I could choose
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
If I could choose
Love to give me advice
They tell me I need to grow
Before I can share this life
Well it’s true I need to change
So namaste
If they only knew
How much I meditate
I’ve probed the depths of my inner core
I’ve had enough of myself
I’m ready for more
Am I destined only to brood and write
Or will I ever have real love in real life
Is life just my art and love my muse
I’d rather have you, If I could choose
I’m not ashamed to admit
I hate sleeping alone
Eating dinner with a podcast while I check my phone
Everyone’s saying they’re so happy by themselves
Guess I’m the only one who could use a little help
I’m ready to go through this next part together
With someone by my side forever
Am I destined always to be alone
Or do I get to have a chance to make a home
Is life just my art, and love my muse
I’d rather have you if I could choose
If I could choose
Is life just my art
And love my muse
I’d rather have you
If I could choose
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
I’d rather have you
If I could choose
credits
from Wild & Precious Life,
released August 7, 2020
Produced, arranged, mixed, and mastered by Eric Breiner (PeachMusicLA)
Sara Melson: Vocals, Piano, Keys
Eric Breiner: Guitar, Keys, Programming
Sean Sobash (Dominic Fike): Bass
Vikram Devasthali (Angel Olson, Macy Gray, Robbie Wiliams): Trombone
Brian Weinberg: Drums
Produced, arranged, mixed, and mastered by Eric Breiner (PeachMusicLA)
Sara Melson: Vocals, Piano, Keys
Eric Breiner: Guitar, Keys, Programming
Sean Sobash (Dominic Fike): Bass
Vikram Devasthali (Angel Olson, Macy Gray, Robbie Wiliams): Trombone
Brian Weinberg: Drums
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Sara Melson Los Angeles, California
Sara Melson's insightful and inspiring lyrics and unique, distinctive voice led Yahoo Music to choose her as their "New Buzz Artist," calling her "one of the most fearless singer-songwriters on the planet." Her timeless, infectious, songs blur boundaries between folk, rock, pop, and country. Sara's songs have been featured in numerous film & TV shows, including Grey's Anatomy. ... more
shows
-
May 6Hollywood, CA
-
May 8Los Angeles (LA), CA
-
May 14Hollywood, CA
-
Jun 22Los Angeles (LA), CA
discography
-
Apr 2024 -
Mar 2024 -
Sep 2022 -
Aug 2022
contact / help
If you like Sara Melson, you may also like:
-
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times.
go to album -
The St Buryan Sessions
by Sarah McQuaidRecorded live at St Buryan Church, the latest from Sarah McQuaid is a showcase for the simple power of voice & guitar.
go to album -
Starry Skies Opened Eyes
by Silver Jacksonfeatured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 21, 2015
go to album -
Stunningly beautiful songs wrought with pedal steel and nylon-string guitar that cast mesmerizing melodic shapes.
go to album -
The Flowers That Bloom in Spring
by Kieran Kane & Rayna GellertKieran Kane & Rayna Gellert offer up a stunning minimalist country record, conjuring huge emotions with little more than vocals & guitar.
go to album -
Hell on Church Street
by punchbrothersA re-envisioning of Tony Rice's classic album "Church Street Blues" from Brooklyn progressive bluegrass quartet Punch Brothers.
go to album -
All The Good Times
by Starlings, TNMembers of punk act reassemble to make atmospheric and gutsy bluegrass songs about barbeque and whiskey.
go to album
