Sugarland- "Stay"

[EmersonDrive13Rocks]

steelo said:

But there are TONS of people out there that can relate to this song and thats what its REALLY about.

So are you saying that you don't like songs like Independence Day because they are about abuse??

Again I never said I don't like the song I just don't like the fact that it supports adultery.

Independence Day, Concrete Angel, and Alyssa Lies aren't songs supporting child abuse but raising issue and awareness levels of the problem of child abuse.

[kevin59]

steelo said:

This video has been deleted from CMT.com At least from what I can tell :(

yes they did a link was there at one time (see below)

www.cmt.com/loaded/player.jhtml?vid=172282

[musicbuff78]

carrietakethewheel said:

steelo said:

But there are TONS of people out there that can relate to this song and thats what its REALLY about.

So are you saying that you don't like songs like Independence Day because they are about abuse??

Again I never said I don't like the song I just don't like the fact that it supports adultery.

Independence Day, Concrete Angel, and Alyssa Lies aren't songs supporting child abuse but raising issue and awareness levels of the problem of child abuse.

Oh I know you werent saying you didnt like the song, I wasnt referring to that

[musicbuff78]

kevin59 said:

steelo said:

This video has been deleted from CMT.com At least from what I can tell :(

yes they did a link was there at one time (see below)

www.cmt.com/loaded/player.jhtml?vid=172282

Thanks....I forgot about the link and I checked the website the other day under Sugarlands profile and didnt see it listed

[sbp17]

carrietakethewheel said:

Again I never said I don't like the song I just don't like the fact that it supports adultery.

I can appreciate that position.

[S4C]

carrietakethewheel said:

steelo said:

But there are TONS of people out there that can relate to this song and thats what its REALLY about.

So are you saying that you don't like songs like Independence Day because they are about abuse??

Again I never said I don't like the song I just don't like the fact that it supports adultery.

Yeah I see what you're saying. It's beautifully sung, and its not exactly supporting adultry (rather just telling a story of it), but I pretty much agree with you here.

[drock89]

sbp17 said:

carrietakethewheel said:

Again I never said I don't like the song I just don't like the fact that it supports adultery.

I can appreciate that position.

I can't. The story of the song is that she loves the man so much that she was going to just overlook the fact that he was cheating on her. But then she decides she's better than he is and walks away.. how is that supporting adultery?

[ontheroadwith]

I agree with ShaniaGotchaGood....this song does not support adultery. It is more of a realization of what is going on in her life. I think it is more about being a strong woman and the understanding that she doesn't need him if he is going to treat her that way. It is an amazing song none the less.

[musiclives]

ontheroadwith said:

I agree with ShaniaGotchaGood....this song does not support adultery. It is more of a realization of what is going on in her life. I think it is more about being a strong woman and the understanding that she doesn't need him if he is going to treat her that way. It is an amazing song none the less.

[musicbuff78]

shaniagotchagood said:

sbp17 said:

I can appreciate that position.

I can't. The story of the song is that she loves the man so much that she was going to just overlook the fact that he was cheating on her. But then she decides she's better than he is and walks away.. how is that supporting adultery?

I couldn't agree more with ya bud. Very well put.

[sbp17]

shaniagotchagood said:

I can't. The story of the song is that she loves the man so much that she was going to just overlook the fact that he was cheating on her. But then she decides she's better than he is and walks away.. how is that supporting adultery?

First, I don't see where she walks away in the lyrics.

Second, the lyrics suggest that this has been going on for some time and that she's been aware of his wife.

Third, it comes down to a person's own convictions. Nowhere did CarrieFlattsEDfan say everyone should hate the song because it supports cheating. He said he was bothered by the lyrics because of it. If his interpretation is that it supports cheating, then I can appreciate someone having a problem with that. I don't think 'supports' is the best word to use but I got the poster's point.

I think this discussion could spiral downhill quickly but given that lyrics suggest it has been going on for at least a little while and that she is aware of the wife, based on my beliefs, I do not have much sympathy for the speaker. I like the song. I think it's beautifully performed and well-written. But my own convictions are such that you don't sleep with someone who you know is married (let alone do it repeatedly when they are apparently not even separated).

I'm not asking for anyone to agree with me or adopt my own set of beliefs. I'm just stating my opinion on the subject that was introduced by CarrieFlattsEDfan.

[EmersonDrive13Rocks]

Thank you sbp17. You said want I wanted to say much better than the way I said it.

[kevin59]

Watch VIDEO (Courtesy of CMT Website)

www.cmt.com/sitewide/apps/mediaplayer/index.jhtml?vid=172282

[change4change]

The song does not "support" adultery in any way. It supports self esteem, if anything. Hence the lines "I can't take it any longer, but my will is getting stronger. And I think I know just what I have to do." Sugarland makes it a point to send a positive and motivating message in their music. If you'd like to hear a song that actually supports adultery go listen to Toby Keith's "What Happens In Mexico." I know this all depends on people's personal views and opinions, but we must remember that there are several societies where actually having more than one wife or family is completely acceptable. And not that anyone suggested this, but say we were to remove any remotley offensive song from radio - that could be more than half of all country songs on radio. "Beer In Mexico" by Kenny Chesney because drinking may offend someone, "Famous In A Small Town" by Miranda Lambert because hunting may offend someone. And some may say "Independence Day" by Martina McBride only raises awareness of spousal abuse, but many will argue that the woman in the song made a very irresponsible decision to kill her husband and herself and leave her adolescent daughter to fend for herself. We have to face it, all of these issues exist and should be okay for them to be addressed publicly. We all have different opinions and tastes.

[avalyn]

An article I found about the video:

www.countryhound.com/News/Article.aspx?p=337
Sugarland: Stand Still, "Stay" Calm

Sugarland's Kristian Bush says the making of the duo's latest video was a powerful experience.

"For the making of the 'Stay' video, what we wanted to do was just about literally stand there and play the song. We didn't want anything else going on other than the performance because that's going on when you listen to it. I get really anxious, and Jennifer [Nettles] was finding the emotion in the song while she's singing it, and I started freaking out in the control room because she's starting to cry. Everyone had to hold me back from going out and saying "cut" because I wanted it to stop.

"It was a pretty powerful thing ... if this doesn't make you cry, nothing will. Go ahead and burn your copy of Old Yeller because this is all you need.”

[43dudleyvillas]

sbp17 said:

First, I don't see where she walks away in the lyrics.

Well, she at least seems ready to give the man an ultimatum -- either he leaves his wife, or she's leaving. She says that she knows what she has to do (leave if he won't commit to her) and she also notes in the last rendition of the chorus that she doesn't have live to this way.

I don't think this song is endorsing or supporting adultery...I mean, it's hardly, "Hoorah, adultery rules, everyone should try it!" The narrator is miserable, after all. I can see the argument that the narrator doesn't show any self-awareness when it comes to how wrong it is to continually cheat with someone she knows is married. So like sbp17, my sympathies aren't with the narrator. On the other hand, Nettles brings a really credible desperation (and, in the end, strength) to the lyrics and almost makes me willing to put aside the morality issue and wallow along with her, if only for the duration of the song.

The live version of this that Sugarland performed at the CMT Awards blew me away. I like it more than the studio version, which I think Nettles kind of overpowers for the first 2:15 or so. The last 2 minutes of the song are just about perfect, though. I'm really glad they're releasing this as a single, and the video is wonderful.

[musicbuff78]

If you think the CMT Awards performance is great, you should hear the live version from when she was in the Jennifer Nettles Band. It's the version I prefer to the studio version although I still love it just as much.

[sbp17]

change4change said:

And not that anyone suggested this, but say we were to remove any remotley offensive song from radio

You're right, no one suggested that. My favorite artist is Reba and she built her career off of cheating songs....not to mention the one about prostitution or murdering your brother's cheating wife.

The discussion was simply about someone stating their convictions about about the subject matter of a particular song.

[drock89]

sbp17 said:

change4change said:

And not that anyone suggested this, but say we were to remove any remotley offensive song from radio

You're right, no one suggested that. My favorite artist is Reba and she built her career off of cheating songs....not to mention the one about prostitution or murdering your brother's cheating wife.

The discussion was simply about someone stating their convictions about about the subject matter of a particular song.

But someone brought up a great perspective. I never thought of this song as the narrator (Jenn) being the "mistress". I always saw it as the narrator's (Jenn) boyfriend/husband leaving her for someone else.

[sbp17]

shaniagotchagood said:

But someone brought up a great perspective. I never thought of this song as the narrator (Jenn) being the "mistress". I always saw it as the narrator's (Jenn) boyfriend/husband leaving her for someone else.

The line that reads 'just another call from home' would seem to suggest that the call is from his wife.

Also, Jennifer herself stated that she was inspired to write this song by Whoever's In New England but that she wanted to write a song from the other woman's perspective.

[change4change]

You're right sbp17, Jennifer did write the song in response to Reba's song "Whoever's In New England." Jennifer introduced the song on a live cd I have of her's. Here's what she says:

"I had been listening to the radio and I heard Reba McEntire sing a song, "Whoever's in New England," and you know that song, it's about a woman who, her husband goes off on "business" a whole lot, and apparently New England is one place that he does "business" a whole lot, there's a lot of "business" going on in New England. And um, she just sits there and says, "Hey, when whoever's in New England is through with you, I'll be right here." And my first thought was (earmuffs)--- screw that! But uh, then I thought, you know, this story has been told so many times on so many levels, what can we do to make this story fresh? How can we freshen up this story? And I thought well why don't we just tell it from the perspective of the mistress? And uh, yeah, it's a little saucy. But then I thought well that's kind of a defeated place to come from, you know, to be the other woman and to feel so sad that this person won't choose you fully and won't commit, and you know, if that's the way you found him, I'm pretty sure, you know, we could go on and on. You'll notice in this song that even though it's from the perspective of the mistress there's a point in it where she has a revelation so to speak, I don't know, we'll call it her New Year's Resolution, and uh, she sees the light."

[rowdawg21]

This is starting to pick up some plays:

93 SUGARLAND Stay 18 0 18 0.126

[drock89]

So a man is cheating on his wife with Jennifer? That adds even more power to the song.

[luvhonkytonk]

I saw the video this morning......very powerful. I think this puts Jennifer one step closer to her solo career.

[musicbuff78]

shaniagotchagood said:

So a man is cheating on his wife with Jennifer? That adds even more power to the song.

That's how I've always interpreted it.

[freelancer2]

I love this song to death but does anybody else feel it may have the I Wonder effect on radio. Maybe too powerful?

[Jamie]

freelancer2 said:

I love this song to death but does anybody else feel it may have the I Wonder effect on radio. Maybe too powerful?

That's actually something I've thought about. I love listening to the song in my car but I don't see the average listener or a family riding in a car just sitting there listening to this. I love the song, but I don't think it's that radio friendly. I'll gladly eat my words though if it becomes a hit (hopefully it will)!

[somebody60]

freelancer2 said:

I love this song to death but does anybody else feel it may have the I Wonder effect on radio. Maybe too powerful?

Well, Sugarland has had a lot more radio support than Kellie. Kellie's had 0 Top 10 hits (2 Top 20 hits but that's it), and Sugarland have had 6 top 10 hits if I'm counting right ("Baby Girl", "Something More", "Just Might (Make Me Believe)", "Want To", "Settlin", and "Everyday America"), with 2 #1 hits, and I believe 4 Top 5 hits. In fact, the only Sugarland single to not reach the Top 10 is "Down In Mississippi" (which, in my opinion, wasn't that great).

[sbp17]

Did someone seriously compare I Wonder to Stay? Stay is in a completely different league.

[musicbuff78]

sbp17 said:

Did someone seriously compare I Wonder to Stay? Stay is in a completely different league.

LMAO I couldnt agree with you more.