Please Don’t Make Me Cry – Lianne La Havas

Please Don’t Make Me Cry – Lianne La Havas

17 July 2020 - from Lianne La Havas

Lianne La Havas’ voice is already impressive with its range, its tenderness and its strength. On top of that, my favorite part of this record is the rhythm section that follows her. It’s compelling because instrumentation will usually build the foundation for any recording. Guitar, bass and drums create a frame that the singer rarely leaves. This track is almost the opposite--a solo that happens to carry a rhythm section that paints the picture around whatever she chooses. In this record, La Havas holds the reins to the storm she brews.

One can picture the wholeness of La Havas’ plea. The way she sings to somebody in gentle tugs and pulls makes it seem like she appeals to an overcast sky with nothing else around her. Opening lines carry calls to action: “Stay for me…tread carefully.” Neither the guitar nor the drums pick up the intensity as she progresses through the verses. Instead, the power behind her voice pushes the lyrics into heavier themes. Anxious to reveal more, La Havas stretches out with the last two lines before the chorus: “I’ll show you my prettiest scars/ They make us whatever we are.” The instrumentation drops for a second as La Havas’ singing carries us into the chorus.

The chorus itself feels like a downpour. The sudden pause of the drums allowed the overcast sky to open and let the rain fall. Background vocals create the imagery of curtains of rain showers falling over the listener. This tumultuous love carries the energy of a storm, but La Havas sings right through it. In the next verse, she points out how clear her emotions are to someone who can’t see them: “This mystery is barely skin deep…If we’re gonna make this love/ Just read what’s written above.” Another chorus builds on the storm, alluding to how relentless La Havas is with her feelings.

There’s a break that feels like a percussion soli. The drums, which have created such a vivid image of a thunderstorm, are allowed to swirl up the wind and strengthen the rage beneath the track. Echoes of La Havas’ singing hauntingly creep up the scale while the guitar chimes in eerily. The listener can sense that something is building. And then the rain stops. All that’s left is La Havas’ voice singing to itself. The electric guitar softly hugs the words that she recalls from the chorus: “All these reasons why/ Please don’t make my cry.” At this point, it appears that La Havas has let it go and given up. The guitar and keys attempt to reach a resolution to end the song, but she isn’t ending it that easily.

Before this point, the percussion served as ornamentation to La Havas’ thunder. As she lets her lyrics fall away with the last drop of rain, the rhythm section wakes her up again. Another chorus arrives, with the singer letting out everything that’s left in her heart. It’s one last plea for the sun to come out before it all falls away once and for all.