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Pride

Sam Smith Re-Recorded ‘Stay With Me’ & Updated Its Lyrics: ‘Sometimes, We Can Change the Past’

The original track celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year.

Sam Smith performs during the Pinkpop Festival on June 23, 2024 in Landgraaf, Netherlands.

Sam Smith performs during the Pinkpop Festival on June 23, 2024 in Landgraaf, Netherlands.

Didier Messens/Getty Images

A decade after they released it, pop singer Sam Smith is coming back to their breakout hit — and this time, they’re ready for something fresh.

In an emailed note to their fans, Smith shared that they recorded a brand new version of “Stay With Me” to honor of its 10th anniversary, and changed one of the song’s lyrics in the process. “This song is truly so special to me, so for the 10 year anniversary I re-recorded the track, which will be available on all platforms & physical,” they said in the message. “Including the updated lyric ‘but I still need love, baby understand’ which felt really important to me. It’s beautiful to know that sometimes, we can change the past.”


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The song’s original lyric saw Smith saying that they “still need love, because I’m just a man.” In 2019, Smith publicly came out as non-binary, changing their pronouns to they/them. In subsequent live performances of the song since — including on their Gloria World Tour — the singer has often changed the lyric live.

Smith also altered the lyrics of the song even further when performing at the White House to honor the Respect for Marriage Act’s passing back in 2022. To mark the occasion, Smith changed a lyric in the track’s chorus from “This ain’t love, it’s clear to see,” to “This is love, it’s clear to see.”

Elsewhere in their statement, Smith reflected on the writing and recording process of “Stay With Me,” thanking their collaborators Jimmy Napes and Tourist for helping them express complicated feelings through music. “When me, Jimmy and Tourist wrote this song, none of us would’ve expected it to become what it has in the world,” they wrote. “I will never forget Will (Tourist) playing those three chords on the piano. I stopped everything I was doing and said ‘what is that’. Those chords and this song still stir me in the same way to this day. I’ve never once got sick of singing it.”

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Upon its release in 2014, “Stay With Me” became an international hit for the then relatively unknown Smith. Debuting at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after its release, “Stay With Me” steadily climbed the chart to reach its No. 2 peak in August, a career-high for the singer until their smash-hit “Unholy” reached No. 1 in October 2022.

Pre-orders for the 10th anniversary edition of Smith’s In the Lonely Hour — including their new version of “Stay With Me” — are available on the singer’s website. Listen to the original version of the track below:

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Bill Gilliland

Bill Gilliland

FYI

Obituaries: Toronto Record Label Pioneer Bill Gilliland, Global Music Trailblazer Dan Storper of Putumayo

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Sugar Hill Records owner Barry Poss, and top U.S. booking agent Dave Shapiro and former drummer Daniel Williams, who both died in a tragic plane crash.

Bill (William) Gilliland, a Toronto record label head, producer and music entrepreneur, died on May 17, at age 88.

An official death notice called him "a visionary force in Canadian music. A true architect of the country’s music landscape, Bill’s career spanned more than four decades, shaping the sounds of generations and launching the careers of many iconic artists."

Gilliland first made a mark with Arc Records, a subsidiary of Arc Sound Company Ltd. that was established in Toronto in 1958 by Philip G. Anderson. Gilliland and Anderson co-founded Arc Records in 1959 and purchased the Precision Pressing Co. in 1961. Under the direction of Anderson, its president, and vice president Gilliland, Arc Records entered into a contract with US Hit Records and released a series of pop singles albums under the name Hit Parade (1963–64) that specialized in regional artists and tribute albums.

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