Stay (Bernard Butler song)
"Stay" is the debut single from Bernard Butler released in January 1998. It is the lead single taken from the album People Move On and charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Background The song begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, which leads into Butler's vocals. Drums, electric guitar, keyboards and backing vocals all get introduced gradually, before coming together in one last climax and quiet coda. Butler has said that "Stay" is not a love song but a song about change. "The process of change is hard but you've got to do it. It's about when you know you've got to do something but there's an element of risk. It's about when I first went to France to record. A lot of the lyrics come from a conversation with Elisa, my wife. I wrote them on the train over to France." The music video for the title song was directed by David Mould, whose directing credits include Suede's "Trash", the first single released after Butler's departure. B-side "Hotel Splendide" features backing vocals from Edwyn Collins. Critical reception Reception to Butler's debut single was very positive. Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote: "The title track is one of the