WITHOUT YOU
19th August 2020
The ninth track and fourth single from Mikey's second album Dreamer, the emotional and fast upbeat folk rock major-key ballad, "Without You", fuses the pop rock-influenced energy of The Beatles and Green Day, and the folkie Bob Dylan-esque acoustic sound, with the soft rock-influenced piano accompaniment, worthy of Elton John and Billy Joel, or even The Jackson 5, with a catchy hook, worthy of pub, campfire and arena sing-alongs.
As a sequel to the "In Our House" music videos Mikey and DJ Azza made during the first national lockdown in April 2020 (Azza's music video being for the official remix version of the song), the "Without You" music video consists of the ACM companions reuniting after the lockdown. Shot in Guildford, under social distance guidelines, during October 2020, prior to the second national lockdown that kicked off in November, the video features COVID-19 references such as hand sanitiser and a 2-metre apart joke at the end. The events of the video see Mikey and DJ Azza living out their individual daily lives during the lockdown period, missing each other, before reuniting at the end on a park bench (an obvious reference to the lyric, "I've been sitting on the park bench where we used to talk").
"The aim with 'Without You' was to create an upbeat major key song, with a sad emotional lyrical theme; something like 'I Want You Back' by The Jackson 5. I grew up listening to a lot of The Jackson 5, and a lot of their songs are sad songs in major keys. I think it’s definitely one of my favourite songs from Dreamer; it’s always fun to play live, and get the audience to sing along during the bridge section. It’s like a campfire singalong song, which was definitely intentional. I usually write with my audience in mind. I’m pretty sure someone like Don Mclean did as well when he wrote 'American Pie'. I think it’s important for a songwriter to put themselves in the shoes of their audience when writing, you should always consider what they would want to hear and how they would want to hear it. Not just on the recording, but live as well. The catchiest songs are usually the most memorable".
Michael Mikey Brennan
LYRICS
Written by Michael Mikey Brennan
I've been wandering down the path where we used to walk
And I've been sitting on the park bench where we used to talk
And all the memories come back to me in my mind
I find it hard to leave the past behind
​
Now that you're gone I don't think I can go on
I don't even think that I can finish this song
'Cause I'm lost and confused
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'm hopeless without you
​
When I knock on your door, you don't answer anymore
I don't think I can take this anymore
​
Now that you're gone I don't think I can go on
I don't even think that I can finish this song
'Cause I'm lost and confused
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'm hopeless without you
​
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
​
Now that you're gone I don't think I can go on
I don't even think that I can finish this song
'Cause I'm lost and confused
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'm hopeless without you
​
Now that you're gone I don't think I can go on
I don't even think that I can finish this song
'Cause I'm lost and confused
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'm hopeless without you
​
I'm hopeless without you
Yeah, I'm hopeless without you
I'm hopeless without you
​
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
Without you
You
Without you
I'm nothing without you
​
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