Words have power, especially when someone who consistently seeks your counsel hangs on to your every word. I was worried that she would be uncomfortable, so I tried to put her in a comfortable situation but it didn’t work out like that because to have someone just walking around through a sort of fantasy world isn’t that comfort inducing.”

After we made it, I had been too protective of her. So I think I overcompensated by putting her at a distance in that video. She doesn’t like being filmed, particularly. It’s not her thing,” Muller exclusively told Rated R&B. These beautiful creations by God could represent certain heavenly messages, as it relates to receiving comfort and guidance from a spiritual protector.Īll the while, Sophie Muller, a renowned music video director, was shielding the iconic chanteuse from her persistent camera shyness. The imagery of life transition plays out to some degree in the song’s music video, putting an emphasis on the sky and wind. In reassessing the subject matter of “By Your Side,” one could get the impression that Sade might have suffered from the loss of someone that held great significance in her life during her hiatus, and is now faced to look to the sky for the courage to carry on. Upon reviewing the expressive lyrics and reflecting on life, especially during hardships, you typically have a particular interest in leaning on those who possess a certain level of dependability for love and support, rather than those who can’t withstand their own burdens, let alone those of others. The enduring performer sings in a deep and slothful tone about standing adjacent to a loved one when the darkest hour strikes. “By Your Side,” offers a rock-solid case for the album’s overall theme. True to its title, Lovers Rock explores the state of solidity and what it means to be strong for those who rely on our resilience the most.

Instead, Sade reverted to a timeline when the poignant stylings of reggae were most prevalent and largely exclusive to its connoisseurs: Winston Reedy, Gregory Isaacs, Carroll Thompson, Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor and Maxi Priest.īased on Sade’s response to journalist Jill Rappaport in 2000 about their breakthrough hit (“Smooth Operator”), there was a sense of validity to the conscious move to conceive a progressive style of music, though the sonic direction wasn’t a new concept.

Released at the height of the neo-soul renaissance, Lovers Rock pivoted away from their familiar sounds of sophisticated jazz that made them a quiet storm mainstay.

Sade by your side words