Lianne Charlotte Barnes a.k.a. Lianne La Havas (born August 23, 1989, in Lo… Read Full Bio ↴Lianne Charlotte Barnes a.k.a. Lianne La Havas (born August 23, 1989, in London, England) is an English folk, soul, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

La Havas was born in London, England to a Greek father and Jamaican mother. She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents, following her parents' separation as a child. La Havas' cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. She began singing at seven. Her mother played Jill Scott and Mary j. Blige, while her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11 but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. At 18, Lianne began attending Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Croydon, where she studied art and planned to take her A-Levels in art foundation. However, she left college and decided to pursue a career in music full-time.

While attending sixth-form in Croydon, a friend of La Havas', (who attended the Brit School) introduced her to other musicians who assisted La Havas in the recording of her first demos. Through that same friend, La Havas was also introduced to British singer, Paloma Faith; she later sang backing vocals on tour for Faith. La Havas was co-writer and performer in 'The Paris Parade' alongside Christian Pinchbeck (who designed the artwork for Lost & Found) and also is now part of the duo Elephant (Memphis Industries). They had a short career but it began La Havas' career in commercial music. In 2010, Lianne signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing music publicly.

La Havas made her television debut on October 21, 2011, broadcast of BBC Two's Later, with Jools Holland, a program that also featured Wisconsin folk band Bon Iver. Following her appearance on Later, with Jools Holland, it was announced on October 25, 2011 that La Havas would be the supporting act for Bon Iver's December 2011 North American tour.

La Havas released her debut EP, Lost & Found, on October 12, 2011 on the Labour of Love label and featured Willy Mason on the opening track, No Room For Doubt. That same month, La Havas released a live EP, titled Live in LA, which was made available for free download on her website. La Havas released her third EP titled Forget, on December 30, 2011 on the label Warner Brothers.

Her official debut single, Lost & Found was released in the UK on April 30, 2012. Her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was released on July 9, 2012 in the UK on Warner Brothers.

Forget
Lianne La Havas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Waste all your time writing love songs, but you don't love me
All too familiar when it feels wrong
I think you're just lonely

Do you mind?
I found another new way to look at
Use your time, to pack away your every verse and every rhyme

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart
Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!

Remember way back when you played me
I lost that hand
So please don't try serenade me
I am a one man band

Say goodbye
Don't need to hear you play
So many other ways to relax
So pack away your every verse and every rhyme

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart!
Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart!
Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!

I think it's time for me to leave
But I gave this piece of mind for free
So if you hear my sound advice, there is no need to tell you twice
There is no need to tell you twice!

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart!
Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart!
Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!

So if you hear my sound advice, there is no need to tell you twice!

Overall Meaning

In this song, Lianne La Havas sings about a relationship that has gone sour due to the other person's lack of love and commitment. The opening line, "Waste all your time writing love songs, but you don't love me" sets the tone for the entire song. The singer realizes that her partner is just lonely and using hollow words to keep the relationship going. She expresses her frustration and disappointment by telling him to forget all the words that broke her heart and tore them apart. She also reminds him of the time when he played her and how she lost that hand. At the end of the song, she decides to move on and leaves with sound advice that needs no repetition.

The verses of Forget seem to be targeted towards a person who is a musician or a songwriter, someone who uses words to express their emotions. Lianne La Havas uses this imagery to convey that, despite the beauty of the words expressed, their lack of sincerity is evident, and they are not worth a second thought or consideration. The bitterness of the song's lyrics is articulated through the singer's firm voice that rings with the pain and hurt of heartbreak.

In conclusion, Lianne La Havas's song Forget is an exploration of the pain of a one-sided relationship. The singer urges her partner to forget all the meaningless words and move on. The song's upbeat tempo contrasts with its bitter lyrics, which makes it a powerful statement of broken relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

Waste all your time writing love songs, but you don't love me
You spend so much time making music about love, but you don't actually feel that way about me.

All too familiar when it feels wrong
I've been in this situation before when something doesn't feel right.

I think you're just lonely
You're not really in love with me, you're just looking for someone to fill a void.

Do you mind?
Can I suggest something?

I found another new way to look at
I have a different perspective to share.

Use your time, to pack away your every verse and every rhyme
Instead of writing love songs, focus on packing away and forgetting about all the lyrics you wrote about me.

Forget, all the words that let you break my heart
Don't hold onto the words you wrote that hurt me.

Forget, that I'm the person tearing you apart!
Don't let me be the one causing you pain and sadness anymore.

Remember way back when you played me
Think back to when you deceived me.

I lost that hand
I was left without anything to gain or keep.

So please don't try serenade me
Don't bother with playing music to try to win me back.

I am a one man band
I can take care of myself without needing someone else's help.

Say goodbye
It's time to say farewell.

Don't need to hear you play
I don't want to listen to your songs anymore.

So many other ways to relax
There are plenty of other things I can do to unwind.

So pack away your every verse and every rhyme
Store all your songs away and forget about them so we can both move on.

I think it's time for me to leave
I believe it's time for me to go now.

But I gave this piece of mind for free
Before I go, I wanted to give you my honest thoughts without asking for anything in return.