Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. They rose to prominence in October 2012 after being featured on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. Smith was subsequently featured on Naughty Boy's "La La La", which became a number one single in May 2013. In December 2013, they were nominated for the 2014 Brit Critics' Choice Award and the BBC's Sound of 2014 poll, winning both.

Smith's debut studio album, In the Lonely Hour, was released in May 2014 on Capitol Records UK. The album's lead single, "Lay Me Down", was released prior to "La La La". The album's second single, "Money on My Mind", became Smith's second number one single in the UK. The third single, "Stay with Me", was an international success, reaching number one in the UK and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, while their singles "I'm Not the Only One" and "Like I Can" reached the top ten in the UK. The album won four awards, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

For Smith's and Jimmy Napes's song "Writing's on the Wall", the theme for the James Bond film Spectre (2015), Smith won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Smith's second studio album, The Thrill of It All, was released in November 2017 and debuted atop the UK and US album charts. The lead single, "Too Good at Goodbyes", reached number one in the UK and Australia and number four in the US. They released the single "Promises" with Calvin Harris, which peaked at number one in the UK. Smith released "Dancing with a Stranger" with Normani in 2019, which reached the top ten in the UK and the US and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards, and followed it by releasing a string of commercially successful singles "How Do You Sleep?", "To Die For" and "I'm Ready" with Demi Lovato; all of which feature on Smith's third album, Love Goes.

Smith has won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, and an American Music Award, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award through their career. Smith has been publicly gay since 2014, genderqueer since 2017, and has used they/them pronouns since 2019.

Waves
Sam Smith Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

"Stay With Me"
Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?

Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need

This ain't love, it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me

Why am I so emotional?
No, it's not a good look, gain some self-control

And deep down I know this never works
But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sam Smith's song Waves beautifully describe the complexity of emotions that come with a casual relationship. The singer admits that they are not good at one-night stands but they still want to experience love because they are just human. He feels overwhelmed by the unpredictability of these nights, and he begs his partner to stay with him and hold his hand. The chorus is a plea for their company, acknowledging that it's not love, but it's all he needs to get through the night.

The second verse shows a more vulnerable side to the singer, who can't help but be emotional about the situation even though he knows he needs to gain some self-control. He admits that deep down he knows it will never work out, but as long as they can lie together, it doesn't hurt as much. Smith's use of metaphors such as waves and the sea suggests the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of the casual relationship he's in.

Overall, the song is a bittersweet reminder of the desire for love, companionship, and human connection, even when it comes at a cost or is not the ideal version of it. The singer knows that he will have to move on eventually but for now, he just wants to be held.

Line by Line Meaning

Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
I'm not very comfortable with having sex without any emotional investment.

But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man
I still crave emotional connection because I am human.

These nights never seem to go to plan
Things never seem to work out the way I want them to.

I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?
Please don't go yet, can we at least be close and intimate for a while?

Oh, won't you stay with me?
Emphatically asking the person to stay with them.

'Cause you're all I need
They need this person to feel happy and loved.

This ain't love, it's clear to see
They know that this may not be actual love and it's obvious.

But darling, stay with me
They still want the person to stay regardless of that fact.

Why am I so emotional?
Asking why they are so sensitive to emotions.

No, it's not a good look, gain some self-control
Acknowledging that it's not ideal to be so emotional but ultimately they can't help it.

And deep down I know this never works
They understand that this type of relationship usually doesn't succeed.