You're listening to song exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece. Tell the story of how they were made. My name is She case your way song. Slaughter is sponsored by Dave's killer, bread, actually love Dave's killer bread, but they gave me a script to read so appeared his attention, others we now have taste in the bread, I'll Dave's killer, bread, that's right and organic. bread, that's, no longer a sedative for your taste, Dave's killer, Red is on a mission to make the most of the loaf. To rid the world of Gmos: high fructose corn. An artificial ingredients and plant the seeds of good and all that they bake, killer, taste, killer, texture, always organic Dave's killer, bread, bread, amplified, Song exploder is brought to you by progressive. Have you tried I am your price tool, yet it works just the way it sounds. You tell progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance.

And I'll show you coverage options that fit your budget? It's easy to start a quote: you'll be able to find a rate that works for you, It's one of the many ways you can save with progressive get your quote today, a progressive dot com and see four out of five new auto customers recommend progressive, progressive The insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law, Pj Morton is a singer songwriter and producer. It's been nominated for ten grammys, including best Aren t album three years in a row into them, twenty. He won the Grammy for the best are in besought for his track, say so, which is it with the singer, Jojo the platinum selling artist in her own right, but That version of say so almost didn't come to exist in this, those Pga pj takes us through his original voice, memos the demos and the isolated pieces of the final studio, recording, as he tells the story of how say so was created then

It appeared and then got recreated and ended up becoming one of his biggest songs. So, if you just say so, I need to know from you right now before I go. Misty J Morton say so came out in two nineteen, but pj had his first idea for it on February, Fourteenth two thousand and fifteen Valentine's day ahead. really bad writer's block, maybe one of the worst of my life, should say my form of writer's block is, I can't write a song from myself. Sometimes I can still as a songwriter write for other artists. When I say right, as I mean I can't get my own thoughts out, but I would get these melodies everything I heard I would like we get it down,

it MIKE. Maybe this could break it. In normal says, Bob Thus I hear myself playing the bass, notes and stuff, because sometimes I need to give myself content. Then, with the melody with the Oh plenty, listening back to that, it says the Burma we learn to disease. To be totally honest, I didn't want to be an artist in the beginning. I wanted to be just a musician. I wanted to play for people on tour. That was my biggest dream initially and then I started to write and produce and that's what I wanted to be I to be Quincy Jones. I wanted to write songs for other people and happened was I will write these songs and they didn't Did anybody and it was just coming from me and I was like I will

if a melody, it's so much me that it can't fit someone else, then maybe you know it's just meant for me. because I had that idea for the song. I brought the band into the studio. Let me see if this inspires me to actually write it, so we went in there and I just tried to start to build the song still without any lyrics or words I'm playing that leave ya some type of mug, the

For me, as a keyboard player first sounds inspire me. The sounds telling me how to sing it. those melodies, determine what I say. If you love me, just say so sorry to listen is is no competition, keep in school totally different words. There at the same, so I knew I wanted to say that that was such a empathy concept to me. If you love me. You know just say so. Are you We started the chorus you know just because that is the grand idea for me. So once had the chorus. Then I started to say: ok, we'll why my asking her to just say so you know so I started doing those his voice notes

eating hard for me to hold my own cause no one wants to be in love alone I've wanted somebody to just say it to me where it's like no we're here, but you are really communicating our you fill in the how I'm feeling you know and it something that I naturally felt acted to cause? I know how that feels to want somebody to just express their feelings as a writer which you're tryin always shoot for is coming from a specific place that specific to which you feel when you write it according to you, but you know, a bunch of people can relate to it and that's what got me to that. First, verse, which is getting hard for me to hold my own. Nobody wants to be in love alone.

Nobody wants to. Oh good thing indeed Maxie single and I have some first begins My guns in ahead, say so I put it on There- merit the third song almost like. I don't think is as good as everything else you know, and for me say so was really kind of my throw away. I know the song spoke to me, but from a production standpoint just isn't it was in a strong. Is everything else that I was working on, and when I listen to that version.

Again, the way you know the drums or in the way a little bit for me. Even all the extra background book was, it was just kind of in the way of this very simple message, so I pulled the whole thing: Just a memory mere. He was just gonna, be a memory, but we made me go back to it because I was kind of done with it cuz I asked rip the song from everywhere. So if you didn't buy it at the time, you don't have that first version, but I we're being and Australia, and somebody requested it and it was so long after that that I didn't even remember all the words I tried to sing it for this couple because they said they ve got engaged on the soundness and, unlike really that's and I would always see people referencing it where's this song say so I used to listen to that all the time. So I was like it'll take another look at it and that's when I started from scratch really

the I just wanted to see if this was even worth my time, you know so I set my phone up at the piano and started to say. Alright, let's see what we're trying to say sometimes I'll, build a whole track and build a song and then go the piano and see if it still speaks to me with nothing with none of that production. like. I, let me give it the space it deserves. So you can hear these simple words. I'm trying to say to you- and I think it started to change from me immediately once I did that sort of different rhythm. It fell more, like a conversation when I started to, to reimagine. It

want somebody else to be saying this. I want there to be perspective. I wanted to feel like two people going through. This actually I was thinking of different singers to see who could work for this, and you think that people could just sing that because it feels simple, but it's not really, and so I knew it had to be a real singer. You know it wasn't. Just somebody was was popping at the time it was like. No, I need somebody who can really emote and get this message across and I had only met Joe Joe in person, maybe one time prior to that. We didn't really know each other. I've always been a fan. or a voice, but there was a you know us. story of her getting out of her deal. Finally, that she had been stuck in for. ten years or something like that, and I was listen so our voice and I'm like you, know what she would be perfect for this. My name is Jojo. I think cast for my email and said that

there's something one send me just hey. Let me know if you like this and if you'd be interested in singing this with me and first listen. I just loved the song Then, once I was like yeah I haven't been very. We talked about you know who takes what are and how we could do it. The first verse It's supposed to be me by myself initially, but once we got there, I was like. Oh, do the whole first verse together for me to home nobody wants to be. I thought something very beautiful What about the fact that we were singing in octaves in the first verse, but I need to know right now. No lies just fan, it was really challenging and exciting? For me, here's something that he did and I let me wrap my head around that I can remember saying: oh wait. You

low curl right there just say so, she was the one. That said, oh no, let me catch that just Jason WU, the runs that he hears in his head are out of this world so it was like a master class for me in playing as the vocalist just say so. Need to know from you right now before I go ooh, oh Like a team like we fit together, So the decision to have her by herself on the second verse, I think, had to do more with the bill. in the song. There was more of a production thing for me that can fill them full Indy. Not on the phone me, and that first

I know the chorus I was like. Okay, that's the way you going to harmonize on to on I feel a sense of oh cause. I can't play these games with no, no, oh she's amazing. I started to build it and build the rhythm in the snaps, and then eventually, bringing that whole beat. no high hat there like it was in that original. had little ghosts snares, none of it. There is literally kick in black purple. I wasn't trying to take the attention away from the message I just was trying to add to it and it needed a push, but not so much of a push where it got in the way

hmm I play bass, but I don't really try to play bass on them on my records. Do not try to get real bass players, the bass player. My friend dj. I remember calling him last minute and I was like hey man. Can you get to the studio like now, and I had him? Do it really quickly? It's just that intro in the vamp and he was like what can I do it one more time I was like nope. That's all I need thank you. I like it

that is sort of become a signature of mine, putting both more bass than live bass together when they speak different languages down there in that register and different textures, you can replace the human the fingers going across those strings to give some life, but then the true bottom of that mode and the roundness of it and the won't walk, is something that I can't get out of the real base. So I just let them both live in there together, The high end of the mode. That's me play three different layers of it, because it's mono, so I couldn't play the harmony together. So

is me planet, and they probably aren't totally align you know, but they did together alive. You know their human, so I don't need them to be perfectly together, be kind of gives a rain slide to me of melody the song just kept getting bigger as it went along. It was like it started off as this little simple piano thing and then it's like voices and voices and sounds- and it was doing exactly. What I wanted to feel I think we both me and Jojo, both knew it when we

left the studio like we did something here. This is doesn't always happen I felt like. in a new classic. There's three: Then it sat where he did for years, because I didn't feel that, but it's really some of my and they made me another look at the song and I'm grateful because I would have left it. You know I would have left it I'm so happy that I give up on it and really took the time to you think it and come back to it. It makes it My sweeter. and now here say so by Pga, Morton, featuring Georgia in its entirety. The hmm,

I It's me nobody wants to be. so I'm trying my best two I need to know right now. No lies just

so, if you just say so cause I can't play these games with you know. So, if you're me just say so, I need to know from you right now before I go that I can feel the fun is fine with me and I need to know if this is a few feel the same way that the cause I can't play these games with the the visit song exploder dot.

to learn more you'll, find links to buy or stream say so, and you can watch the music video for it thanks. Squarespace for sponsoring the show. Scarcely is an all in one platform that lets you build a beautiful website for your business or your art or your band. If you sell stuff. They've got e commerce templates. If you want to make a blog, they give you buttons to your audience- can share your posts on social media and you can have more the contributors, so you can work on your site together check out square dot com for a free trial when you are ready- I've go to squarespace dot com, slash exploder, to save ten percent off your first purchase of a website or domain song, exploder, is sponsored by borrow a new kind of furniture company, you may make is designed to make life easier. The furniture easy to assemble. The fabrics are stain resistant. The shelves easy to install and the delivery is free right now you can get Seventy five dollars off your first order. At borrow dot com, slash song, explode her, that's borrow, be you

who are o w dot, slash song exploder for seventy five dollars off borrow dot com, slash song later. This episode of song exploder was made by me with editing help from teeny, Lieberson and Casey Deal Carlos learn makes illustrations for each episode, which you and on the song exploder website and Instagram song exploder. Is a proud member of Radio Toby from key are acts and network of independent listener supported artist own I you can learn more about our shows at Radio Tokyo Data FM. If you'd like to With the pipe you can get a song exploder t shirt at song, exploder, dot, net, slash shirt, you, can also follow the show on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook had song exploder. My name is rishika. Your way, thanks for listening,

radio to. there's a brand new show joining radio Tokyo called or products every week history. Means Leah Wright, Rigueur and Kelly Carter. Jackson are going die. I've deep into the cultural significance of the Oprah Winfrey Show, and you might know Kelly Carter Jackson because she's the host of another radio Toby show this day. Esoteric political history on Oprah dammit. The two friends are going to talk about. Why Oprah matters to culture and how open made so much of the culture from diets to book Club to celebrity interviews to make overs and all spin offs if you love Oprah or you just want to learn more about her. You have to check out Oprah that the study of the queen of talk and starting March, thirtieth, listen at risk. the DOT Fm or wherever you listen to podcasts