Don't Leave Home

"Don't Leave Home"
Single by Dido
from the album Life for Rent
B-side	"Stoned" (Deep Dish Remix)
Released	12 April 2004
Format	CD Single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:47
Label	BMG
Writer(s)	Dido Armstrong Rollo Armstrong
Producer	Dido Armstrong Rollo Armstrong Mike Hedges
Dido singles chronology
"Life For Rent" (2003) "Don't Leave Home" (2004) "Sand in My Shoes" (2004) Music video "Don't Leave Home" on YouTube

"Don't Leave Home" was the third single released in the UK from Dido's second album, Life for Rent. It was officially released on April 12, 2004. Even though it didn't go further than number 25 on the UK Singles Chart, it stayed there for nine weeks.^[1] The song was however a radio hit, peaking at #1 on the official airplay chart in early 2004.

Background

"Don't Leave Home" deals with drug addiction. It is written and sung from the unusual point of view of the drug singing to the person who is addicted to it. It was originally a demo recorded for her 1999 album No Angel that was instead included on the 2003 album, Life for Rent. It was written and produced by Dido Armstrong and her brother Rollo Armstrong. The song is set in common time composed in a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute,^[2] written in F♯ Major with a vocal range from the tone of F♯₄ to the note of C♯₆.^[2] The B-side, "Stoned", is a song which tells the story of an unwinding relationship, clouded through drugs, as the title suggests. "Stoned" was remixed by Deep Dish as "Stoned (Deep Dish Remix)". This version peaked at number-one on the Hot Dance Club Songs.^[3][4]

Music video

The music video for "Don't Leave Home" starts with the singer driving on a desert road as it gets dark. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a forest. Dido leaves the car, drops her suitcase on the ground, and enters the forest. Some of the themes and scenery imply drug addiction, like the hazy affects, the forest filled with mushrooms and hallucinations of spiders and snakes. She leaves the forest and comes across a huge rock-like cliff by the ocean. She sings calmly by the cliff before jumping into the ocean and finds herself on a wide strand with white sand singing out to the ocean. The video ends with the car driving on with broken white lines layered with coccaine. The video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Track listing

UK CD Single

1. "Don't Leave Home" - 3:47
2. "Stoned" (Deep Dish Stoner Remix Edit) - 4:15

Japanese CD Single

1. "Don't Leave Home" - 3:47
2. "Stoned" (Deep Dish Stoner Remix Edit) - 4:15
3. "Don't Leave Home" (Recall Mix) - 4:03
4. "Don't Leave Home" (Video) - 3:50

Charts

Don't Leave Home Charts (2004) Peak Position Austrian Singles Chart[5] 54 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[5] 50 Dutch Singles Chart[5] 38 German Singles Chart[6] 67 Irish Singles Chart[6] 35 Swiss Singles Chart[5] 45 UK Singles Chart[1] 25 US Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[7][8] 22

Stoned (Deep Dish Remix) Chart (2004) Peak position US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs.[3][4] 1

Credits and personnel

"Don't Leave Home" Producer - Rollo Armstrong Co-Producer - Matthieu Clouard Drums - Makoto Sakamoto Guitar - Richard Parfitt Keyboards - Sister Bliss Mixed by - Ash Howes

"Stoned (Deep Dish Remix)" Guitar - Adam Zimmon Keyboards - Mark Bates Percussion - Carlos Paucer Piano - Sister Bliss Remix by - Deep Dish

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 2004 (U.S.)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Chart Stats - Dido - Don't Leave Home". The Official UK Charts Company. The Official Charts Company. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=92. Retrieved 2010-03-05. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Don't Leave Home – Dido Digital Sheet Music (Digital Download)". MusicNotes.com (Alfred Publishing Co. Inc). 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Billboard charts". Allmusic. 2004. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p70992. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Dido Music News & Info". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/artist/dido/56026#/artist/dido/56026. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Dido - Don't Leave Home". Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Dido&titel=Don%27t+Leave+Home&cat=s. Retrieved 30-03-2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Dido - Don't Leave Home". αCharts.us. http://acharts.us/song/1529. Retrieved 30-03-2010. 
7. ^ "allmusic ((( Life for Rent > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r658240. Retrieved 30-03-2010. 
8. ^ "Dido - Don't Leave Home". Billboard. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/artist/dido/56026#/song/dido/don-t-leave-home/4859511. Retrieved 30-03-2010.