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Multiple meanings of Don't Walk Away?

Masonh

Masonh

Invincible
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1. Michael sings about LMP and how he misses her.

"If you go, I won't forget you, girl
Can't you see that you will always be?
Even though I had to let you go"

2. Michael sings about failed original plans for Invincible album, that he wanted to realize, but was forced to let go, because Sony rejected them

"How can I stop losing you?
How can I begin to say
When there’s nothing left to do but walk away?"

3. Michael sings about his movie shooting dreams failed due to allegations and other problems

"And why?
All my dreams been broken
I don’t know where we’re going"

I came up with these 3. Which one do you think Michael might have been thinking about when he wrote this song?
 
Masonh said:
Which one do you think Michael might have been thinking about when he wrote this song?
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He didn’t write the song, and he probably didn’t give any thought to the lyrics, which are boilerplate love-gone-wrong words that are similar to a million other songs.

The actual songwriter is Richard Stites. If he’s on X, maybe ask him who was on his mind when he wrote the words?
 
kreen said:
He didn’t write the song, and he probably didn’t give any thought to the lyrics, which are boilerplate love-gone-wrong words that are similar to a million other songs.

The actual songwriter is Richard Stites. If he’s on X, maybe ask him who was on his mind when he wrote the words?
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That's not true. Michael wrote this song with Teddy Riley!
 
Masonh said:
That's not true. Michael wrote this song with Teddy Riley!
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Per Richard Stites:

Is this composition somehow autobiographical?

It is completely autobiographical. I wrote the lyrics about a girl that I loved that broke my heart by walking away. I remember I didn’t want her to go but I just couldn’t find the right words to say to her. Finally, she changed her name, moved away and I never talked to her again. Her name was Grace Lee from Alaska.
I was intensely involved in the production of the entire song “Don’t Walk Away” as I sang the original version and it was intentionally meant to go on my album at Interscope Records.​
 
LiveItOffTheWall said:
Per Richard Stites:

Is this composition somehow autobiographical?

It is completely autobiographical. I wrote the lyrics about a girl that I loved that broke my heart by walking away. I remember I didn’t want her to go but I just couldn’t find the right words to say to her. Finally, she changed her name, moved away and I never talked to her again. Her name was Grace Lee from Alaska.
I was intensely involved in the production of the entire song “Don’t Walk Away” as I sang the original version and it was intentionally meant to go on my album at Interscope Records.​
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Just going to ignore this one "Mason Ermantraut", huh?? 😂😂
 
Masonh said:
1. Michael sings about LMP and how he misses her.

"If you go, I won't forget you, girl
Can't you see that you will always be?
Even though I had to let you go"

2. Michael sings about failed original plans for Invincible album, that he wanted to realize, but was forced to let go, because Sony rejected them

"How can I stop losing you?
How can I begin to say
When there’s nothing left to do but walk away?"

3. Michael sings about his movie shooting dreams failed due to allegations and other problems

"And why?
All my dreams been broken
I don’t know where we’re going"

I came up with these 3. Which one do you think Michael might have been thinking about when he wrote this song?
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He never wrote the song. The ballads on Invincible were dreadful anyways. Butterflies is the only one i personally liked however each to their own we all have our own likes and dislikes. Personally i did not like the album whatsoever apart from 2 or 3 tracks. I think he waited to long after History to release a new album. As i say i liked 2 or 3 songs , Whatever Happens and Butterflies i thought were very good. The ballads were just corny af , The lost Children ...lol. YRWM was a good song imo but the video was boring ( a poor mans Smooth Criminal) . 2000 Watts was a bold move but i thought the lyrics were dreadful though i loved the concept of the lower tone and how he tried something different. Anyways lecture over haha.
 
I suspect he identified with the song, otherwise he wouldn't have sung it. I think the most likely explanation is that he was thinking of Lisa Marie.
 
Hot_Street said:
I suspect he identified with the song, otherwise he wouldn't have sung it. I think the most likely explanation is that he was thinking of Lisa Marie.
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I think we're just making stuff up now. If Michael Jackson had wanted LMP back he could have had her back, her desperation to get back together post divorce was very obvious. Truth is, he didn't want her back. He makes that very clear in his conversations with RS.
 
Because she didn't want to make children with him. And that was very important for him.
LiveItOffTheWall said:
I think we're just making stuff up now. If Michael Jackson had wanted LMP back he could have had her back, her desperation to get back together post divorce was very obvious. Truth is, he didn't want her back. He makes that very clear in his conversations with RS.
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Andymachine said:
He never wrote the song. The ballads on Invincible were dreadful anyways. Butterflies is the only one i personally liked however each to their own we all have our own likes and dislikes. Personally i did not like the album whatsoever apart from 2 or 3 tracks. I think he waited to long after History to release a new album. As i say i liked 2 or 3 songs , Whatever Happens and Butterflies i thought were very good. The ballads were just corny af , The lost Children ...lol. YRWM was a good song imo but the video was boring ( a poor mans Smooth Criminal) . 2000 Watts was a bold move but i thought the lyrics were dreadful though i loved the concept of the lower tone and how he tried something different. Anyways lecture over haha.
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Why do you all love Butterflies? It's so mediocre! Heaven Can Wait is much better
 
Masonh said:
1. Michael sings about LMP and how he misses her.

"If you go, I won't forget you, girl
Can't you see that you will always be?
Even though I had to let you go"

2. Michael sings about failed original plans for Invincible album, that he wanted to realize, but was forced to let go, because Sony rejected them

"How can I stop losing you?
How can I begin to say
When there’s nothing left to do but walk away?"

3. Michael sings about his movie shooting dreams failed due to allegations and other problems

"And why?
All my dreams been broken
I don’t know where we’re going"

I came up with these 3. Which one do you think Michael might have been thinking about when he wrote this song?
Click to expand...
'Don't Walk Away' is clearly about his supposed girlfriend.

That is because, for example, of the "I won't forget you, girl, I won't forget you, girl" line.

So, the song cannot be about Sony Music (failed original plans for the 'Invincible' album), or about his movie shooting dreams which failed due to allegations and other problems.
 
mj_frenzy said:
'Don't Walk Away' is clearly about his supposed girlfriend.

That is because, for example, of the "I won't forget you, girl, I won't forget you, girl" line.

So, the song cannot be about Sony Music (failed original plans for the 'Invincible' album), or about his movie shooting dreams which failed due to allegations and other problems.
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MJ didn't write the song so it's not about anything related to him. It's autobiographical to the songwriter, Richard Stites. It's about his ex-girlfriend. He has clearly stated this in interviews.
 
LiveItOffTheWall said:
MJ didn't write the song so it's not about anything related to him. It's autobiographical to the songwriter, Richard Stites. It's about his ex-girlfriend. He has clearly stated this in interviews.
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It's one thing to say MJ's delivery possibly conveys how he may have felt about Lisa Marie, or whatever else people may think this song is about - but to completely ignore what the actual song writer of the actual song has said it was written about is simply delusional.

MJ's career was interesting enough without having to make up sh*t like this.
 
LiveItOffTheWall said:
MJ didn't write the song so it's not about anything related to him. It's autobiographical to the songwriter, Richard Stites. It's about his ex-girlfriend. He has clearly stated this in interviews.
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I read your interview. Richard confirms, that Michael wrote 10% of this song. I was wrong about Teddy Riley. Still Michael put his vocals on this song plus he co-produced 10%
 
Masonh said:
I read your interview. Richard confirms, that Michael wrote 10% of this song. I was wrong about Teddy Riley. Still Michael put his vocals on this song plus he co-produced 10%
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Wrong. He didn't write any of the song. As far as his producer credit, Richard agreed to give him only a 10% producer credit but he took full producer credit instead. The entire thing was complete when Richard walked into the studio aside from MJ recording his vocals. Re-read what Richard said:

Teddy Riley is credited as a composer and a producer too – what do you recall of his work?

In fact, Teddy was not involved in the production of the track whatsoever. I had a 27 piece live orchestra on there. I walked in with the final master tapes. He scheduled Michael to cut the vocals but took production credit and listed himself as the producer but that’s how it turns out on big albums like that. Yes, I produced the song but on the album it shows me in the booklet as the co-producer and Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson as the producers even though I only agreed to give them 10% of the production credit. The background vocals were already recorded before we cut Michael’s vocals. I walked into the studio with the master tapes of everything. The only things we added was Michael’s vocals with just some more effects and Teddy did an arrangement with an electric guitar for the intro. Regarding my vocal part you can hear at the end of the song, Michael wanted to keep it in. Actually, he wanted more but ended up only using the end vocals from my demo. The late great sound engineer Bruce Swedien mixed the song that night and that is what we hear.
 
Re-posting the Brice Najar interview excerpt:

www.bricenajar.com

Richard Stites - BRICE NAJAR

Michael Jackson Teddy Riley Invincible Richard Stites Don't Walk Away Sony Music
www.bricenajar.com

"Can you tell us about the creative process of the song “Don’t Walk Away”?

Yes, I was involved in the entire conception, creation and production of the song “Don’t Walk Away”. I also recorded all of the initial vocals as it was supposed to be on my album on Interscope Records as I said. Michael and I bonded instantly. I remember I was in the back of the studio with all of my equipment setup. I was playing a new song I was working on that we ended up doing as well. I was bobbing my head to the track I was playing and wearing sunglasses and Michael mimicked me and started bobbing his head too and took sunglasses out of his top pocket and also put them on. I will remember that forever as it was hilarious.

Teddy Riley is credited as a composer and a producer too – what do you recall of his work?

In fact, Teddy was not involved in the production of the track whatsoever. I had a 27 piece live orchestra on there. I walked in with the final master tapes. He scheduled Michael to cut the vocals but took production credit and listed himself as the producer but that’s how it turns out on big albums like that. Yes, I produced the song but on the album it shows me in the booklet as the co-producer and Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson as the producers even though I only agreed to give them 10% of the production credit. The background vocals were already recorded before we cut Michael’s vocals. I walked into the studio with the master tapes of everything. The only things we added was Michael’s vocals with just some more effects and Teddy did an arrangement with an electric guitar for the intro. Regarding my vocal part you can hear at the end of the song, Michael wanted to keep it in. Actually, he wanted more but ended up only using the end vocals from my demo. The late great sound engineer Bruce Swedien mixed the song that night and that is what we hear.

(…Through our conversations on Messenger of which this interview is the fruit, Richard allowed me to listen to his demo of “Don’t Walk Away”. I had not dared to ask him but my interlocutor did it spontaneously. He seemed to really appreciate my interest in the genesis of this song and thus documents our exchanges. All the more so as all this confirms his statements: the essential was already there when he put his voice. The whole thing is a little more intimate in a more acoustic atmosphere, and the final version contains only a few arrangements. Michael could have taken this artistic direction that he had already tried with “Much Too Soon” although he didn’t include it in his final track list. However, he totally respected Richard’s vision in his interpretation. The pain and sorrow can already be fully felt in this demo and I personally felt privileged to hear what had made the King of Pop want to record the song. The ending sounds familiar, and for good reason: it is indeed Richard’s vocal take that was used and can be heard on the Invincible album. I have the pleasant sensation of listening to an archive document: it is actually in this field that I try to bring my modest contribution in the musical world of Michael Jackson trying to make me useful…)


EDIT: "Naturally, I asked him for permission to talk about the demos. He kindly accepted, saying that he has kept it all to himself for too long. He even added that since the Invincible sessions, I am the first person to listen to this demo and he appreciates my interest. This is how I keep hope that, among the collaborators of the King of Pop, many more will be happy to share the beautiful experience they had with him…)"
 
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innuendo141 said:
It's one thing to say MJ's delivery possibly conveys how he may have felt about Lisa Marie, or whatever else people may think this song is about - but to completely ignore what the actual song writer of the actual song has said it was written about is simply delusional.
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(y)

innuendo141 said:
MJ's career was interesting enough without having to make up sh*t like this.
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🎯
 
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He has no proofs by the way. What if he is just like Eddie Cascio, huh?? What if he lied just to pull more blanket over himself? I saw a picture of Michael being in the studio. I have actual proofs. And this guys? I don't even care who he is, I never even thinked, that he is on the backround vocals, I thought it was Michael. So, WHO CARES? This guys is nobody, literally. If he had real proofs of his words, then I would belived him. But his words says nothing. NOTHING. So at end of the day, I'm still sure that Michael was one of co-producers and co-writers of this song. This is the truth! Like it or not, but you will live with this
 
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