Don't Leave Home Explained

Don't Leave Home
Cover:Dido - Don't Leave Home.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Dido
Album:Life for Rent
B-Side:"Stoned" (Deep Dish remix)
Studio:
  • The Ark
  • The Church (London, UK)
  • Cubejam (Miami, Florida)
Length:3:47
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Life for Rent
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:Sand in My Shoes
Next Year:2004

"Don't Leave Home" is the third single released from English singer Dido's second album, Life for Rent (2003). The song was first released as a digital download in various territories on 10 April 2004 before its physical UK release two days later. "Don't Leave Home" peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and charted for nine weeks. A remix of the song's B-side, "Stoned", by American electronic music duo Deep Dish topped the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart.

Background

"Don't Leave Home" deals with drug addiction. It is written and sung from the point of view of the drug singing to the person who is addicted to it.[1] It was originally a demo recorded for her 1999 album No Angel, but it was included instead on the 2003 album, Life for Rent. It was written and produced by Dido Armstrong and her brother Rollo Armstrong.[2] The song is set in common time composed in a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute,[3] written in F major with a vocal range from the tone of F4 to the note of C6.[3]

Music video

The Jake Nava-directed 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. The video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

"Stoned"

The B-side of the "Don't Leave Home" single, "Stoned", was released as a promotional single from Life for Rent. The song tells the story of an unwinding relationship, clouded through drugs. "Stoned" was remixed by Deep Dish; this version peaked at number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart on the week dated 24 January 2004. At the end of 2004, Billboard ranked the remix as the second-most-successful dance club track of year.

Track listings

UK CD single[4]

  1. "Don't Leave Home"
  2. "Stoned" (Deep Dish Stoner remix edit)

European CD single[5]

  1. "Don't Leave Home" – 3:48
  2. "Stoned" (Deep Dish remix edit) – 4:00
  3. "Don't Leave Home" (video with lyrics)

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the "Don't Leave Home" UK CD single liner notes and the Life for Rent booklet.[4] [6] Studios

Artwork

"Don't Leave Home" personnel

"Stoned" (Deep Dish remix) personnel

Charts

"Don't Leave Home"

Weekly charts

Chart (2004)Peak
position
Canada AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[7] 15
Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[8] 12
Greece (IFPI)[9] 24
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[10] 29

Year-end charts

"Stoned" (Deep Dish remix)

Year-end charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
Various10 April 2004Digital download[13] [14] [15]
United Kingdom12 April 2004CD[16]
United States19 April 2004Hot adult contemporary radio[17]
Sweden3 May 2004CD[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dido – "It's actually a song about drug addiction". Dido chats about Don't Leave Home in our latest audio commentary of a track from her new Greatest Hits album. didohq. Dido's Official Facebook Account. 10 December 2013. limited. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/19571497904/10152124687272905. 26 February 2022. 20 September 2020.
  2. Web site: Life for Rent – Dido. AllMusic. Stephen Thomas. Erlewine. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. 20 September 2020.
  3. News: Don't Leave Home – Dido Digital Sheet Music (Digital Download). MusicNotes.com. Alfred Publishing Co. Inc.
  4. Don't Leave Home. Dido. 2004. UK CD single liner notes. Cheeky Records, Arista Records. 82876611722.
  5. Don't Leave Home. Dido. 2004. European CD single liner notes. Cheeky Records, Arista Records. 82876609532.
  6. Life for Rent. Life for Rent. Dido. 2003. European CD album booklet. Arista Records, BMG, Cheeky Records. 82876545982.
  7. R&R Canada AC Top 30. Radio & Records. 1561. 49. June 25, 2004.
  8. RR Canada Hot AC Top 30. Radio & Records. 1560. 55. June 18, 2004. November 14, 2023.
  9. Web site: Top 50 Singles Εβδομάδα 13–19/6. IFPI. el. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040619192935/http://www.ifpi.gr:80/chart03.htm. 19 June 2004. 30 June 2020. See Best Position column.
  10. Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 24, saptamina 14.06 – 20.06, 2004. Romanian Top 100. ro. https://web.archive.org/web/20041013022358/http://www.rt100.ro/ed.php?tn=x10123. 13 October 2004. 1 September 2019. dead.
  11. 2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Adult Top 40 Songs. Billboard Radio Monitor. 12. 51. 26. 17 December 2004.
  12. Year in Music & Touring: Hot Dance Club Play Singles. Billboard. 116. 52. YE-60. 25 December 2004.
  13. Web site: Don't Leave Home – Single. Apple Music. 5 October 2021.
  14. Web site: Don't Leave Home – Single. Apple Music. 5 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Don't Leave Home – Single. Apple Music. 5 October 2021.
  16. Reviews: Singles. Music Week. 25. 3 April 2004.
  17. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1551. 26. 16 April 2004. 24 May 2021.
  18. Web site: Dido: Don't Leave Home. click2music.se. sv. https://web.archive.org/web/20050213083749/http://click2music.se/product.asp?prd=1912&art=246. 13 February 2005. 29 November 2023.

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