Stay

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"Stay" is a Grammy-winning song recorded by American country music duo Sugarland. Released in September 2007, it is the fourth and final single from their 2006 album Enjoy the Ride (see 2006 in country music). Overall, the song is the group's eighth single to enter the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, where it reached a peak position of #2. The music video for "Stay" was ranked #10 on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos.

In addition, it is the first song in Sugarland's career to be written solely by lead vocalist Jennifer Nettles.^[1]

"Stay" was certified Gold by the RIAA on February 21, 2008. It was later Sugarland's first single to earn a Platinum certification on March 24, 2009.

The song is part of the tracklist for Now That's What I Call Country.

About the song

"Stay" is a ballad of infidelity, taking the perspective of the mistress of a man who is cheating on his wife. It begins with the mistress's insistence that the man stay with her — even if his wife should call and ask where he is — because she (the mistress) is "so tired of being lonely". Although the man tells her that he will leave his wife for her, she refuses to believe him, telling him that "it's too much pain to have to bear / To love a man you have to share".

In the third verse, the mistress then changes her mind; according to Nettles, she (the woman in the song) "has her own sense of redemption and realizes she deserves more than being with someone who will never be fully hers".^[2] This change is revealed in the final chorus:

So the next time you find

You wanna leave her bed for mine

Why don't you stay?

I'm up off my knees

I'm so tired of being lonely

You can't give me what I need

When she begs you not to go

There is one thing you should know

I don't have to live this way

Baby, why don't you stay?

In the song, Nettles' vocals are accompanied by Kristian Bush (Sugarland's other member) on acoustic guitar; unlike most other Sugarland songs, Bush does not sing harmony vocals. The only other instrumentation in the song is an organ, played by Bush's brother Brandon.^[3]

Inspiration

"Stay", according to Nettles, was inspired by Reba McEntire's 1986 single "Whoever's in New England", a ballad in which a wife addresses her unfaithful husband.^[1] After hearing the song, Nettles thought that it would be an original approach to take the perspective of the "other woman" (i.e., the mistress), as very few country songs had ever done so.^[1][2] Once she decided to take that perspective, the song "practically wrote itself".^[1]

Awards

"Stay" has racked up numerous awards for Sugarland and Jennifer Nettles, as a writer. Most notable has been at the 51st Grammy Awards where it won " Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" and " Best Country Song". At the 2008 ACM Awards it won two awards for "Song of the Year" and "Single of the Year". At the 2008 CMA Awards it won "Song of the Year" and at the 2008 CMT Music Awards it won "Duo Video of the Year".

Chart performance

Although it was certified platinum by the RIAA, the song missed Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and peaked at #2 instead (having been blocked by Taylor Swift's "Our Song").

Cover versions

Ronan Keating version

In 2009, Ronan Keating released a cover version of the song. The song is the first single from Keating's 2009 album, Winter Songs.

Chart performance

References