Go Gentle

About

Go Gentle was released on 11 November 2013 as the lead single from Swings Both Ways. Written by Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers and Chris Heath, the song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and became one of Williams’s most personal recordings. It was written as a letter of guidance to his daughter, Theodora “Teddy” Rose Williams, shortly after her birth in 2012.

The song emerged from Williams and Chambers’s first writing session together in several years. According to Chambers, the collaboration rekindled their long-standing creative rapport instantly. Williams described the process as emotional and instinctive, explaining that “it’s a promise I’m making to my daughter… a song I want to live up to.” Musically, Go Gentle blends tender piano melodies with a warm orchestral arrangement, echoing the sophisticated pop craftsmanship of Burt Bacharach.

Lyrically, the song offers fatherly advice with humour and honesty. Williams warns his daughter about love and self-worth, urging her to be wary of people who might take advantage of her and to “go gentle through your life.” The lines “Don’t waste time with the eejits who think that they’re heroes / They will betray you, stick with us weirdos” capture his wry perspective on fame, relationships and individuality. The song’s whistled middle section became one of its most distinctive motifs.

“Go Gentle is a promise I’m making to my daughter. It was written when she first arrived on the planet, and I’d been a selfish pop star for most of my life. Suddenly I was asked to take care of this whole person, and that’s scary.”Robbie Williams

The accompanying video, directed by Mark Klasfeld, shows Williams piloting a large boat named Theodora through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The surreal image of the singer as a ship’s captain navigating a concrete ocean symbolised fatherhood’s new direction and responsibility. Critics widely praised Go Gentle for its sincerity and melodic strength, with many calling it one of Williams’s most heartfelt songs. Its mix of introspection, humour and vulnerability established it as a modern classic within his swing repertoire.