About
Written by Robbie Williams and Stephen Duffy, Please Don’t Die is one of the most intimate and emotional moments on Intensive Care. A gentle piano ballad tinged with melancholy, it finds Williams confronting mortality, loss and the fear of being left behind. Its vulnerability and tenderness stand in stark contrast to the album’s darker humour, revealing a songwriter at his most open-hearted.
The lyric reads like a plea to a loved one — perhaps his mother, perhaps a partner — as Williams wrestles with the inevitability of death. “And if you die before I leave, what on earth becomes of me?” he sings, his voice wavering between strength and fragility. The line “The only gift you gave to me was a self-fulfilling prophecy” captures the circular pain of love and fate. With its simple arrangement and emotional candour, the song distils Williams’ recurring themes of faith, fear and devotion.
I was thinking about losing someone I love, and how terrifying that is. It’s about the moment you realise you can’t protect the people you care about, no matter how much you want to.Robbie Williams
The restrained production lets Williams’ vocal take centre stage, supported by understated piano and strings. There is a calm beauty in its resignation, a quiet acceptance that life and love are finite. Please Don’t Die may not have been a single, but it remains one of the emotional cornerstones of Intensive Care, a simple yet devastating reflection on love and mortality.
Lyrics
Please don't wake me
Nothing's sacred
And no-one save me
In my black eye
I can feel it
Moving closer
Can't you hear it
Only gift you gave to me
Was self-fulfilling prophecy
I need to change the sounds
That shape my life
And if you die before I leave
What on earth becomes of me
Look around there's no-one here
To love me and hold me
Take me dancing
I love music
Keep on singing
We won't loose it
Picture me here
Missing no-one
If your heart's run free
Why can't we go on
Go on to till they kick us out
We've everything to talk about
I could bring the song into your life
If you should die before I leave
What on earth becomes of me
Look around there's no-one here
To love me and hold me
Maybe I've been away too long
I know I'm not always right but is that wrong
They say there's nothing I can do
But talk to strangers and wait for you
If you should die before I leave
What on earth becomes of me
Look around there's no-one here
To love me and hold me
And if you die before i leave
What on earth becomes of me
Look around theres no-one here
To love me and hold me
Oooh ooh ooh
Credits
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Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Stephen Duffy