Pick of the Week: “Up All Night”

James Bay joins forces with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan on his newest song “Up All Night” for a match made in music lover’s heaven. 

By Avieana Rivera, Music Coordinator

A COLLABORATION FOR THE AGES 

This song is the collaboration you never knew you needed. James Bay enlisted the help of two folk legends, The Lumineers and Noah Kahan, and it's safe to say this song brings out the best in all of them. Complete with incredible vocals and harmonies, guitar shredding, and a beat that anyone can rock out to, the group blends together so seamlessly that you almost can’t tell when one artist stops singing and another starts. This is the kind of song that you can tell was fun to make for everyone involved.

DIVING INTO THE LYRICS OF UP ALL NIGHT 

The song itself starts off with a bang. That is, the literal pounding of a drum. Then, Bay comes in, with a low, almost rumbling voice. Just as listeners are starting to get a feel for the song, the guitar comes in, and changes the song completely. It’s upbeat, full of rhythm and personality, and just makes you want to dance.  

The lyrics, however, are not as cheerful as the song’s overall sound. They detail all of one’s deepest worries that run through their mind as they’re trying to sleep.  In this song, “Up All Night” isn’t referring to a party or a good time, but the opposite. It’s talking about trying to go to bed and your brain rebelling against you, replaying everything you’ve ever done wrong, and keeping you up.

The first verse, sung by Bay and Kahan, talks about messing things up in a relationship. The lyrics that each artist repeats are “ ‘Cause what I want and what I’m worried about came true”. Then, the song goes into the chorus, “Let’s talk about dreams/ Let’s talk about lies/ Let’s talk about all the things that keep us up all night”. All three singers come together, putting emphasis on the causes of their insomnia.

In the second verse, sung by Bay and The Lumineers’ Wesley Shultz, Shultz sings “I forgot what, what I wanted and the sun went down”. In each of these verses, the singer points out a different example of what keeps them up at night, because everyone’s reasons are different. Yet in the end they come together and are able to connect over their common ground, and share with each other what exactly is keeping them up all night. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR JAMES BAY?

After wrapping up his time on tour with Noah Kahan, Bay will be rounding out the summer playing some more festivals closer to his home in Europe. In September, Bay will release his fourth studio album, Changes All The Time. Hopefully after that he will make his way back to us here in the States, and we will be able to hear his new album live!