Please Forgive Me

This song finds David Gray in a state of infatuation, unable to express his love with mere words. He asks forgiveness only because he's overwhelmed every time he looks at the lady, which makes him act a little strange. It's a sincere expression of ineffable love, and while Gray doesn't like to assign tangible influences to his songs, it's safe to assume inspiration for the lyric came from his wife Olivia, whom he married in 1993.

"Please Forgive Me" hit Gray in a flash of inspiration that he describes as a "weird, almost out-of-body experience." In an interview with Songfacts, he explained: "Those words were hitting me so hard as I was writing them, I had tears in my eyes at times. And yet, at the same time, the objective part of me was going, 'Don't blow it! Stay on it!' You know, don't overdo it, don't overcook this. Don't throw things in just because you can. Don't over-flavor this particular broth, just use the sparest amount of vivacity to bring this thing into life. I had these two voices operating." He says the song was written in about 40 minutes.

Gray recorded this song in his home studio using a Roland Groovebox to supply the beats; the device had come on the market in 1996, so its sounds and stylings were fresh. On the White Ladder album, he used two key collaborators - percussionist Craig McClune and beatmaker Iestyn Polson - both of whom acted as producers. By ceding some control, he was able to expand his sonic palette and bring new ideas to the project early on. They achieved a warm but very modern sound that set a new standard in low-budget home recording. The drums were the tricky part, but also a key component: McClune played them live at another location where they were recorded and played back in Gray's studio through a sampler.