Just Say When

"They said we'd never last." Those words are usually followed by a tale of a long-standing union that has stood the test of time, but in this case, "they" were right. Nothing More lead singer Jonny Hawkins wrote the lyric about an eight-year relationship he describes as fiery, confusing, and devoted. "I met her the day my mom had passed away, and she was kind of an escape in my life, and also a good companion and friend along the way during that tough time," he said in a Songfacts interview. "But as the years went on, it became clearer that we both wanted different things. All the excitement had worn off - all the veneer to the relationship - and the reality was setting in that we were just very different people with very different values at the end of the day. But we had such a history and also a friendship at the beginning of it, that it was very hard to know what to do with that truth. So, the song 'Just Say When' was talking about those final moments during the end of the relationship when I had to get to a point where I knew holding on was the wrong thing to do. Even though it felt like letting go was wrong, it was a conflict between my heart and my head, and a lot of different things at play."

This is an unusual song for the band as it is an acoustic ballad, which was recorded complete with a string section.

The seed of this song came on their tour bus. Guitarist Mark Vollelunga started playing on acoustic, and the notes cut to the core of what Hawkins was feelings as he grappled with the imminent end of his longstanding relationship. He says it's the most sentimental song he's ever written.