Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

Album

The Element of Freedom

Label

J Records

Genre

Synthpop

Composer(s)

Jeff Bhasker;Alicia Key;sPatrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds

Entered Chart

Dec 5, 2009

Peak Date

Jan 2, 2010

Released

November 17, 2009

Recorded

Oven Studios (New York, New York)Conway Studios (Los Angeles, California)

Catalog #

MBK/J Digital

B-Side

"Lover Man"

This is the second single from American R&B and soul artist Alicia Keys' fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom. This song was helmed by Grammy-winning producer Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay-Z). Asked by Artist Direct how he likes to set up the atmosphere to get the "best take," Bhasker replied that "as a preliminary thing," he likes to "vibe out" and "get to know them." It started with this song when Keys invited him out to dinner so they could get to know each other, before they worked together. "I take a good cue from that and try to spend the first day vibing out," he explained. "It makes it so much easier. You can actually get so much more done after that. They have to trust me first. That's the biggest thing. They have to trust where I'm coming from and what I'm saying. We have to get know each other, and then we can get the best out." During an appearance on BET's 106 & Park, Keys announced this song would be the follow-up single to "Doesn't Mean Anything." She added: "Big up to Jeff Bhasker for that one. It's gonna take you on an ascension and I wanna take you higher." Keys told The Sun November 13, 2009: "I just love that song. I'm excited about that song as I just love the way it's pushing things forward. It's a great representation of where I am now. I can play it with tons of music behind me or I can play it with just the piano. Either way it touches, you get it. I'm so very excited by that record." A certain Minneapolis singer-songwriter was an inspiration for this song. ''There was such a Prince element to it, Keys told Entertainment Weekly in 2012, "that quiet Prince place, where you know you could sing at the top of your lungs, but it's more powerful to be in this whispery zone. And that emotion of trying to get over somebody, it hurts so bad. Every time you tell yourself, 'This is it! I'm gonna be over it and over you.' And then you're not.'' One key rule that producer Jeff Bhasker follows is to keep things positive. He told American Songwriter magazine: "The trick is to put your emotion into it while keeping it upbeat. My first hit was Alicia Keys' 'Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart,' and it's a sad song but the chorus says 'Tonight I'm gonna find a way to make it without you,' so it's little things like that." "Music and pop songs should have a positive message," he added. "There's a power in music to heal people and give them a good feeling. From the greatest songs like 'Let It Be' or 'Imagine' or 'Man In The Mirror.' it's always about spinning something in a positive way. That's been an important thing for me."

Let's do it, baby
Let's do it, baby
Let's do it, do it

Even if you were a million miles away
I can still feel you in my bed
Near me, touch me, feel me
And even at the bottom of the sea
I could still hear inside my head
Telling me, touch me, feel me
And all the time, you were telling me lies, ay

So tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you
I'm gonna hold on to the times that we had
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you

Have you ever tried sleeping with a broken heart?
Well you could try sleeping in my bed
Lonely, own me, nobody ever shut it down like you
You wore the crown, you made my body feel Heaven-bound
Why don't you hold me? Need me
I thought you told me, you'd never leave me
Looking in the sky I could see your face
Then I knew right where I fit in
Take me, make me
You know that I'll always be in love with you
Right, 'til the end, ohh

So tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you
I'm gonna hold on to the times that we had
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you

Anybody could've told you right from the start it's 'bout to fall apart
So rather than hold on to a broken dream I'll just hold on to love
And I could find a way to make it, don't hold on too tight
I'll make it without you tonight

So tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you (oh, hold on)
I'm gonna hold on to the times that we had
Tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you

Oh, Lord

Have you ever tried? Have you ever
Living without my love
Have you ever tried, have you ever tried?

La, la
La-la-la-la-la, la
La, la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la