I'm Not The Only One

Album

Slow Me Down

Label

Capitol Records

Genre

Soul

Composer(s)

Sam Smith;James Napier

Entered Chart

Jun 21, 2014

Peak Date

Dec 27, 2014

Released

31 August 2014

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Capitol Digital

Smith wrote this song with Jimmy Napes (Naughty Boy's "La La La," Disclosure's "Latch"). He told 4Music in a track-by-track: "I wanted to make a Norah Jones-esque record with a heavier beat. This is the same chord pattern again and again. It's complex in its simplicity." The song is a track from In the Lonely Hour, an album that tackles Smith's lack of a love life. "On 'Latch' I was singing about love," Smith told The Guardian, "but I've never physically experienced it. And I'm kind of sick of listening to albums about the turmoils of relationships, never having had one. So I wanted to write an album for people who have never been in love. I want to be a voice for lonely people." The song's music video was directed by Luke Monaghan, who also worked on Smith's "Leave Your Lover" clip. The visual was filmed in LA and picks up on the song's theme of infidelity as we see Glee's Dianna Agron portray the scorned wife of the cheating Chris Messina (The Mindy Project). The song tells a heartbreaking story that Smith observed first hand. "It's about a marriage that I've been an observer of," he explained to Digital Spy. "I put myself into the woman's shoes." "The person I wrote it with, we both knew them and we just vibed off each other," Smith added. "We both had really strong opinions on what the woman was doing. It's quite a complex song. When you listen to it you think it's just bashing a guy for cheating, but it's not, it actually talks more about how the woman's a mug. She knows she's not the only one, but she's never going to leave. I think that's wrong." A$AP Rocky spits some rhymes on Smith's remix of the song. We hear the New York rapper tap into the song's theme of infidelity as he becomes that cheating lover. He names the girl that he wrongs Sasha Fierce, which is also the moniker that Beyoncé gave her sexpot alter ego. So Sasha Fierce A whole lot of tears Rolling down her cheeks Crying 'til she's sound a sleep Preach, pray that today is not a lonely one. It was BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe who suggested to Smith that he should do a remix with a rapper. "For me this sounded more like a jazzy track, but Zane Lowe was actually the one who said - he rang me up and left a voice mail on my phone - and was like, 'Sam, this is a hip-hop track. You need a rapper on it'" Smith told Digital Spy. "So he kind of inspired us to get a rapper on it and just show a different life to the music. I've always said my music is genre-less, and I always want it to remain that way."

A new disease in my town called Idiotic
Every pretty lady in my city got it, point blank
Periodically empty seats, dine at Ciprianis
Like Beyoncé, they're getting by or they get embodied
So Sasha Fierce, a whole lot of tears
Rolling down her cheeks, crying till she's sound asleep (sleep)
Preach (preach), pray (pray) that today is not a lonely one
You gotta know you not the only one

You and me, we made a vow
For better or for worse
I can't believe you let me down
But the proof is in the way it hurts
For months on end I've had my doubts
Denying every tear
I wish this would be over now
But I know that I still need you here

You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one

You've been so unavailable
Now sadly I know why
Your heart is unobtainable
Even though God knows you have mine

You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one

We all guilty of the same crime if you ask me
I might've had a couple women at the same time
She can't handle the pressure, Jack Daniels for breakfast
A cap of valium mixed with antidepressants, precious
My momma said that we need love
Till I found out life's a bitch with no prenup, you're on your own
Divorces or court splits, decisions and choices
The Porsche or the fortress? Ignore it or forfeit

You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one

I know I'm not the only one
I know I'm not the only one
And I know, and I know, and I know, and I know, and I know, and I don't know
I know I'm not the only one