Donovan Woods Teams Up With Katie Pruitt For Emotional Love Song “She Waits For Me To Come Back Down”
Donovan Woods has released a stunning new single, ‘She Waits For Me To Come Back Down,’ featuring Katie Pruitt. The pair wrote the song together, Woods saying that it was Pruitt’s idea. When the duo performed the song on tour in 2019, the audience’s reaction made it clear that the song needed to be recorded as a duet for the upcoming album, Without People. Their voices entwine effortlessly as the track explores the ability of love’s grace to overcome unhealthy imbalances.
Brimming with tender lyrics, there’s a heavy emotionality to the track as it describes the dynamic between the characters, inspired by Pruitt’s own relationship. “Katie Pruitt and I wrote this together and it was her idea — a love song for her girlfriend, I think,” says Woods. “I love the mood in this song. It’s lovely and sweet, but steeped in a bit of worry that we may be hearing about a slightly unhealthy relationship. But aren’t all the good ones? A friend of mine told me after hearing it that, “I’m a mess and she’s a masterpiece,” is a line that could only be written by a woman about a woman. I don’t know if that’s true, but luckily that is the case here.”
“I make a mess inside my head and she just waits beside my bed / until all the kicked up dust settles on the ground” is one of the vivid descriptions within the first verse, the give and take sentiment echoed in the following line, “she waits for me to come back down.” Speaking to the most basic element of choosing love, and choosing a person no matter their flaws in a given moment brings a vulnerability to the song, and also alludes to the potential of an unhealthy dynamic within the relationship.
The simplicity of the song is what makes it so touching, allowing the lyrics to stand alone against the melody played on a guitar. Minimal backing vocals come in during the second chorus, with heightened harmonies between Woods and Pruitt through the second half, making way for a compelling instrumental interlude ties everything together.
After launching his Donovan Woods With People Project in July, he has collaborated with a handful of independent creators from North America, United Kingdom, Sweden, Kenya and beyond across a diverse range of art mediums including graphic design and illustration, painting, dancing and more. “She Waits For Me To Come Back Down” is one of those projects.
Choreographer and dancer Mackenzie Martin dances at the Imperial Sand Dunes, with the only prop being an armchair used to highlight the exchange between the two characters in the song. As the pair puts motion to the words, they are mirrored by a pair of dancers on either side, only to stand alone again by the conclusion of the song. The video is just as stunning in its simplicity as the song itself.
Without People is set for release November 6th, 2020, and was created through the remote contribution by the musicians. A fitting name for our current pandemic state, the album encompasses the most intimate moments of human connection. You can listen to “She Waits For Me To Come Back Down” here, and can watch the accompanying music video below.
