Don't Bring Me Down (Sia song)

"Don't Bring Me Down"
Single by Sia
from the album Colour the Small One
Released	November 2003 (2003-11)
Recorded	Heliocentric Studios, Rye, England
Length	4:27
Label	Go! Beat
Songwriter(s)	Sia Furler Blair MacKichan Samuel Dixon
Producer(s)	Jimmy Hogarth
Sia singles chronology
"Distractions" (2002) "Don't Bring Me Down" (2003) "Breathe Me" (2004)

"Don't Bring Me Down" is a 2003 song by Australian singer Sia. It was released in Australia in November 2003 ^[1] (and in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2004) as the first single from her third studio album Colour the Small One (2004). The track was written by Sia and Blair MacKichan who had recently worked with Will Young's on his Brit Award winning song, "Your Game". The track received little promotion and did not chart.

In the video The making of Colour the Small One, Sia explains: "I hadn't done drugs for a period of time before writing that song. It was about having a really horrible comedown off ecstasy, and the concept of being abandoned before you get to sleep - being the last one high when everyone else has gone to bed."^[2]

The track is included on the soundtrack for the film 36th Precinct^[3] and a number of compilations including, "Songbirds", Chillout Sessions, Vol. 6 as well as Sia's 2007 live album, Lady Croissant.^[4]

Music video

The music video for the song featured a live recording of the song released on the live album Lady Croissant in 2007. It featured Sia singing the song in front of a green screen, interjected with scenes of a young girl named Ella playing with balloons, swimming, and eating ice-cream.^[5]

Reviews

Katherine Tomlinson of All Gigs UK said; "'Don't Bring Me Down' features breathy vocals, mirroring the latest style brought to fame by Katie Melua and Norah Jones, complete with haunting strings, and dreamy vocals."^[6] Tareck Ghoneim of Contact Music said this EP demonstrates Sia's uniqueness. He said, "Her voice is expressed subtly with conviction and shows depth when needed. It’s the enchanting essence of Sia that makes her so appealing to listen to."^[7] Carmine Pascuzzi in a review of the album said of the song, "The acoustic guitar sits beautifully over the heartfelt strings".^[8] However, in a review of the album, Pitchfork Media's Chris Ott said the first single "Don't Bring Me Down" was the wrong choice, describing it as "a dolled-up, half-asleep stab at commercial trip-hop starving for a good hook".^[9]

Track listing

1 Track Single

1. Don't Bring Me Down - 4:27

EP ^[10]

1. Don't Bring Me Down - 4:27
2. Broken Biscuit - 4:56
3. Lucky - 3:16
4. So Bored - 3:09

• Note: Track 2 is available on the US re-issue of Colour The Small One. Tracks 3 and 4 on the EP are on the digital deluxe version of Colour the Small One.

References

1. "GUESTS & SPECIALS: SIA GUEST PROGRAMS RAGE Saturday 12 September 2009". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
2. "DON'T BRING ME DOWN by SIA". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
3. "36th Precinct (2004): Soundtracks". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
4. "Sia: Don't Bring Me Down". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
5. "Sia - Don't Bring Me Down (Official Video)". YouTube.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
6. "Don't bring me down - Sia Furler EP Review". www.allgigs.co.uk. 7 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
7. "Sia - 'Don't Bring Me Down - (E.P) Review". www.contactmusic.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
8. Pascuzzi, Carmine. "Sia – Colour the Small One". Mediasearch (Carmine Pascuzzi, Andrew Donald ). Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
9. "Colour the Small one". pitchfork.com. 2 March 2004. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
10. "Sia: Don't Bring Me Down (EP)". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.