"Don't Leave Home" is the third single released from English singer

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

's second album, ''

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-2002 ...

'' (2003). The song was first released as a digital download in various territories on 10 April 2004 before its physical UK release two days later. "Don't Leave Home" peaked at number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and charted for nine weeks. A remix of the song's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Stoned", by American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo Deep Dish topped the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Background

"Don't Leave Home" deals with

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

. It is written and sung from the point of view of the drug singing to the person who is addicted to it. It was originally a demo recorded for her 1999 album ''

No Angel ''No Angel'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Dido. Originally released on 1 June 1999 in the United States, the album found a mass audience when it was released worldwide in February 2001. By 2003, the album had sold mor ...

'', but it was included instead on the 2003 album, ''

.'' It was written and produced by Dido Armstrong and her brother

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as Rollo, is an English music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithl ...

. The song is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

composed in a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 80 beats per minute, written in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

with a vocal range from the tone of F₄ to the note of C₆.

Music video

The

Jake Nava Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and ed ...

-directed music video for "Don't Leave Home" starts with the singer driving on a desert road as it gets dark. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a forest. Dido leaves the car, drops her suitcase on the ground, and enters the forest. Some of the themes and scenery imply drug addiction, like the hazy affects, the forest filled with mushrooms and hallucinations of spiders and snakes. She leaves the forest and comes across a huge rock-like cliff by the ocean. She sings calmly by the cliff before jumping into the ocean and finds herself on a wide strand with white sand singing out to the ocean. The video ends with the car driving on with broken white lines. The video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

"Stoned"

The B-side, "Stoned", was released as a promotional single from ''Life for Rent''. The song tells the story of an unwinding relationship, clouded through drugs. "Stoned" was remixed by Deep Dish; this version peaked at number one on the US ''

chart on the week dated 24 January 2004. At the end of 2004, ''Billboard'' ranked the remix as the second-most-successful dance club track of year.

Track listings

UK CD single # "Don't Leave Home" # "Stoned" (Deep Dish Stoner Remix edit) European CD single # "Don't Leave Home" – 3:48 # "Stoned" (Deep Dish Remix edit) – 4:00 # "Don't Leave Home" (video with lyrics)

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the "Don't Leave Home" UK CD single liner notes and the ''

'' booklet. Studios * Recorded at The Ark (

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England), The Church,

Wessex Studios Wessex Sound Studios was a recording studio located at 106a Highbury New Park, London, England. Many renowned popular music artists recorded there, including Sex Pistols, King Crimson, the Clash, Theatre of Hate, XTC, the Sinceros, Queen, Talk Tal ...

(London, England), and Cubejam (Miami, Florida, US) * Mixed at The Church (London, England) * "Don't Leave Home" strings recorded at

Air Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

(London, England) * Mastered at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

(London, England) Artwork * Simon Corkin – artwork design * Bev Jones – photography "Don't Leave Home" personnel * Dido – writing (as Dido Armstrong), production *

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

– writing (as Rollo Armstrong), production * Richard Parfitt – guitar *

Sister Bliss Ayalah Deborah Bentovim (born 30 December 1970), better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the pr ...

– additional keyboards, drum programming * Makoto Sakamoto – drums *

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

– production * Matthieu Clouard – production assistant * Ash Howes – mixing *

Phill Brown Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career Brown ...

– recording * Ger McDonnell – recording * James Sanger – programming * Mark Bates – programming assistant * Pete Davies – programming assistant *

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– string arrangement *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

* Miles Showell – mastering "Stoned" (Deep Dish Remix) personnel * Dido – writing (as Dido Armstrong), production * Rollo – writing (as Rollo Armstrong), production *

Lester Mendez Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique Iglesias, and ot ...

– writing, original recordings * Adam Zimmon – acoustic guitar * Carlos Paucer – percussion * Sister Bliss – piano * Mark Bates – additional keyboards, programming * Ash Howes – mixing * Phill Brown – recording * Steve Sidelnyk – additional drum programming * Deep Dish – remix and additional production (as

Dubfire Ali Shirazinia ( fa, علی شیرازی‌نیا), commonly known by his stage name Dubfire, is an Iranian American house and techno DJ and producer. Prior to his solo career, Dubfire made up half of the duo Deep Dish. Dubfire's style is notic ...

and

Sharam Sharam Tayebi ( fa, شهرام طیبی, born August 12, 1970), better known as Sharam, is an Iranian techno and house DJ and producer. Born in Tehran, Iran, he emigrated to Washington D.C. at the age of 14. A mainstay of the Washington undergr ...

), remix mixing * Matt Nordstrom – remix mixing

Charts

"Don't Leave Home"

"Stoned" (Deep Dish Remix)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2003 songs 2004 singles Arista Records singles Cheeky Records singles Dido (singer) songs Music videos directed by Jake Nava Song recordings produced by Dido (singer) Song recordings produced by Mike Hedges Song recordings produced by Rollo Armstrong Songs about drugs Songs written by Dido (singer) Songs written by Rollo Armstrong