"Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" is the debut single by American duo She & Him, released on November 17, 2008 by

Double Six Recordings Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...

from their first album, '' Volume One''. The song was written by Zooey Deschanel and produced by

M. Ward Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ranked this song 64th in its list "The 100 Best Singles of 2008", considering it "a retro-pop duet with sweetly plaintive vocals". For

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, James Montgomery ranked the song the 18th best song of 2008 out of 33 and commented "it's Deschanel's big, bell-clear vocals (and that "uh-huh!") that make this one truly special." In his review of ''Volume One'', Grayson Currin of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

considered the song to be "built around black-and-white, simplistic emotions and dotted with vintage sexual innuendo."

Music videos

Two different music videos of this song were produced. The first video, directed by Ace Norton, featured Zooey Deschanel and

in a semi-animated enactment that premiered on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's program '' FNMTV'' on July 11, 2008. The second video, released in 2009, was a collaboration of talent from the film ''

(500) Days of Summer ''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...

'', including co-stars Zooey Deschanel and

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

with director

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy ''500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in ...

, choreographer Michael Rooney, and producer

Mason Novick Mason Novick (born December 20, 1974) is an American film producer and talent manager based in Los Angeles. Background Career His credits include '' Red Eye'' (2005), '' Juno'' (2007), ''(500) Days of Summer'' (2009) and ''Jennifer's Body'' ( ...

. It begins with Gordon-Levitt walking into a bank with dark sunglasses on. He silently demands money from Deschanel who removes his glasses, and they begin to dance. At the end, she is shown putting the glasses back on his face and he takes the money and leaves.

Track listings and formats

*US vinyl / 7" single #"Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" – 2:34 #"Lotta Love" - 3:52 (

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

)

Credits and personnel

* Zooey Deschanel – songwriter, vocals, piano * M. Ward – guitars, producer *

Mike Coykendall Mike Coykendall is a musician, audio engineer, and record producer. Born in Norwich, Kansas in 1963, Coykendall was a member of the Wichita-based Klyde Konnor, which performed and recorded frequently throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He mov ...

– engineering, mixing, bass, percussion * Mike Mogis – mixing, engineering * Adam Selzer – engineering * Doug Van Sloun – mastering Published by Domino Publishing Co. Ltd (PRS) (ASCAP).

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 songs 2008 debut singles She & Him songs Songs written by Zooey Deschanel Music videos directed by Marc Webb Merge Records singles