From a Rolling Stones article dated October 1999...
"The song "Sleep" is particularly moving, and very different for you."
I was in the process of writing all of these songs for the album and I would play them for Julie, my partner. You listen to songs like "Enough of Me" and "Stronger Than Me" and they are about the dark side of our relationship, about the bad days, about the conflict and the fears. Finally one day, Julie said, "You know people are just going to think that I'm just awful...I dare you to write a love song about us." And I did. I sat down and I said, "Okay, if I was to write just a really pure thought about my relationship with Julie, what would it be? How much do I love Julie? I love her so much that I want at the end of my life to die in her arms. I just want to go to sleep in her arms."
It was very simple -- the song. It was about the physical lust and attraction and about the building of a life and home together in the second verse and the third verse was about death and exiting. It's a gift to her. I've found since that I get two very different reactions to the song. This is the only time I've ever written a song where I've found that there is a division between male and female. Females just cry when they hear that song. They weep because that nurturing thing of someone lying on someone's shoulder and curling up -- that's very important to females, but that's not a male thing. They don't curl up on somebody's shoulder. I've had guys say, "I love all the songs, except that 'Sleep' song. I just can't relate to that." I've been fascinated to see that reaction.
Now listening to the album, you can see the foreshadowing of events to come afterward...She and Julie broke up after 12 years when Julie decided for the umpteenth time that she was straight...Still a beautiful song, just not sure that it was truly meant for Julie although at the time, I'm sure Melissa thought so...
From a Rolling Stones article dated October 1999...
"The song "Sleep" is particularly moving, and very different for you."
I was in the process of writing all of these songs for the album and I would play them for Julie, my partner. You listen to songs like "Enough of Me" and "Stronger Than Me" and they are about the dark side of our relationship, about the bad days, about the conflict and the fears. Finally one day, Julie said, "You know people are just going to think that I'm just awful...I dare you to write a love song about us." And I did. I sat down and I said, "Okay, if I was to write just a really pure thought about my relationship with Julie, what would it be? How much do I love Julie? I love her so much that I want at the end of my life to die in her arms. I just want to go to sleep in her arms."
It was very simple -- the song. It was about the physical lust and attraction and about the building of a life and home together in the second verse and the third verse was about death and exiting. It's a gift to her. I've found since that I get two very different reactions to the song. This is the only time I've ever written a song where I've found that there is a division between male and female. Females just cry when they hear that song. They weep because that nurturing thing of someone lying on someone's shoulder and curling up -- that's very important to females, but that's not a male thing. They don't curl up on somebody's shoulder. I've had guys say, "I love all the songs, except that 'Sleep' song. I just can't relate to that." I've been fascinated to see that reaction.
Now listening to the album, you can see the foreshadowing of events to come afterward...She and Julie broke up after 12 years when Julie decided for the umpteenth time that she was straight...Still a beautiful song, just not sure that it was truly meant for Julie although at the time, I'm sure Melissa thought so...