Nick Ryder Songwriter: Hey You

I started writing Hey You for Georgia Batterley as I thought it would be a good vehicle for her voice.

Originally, I intended it to be in the style of The Joker by The Steve Miller Band. I wanted a big anthemic chorus, so that was my starting point. Hey, You with it being repeated by the backing vocals.

I was struggling with the story for the song, so getting the right lyrics was hard, and then I remembered a situation whereby a couple had split up, but one of them couldn't let go or accept it was over, even though it was the best thing for them. It was a lightbulb moment and the song wrote itself after that.

My next challenge was the arrangement. I tried recording a few different versions but none of them sat right with me. Too fast, too slow, not enough impact…. So I left it for a few months.

It's important to know that songwriters do not work in a vacuum, and often take inspiration from wherever they can get it.

One day I was driving to work and the song Gravity by the band Embrace came on the radio. I was enjoying the arrangement. Piano intro, the band comes in, everything is stripped back when the verse starts and then very big in the chorus sections. That was it, that was how I would produce the backing track for Hey You.

So Georgia recorded her lead vocal on the song and I had it mixed, but for some reason it didn’t work. Her vocals were great, but ultimately her voice didn’t suit the song so we made the difficult decision to abandon it. She had recorded lots of backing vocals……

About a year later I loaded up the project and was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it but felt the production and arrangement needed a lot of work. I changed some of the lyrics and recorded a new lead vocal. I then set about recording the bass and guitars again. It was starting to sound much better so I asked Steve Dutton to record a new drum part. Steve added the energy the song needed to make it work.

I left in Georgia’s backing vocals which really add to the arrangement.

I’m so pleased that I rescued this song from development hell as I really enjoy it now and I do intend to perform it live one day.