Sit Down (song)

"Sit Down" is a song by English band James, originally released in June 1989 by Rough Trade Records. In its eight-and-a-half-minute original form, the song reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart and was ranked number eight in John Peel's Festive Fifty of that year.

"Sit Down"
Single by James
from the album Gold Mother (re-recorded version)
WrittenLate 1988
Released19 June 1989 (1989-06-19)
Genre
Length
  • 7:39 (original)
  • 4:05 (re-release)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gil Norton
James singles chronology
"Ya Ho"
(1988)		 "Sit Down"
(1989)		 "Come Home"
(1989)
Official video
"Sit Down" on YouTube
Re-release cover
Cover of the 1991 release on Fontana
James re-release singles chronology
"Lose Control"
(1990)		 "Sit Down (re-recording)"
(1991)		 "Sound"
(1991)
James late-1990s singles chronology
"Runaground"
(1998)		 "Sit Down '98 (Apollo 440 mix)"
(1998)		 "I Know What I'm Here For"
(1999)

After experiencing success as part of the Madchester music scene, a new version was released in March 1991 that was shorter and with new lyrics. Released via Fontana Records, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks there. It was the 20th best-selling single of 1991 in the UK.[2]

In 2013, the song placed fourth in a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number-one spot in the UK charts.[3] In the same year, James performed the song with Peter Kay for Comic Relief. On 30 March 2017 a version of the song was used in the promo of the seventh season of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.[4]

Background

The song's lyrics were written in late 1988 as a homage to author Doris Lessing and singer Patti Smith, who had inspired James' lead singer Tim Booth.[5] Booth told the Daily Record in June 2004: "Sit Down is about me feeling so alone in my 20s and reading books by a writer called Doris Lessing which made me realise I wasn't. It was about being awake at 4am and having no-one to talk to."[6][7]

In a 2014 interview with Dave Simpson of The Guardian on the effect of the song, James guitarist Larry Gott stated, "Sit Down is one of those songs that encourages people to put their arms around strangers. As soon as we launch into the opening bars, they start smiling. Then they turn to someone next to them or their girlfriend or boyfriend and hug them, and then they start singing every single word. As a musician, that's incredibly humbling."[8] The original cover depicts an image of the former Fulham goalkeeper Tony Macedo.[9]

Music videos

The music video for the original 1989 Rough Trade release was directed by Ed Barton, set against a white background, with Booth singing and the band performing the song. At one point, Booth hugs a sheep and various shady-looking individuals sit down next to him. The video received a Musicians Union ban for two weeks, as it featured Jim Glennie impersonating a drummer, and thus taking someone else's job.[10]

Track listings

1989 original release
  1. "Sit Down" (7-inch and 8:31 extended version on 12-inch)
  2. "Goin' Away" (12-inch and CD)
  3. "Sound Investment" (12-inch and CD)
  4. "Sky Is Falling" (7-inch, 12-inch and CD)

1991 release
  1. "Sit Down" (new version) (7-inch, 12-inch and CD)
  2. "Tonight" (12-inch and CD)
  3. "Sunday Morning" (Canadian CD)
  4. "Sit Down" (live at G-Mex) (7-inch, 12-inch and CD)

"Sit Down '98"

CD1

  1. "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 remix)
  2. "Sit Down" (original)
  3. "China Girl" (Radio One Iggy Pop tribute)

CD2

  1. "Sit Down '98" (Apollo 440 remix)
  2. "What For" (Glr Session)
  3. "Sit Down" (Glr Session)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United Kingdom Original 19 June 1989
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
 Rough Trade [27][28]
26 June 1989 CD [29]
1991 version 18 March 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Fontana [30]
"Sit Down '98" 9 November 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
 [31]

On 4 June 2017, Coldplay performed "Sit Down" at the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, before performing their song "Fix You".[32][33]

Fans of Premier League club Liverpool rewrote the lyrics of this song in 2018 as a new terrace chant for 2017–18 Premier League Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah.[34] Booth thought the version was witty and welcomed its use for Salah.[35]

References
  1. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "1991: Time for the Mu Mu". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 637. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  2. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  3. "Ultravox's Vienna tops 'number two' poll". BBC News. 1 January 2013.
  4. Roots, Kimberly (30 March 2017). "Game of Thrones: Watch the Haunting First Season 7 Teaser Trailer Now". TVLine. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  5. James [@wearejames] (10 September 2019). "The song Sit Down wasn't written about Patti Smith but she & the writings of Doris Lessing made Tim feel less alone & crazy—the same as the song has made Kristin feel.
    Kristin is right: #YouAreNotAlone
    @kexp @realtimbooth"     (Tweet). Retrieved 28 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. "Sit Down by James". Songfacts.
  7. Kemp, Sam (10 November 2022). "The song that makes Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders "feel sick"". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. Simpson, Dave (12 May 2014). "Tim Booth and Larry Gott of James: how we made Sit Down". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. @GraemeRMcNay (4 January 2019). "James - Sit Down (1989). Cover star is goalkeeper, Tony Macedo. (Fulham player during the 1950s-1960s)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "Sit Down (1989)". One Of The Three. 19 June 1989.
  11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  13. "James – Sit Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 18. 4 May 1991. p. 25. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. "James – Sit Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sit Down". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  17. "Tipparade-lijst van week 20, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  18. "James – Sit Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  20. "James Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 48. 28 November 1998. p. 13.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  25. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  26. "British single certifications – James – Sit Down". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  27. "Sit Down – Press Release" (Press release). United Kingdom: Rough Trade Records. June 1989.
  28. "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 17 June 1989. p. 35. Retrieved 13 July 2021 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  29. "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 June 1989. p. 39. Retrieved 11 July 2022 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  30. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 16 March 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 13 July 2021 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  31. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 7 November 1998. p. 33. Retrieved 13 July 2021 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  32. James [@wearejames] (6 June 2017). "If you missed @coldplay's moving Sit Down intro at #OneLoveManchester–. Thanks lads, made us feel part of it 💗🐝" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. Newman, Vicki (4 June 2017). "One Love Manchester viewers overcome with emotion as Coldplay give moving performance of Fix You". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  34. Walsh, Kristian (24 April 2018). "Liverpool fans have brilliant Mohamed Salah song". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  35. Shaw, Chris (25 May 2018). "Salah's Kop song gets official James seal of approval". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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