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"Don't Tell Me" is a song by Madonna from her eighth studio album Music. It was released as the second single from the album on November 21, 2000.
Background
On Joe Henry's ninth album Scar, there is a song called "Stop". When he recorded it somewhere in 1999, his wife - Madonna's sister Melanie - advised him to send it to Madonna. And Melanie was right, because Madonna loved the song and re-arranged it with Mirwais into a beautiful track, called "Don't Tell Me". Most of the lyrics from "Stop" were used, but the song got a completely different rhythm and groove. However, he claimed, "If I was going to pitch something to her, I could probably dig something up, but it certainly wouldn't be this." Later, his wife sent Madonna a copy of the demo, but it was so musically different from the record she was making that she didn't know how she could make any use out of it. After some time, he was talking to Madonna on the phone and she asked to rearrange the track to fit in better with the album, recording the song months later. Henry claimed in an interview that he was surprised that, lyrically, it remained completely intact.
Composition
The song was composed using common time in the key of D major, with a moderately tempo of 97 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from the lower octave of G3 to the higher note of A♭4. "Don't Tell Me" was considered "a country meets dance" track with trip hop beats infused with an acoustic "folksy" riff.
Music Video
| Music Video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | Unknown |
| Length | 4:39 | |
| Director | Jean-Baptiste Mondino | |
| Production Co | None | |
| Choreographer | Alex Magno | |
| Filmed | Unknown | |
| Location | N/A | |
| VEVO views | 4+ Million Views | |
Lyrics
Don't tell me to stop
Tell the rain not to drop
Tell the wind not to blow
Cause you said so
Mmm mmm
Tell the sun not to shine
Not to get up this time, no no
Let it fall by the way
But don't leave me where I lay down
Tell me love isn't true
It's just something that we do
Tell me everything I'm not
But please don't tell me to stop
Tell the leaves not to turn
But don't ever tell me I'll learn, no no
Take the black off a crow
But don't tell me I have to go
Tell the bed not to lay
Like the open mouth of a grave, yeah
Not to stare up at me
Like a calf down on its knees
Tell me love isn't true
It's just something that we do
Tell me everything I'm not
But don't ever tell me to stop
(Don't you ever)
Tell me love isn't true
It's just something that we do
(Don't you ever)
Tell me everything I'm not
But don't ever tell me to stop
(Don't you ever)
Please don't
Please don't
Please don't tell me to stop
(Don't you ever tell me)
Don't you
Ever
Don't ever tell me to stop
(Tell the rain not to drop)
Tell the bed not to lay
Like the open mouth of grave, yeah
Not to stare up at me
Like a calf down on its knees
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