The Story Behind ‘Sing Myself To Sleep’ By JP Saxe

JP Saxe revealed the personal inspiration behind his tear-jerking song “Sing Myself to Sleep.”

Saxe revealed that this was the song that took the longest to write for his debut album, Dangerous Levels of Introspection.

“I think I knew pretty early on that the album would feel incomplete if I didn’t talk about my mom,” he shared. Although anyone can relate to this song as it discusses a parent’s passing, this ballad was written with his mother in mind, who passed away from cancer. 

“The album really is a representation of the people that have meant the most to me and the moments in my life that were the most impactful. My mom getting sick and then her passing and then dealing with that grief was a huge part of the last three years of my life. So I wanted that song to exist on the album because I knew it wouldn’t feel emotionally complete without it.”

JP Saxe On The Songwriting Process

JP Saxe explained that he believes that being a songwriter means “having to face emotions that are complicated and unpleasant, head-on.”

“If we can create something beautiful out of the most painful parts of our life, then we allow others a tool to find some beauty in the painful parts of their life. It’s part of what makes our lives as artists matter a little bit more. So both for myself and for what I believe is the value of being an artist, I wanted that song to exist. It took me a long time to write because it felt like it would be disrespectful to my mom to misrepresent those feelings.”

The song came about when he was journaling about the emotions he was feeling after her diagnosis and passing.

“I wrote that song a lot of different ways and it never quite felt right. Then I showed up to a room with two people I’d never met in Nashville and I was playing these chords on this old synthesizer and Audra Mae says ‘That sounds like a lullaby.’ So I told her how I had been meaning to write a lullaby called ‘Sing Myself To Sleep’ about my mom and how that song lyrically was mostly in my journal already.”

Once he had his journal prepared and the melody created, it was a quick process. He noted that working with people he just met made him feel more emotionally free to speak about his mother.

“It made it feel a little bit less scary, you know? Talking about my mom with people who knew her is always harder, but in the end, I’m happy that song exists.”

JP Saxe’s Upcoming Tour

JP Saxe announced his international tour that kicks off in October 2021. He may perform the stunning ballad live in concert. Saxe admitted that it is going to be a struggle to sing the song to an audience. He told one of his friends that he wasn’t planning on putting it in the set. His friend said that it was the one song he couldn’t leave out. He credits heartbreak with teaching him a valuable lesson.

“I’ve learned that touring and performing songs means revisiting emotions in a way that can be complicated. But every job comes with its hazards and if the hazard of that job, if the hazard of making songs for a living is that I have to be wading through slightly more emotionally tumultuous waters than your average professional, then I’m fine with that.”

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