Regina Spektor, ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)’ – Song Review

Although Regina Spektor‘s new album, ‘What We Saw from the Cheap Seats’ won’t be released until May 29, the second single, ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas),’ has been released. ‘All the Rowboats’ was released in February.

‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)’ begins with some keyboard plinking over some electronic drums. But before the cringing can start, the bass comes in with her vocals and it results in a lighthearted, bouncy, almost calypso-like track. Synthesized horns join in the fun later.

The lyrics are kind of a walking tour of New York City, where Spektor lives. The first verse describes some Bowery bums stumbling through the streets. From there, she describes some senior citizens on Lexington Avenue and children sledding down hills in the “Bronxy-Bronx.”

But in the final verse, she sings about how much she loves Paris in the rain. While that’s one of the most romantic cliches imaginable (slightly ahead of “New York is full of colorful characters”), it’s also completely disconnected from the previous three verses, and undercuts the whimsical nature of the rest of the song. It’s as if she felt she needed a justification for singing the chorus in French.

Despite this, and the use of her trademark “oh-oh-ohs” and “ah-ah-ahs” in the chorus, ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)’ is breezy and catchy, provided you don’t listen too closely.

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