“How Do You Sleep?” by Sam Smith

Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep?” represents the tipping point in a romantic relationship where the singer is on the verge of calling it quits. This is due to him being in love with someone whom he perceives to be a callous partner.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Sam Smith's How Do You Sleep? at Lyrics.org.

Smith’s main gripe isn’t so much that he has concluded his lover is unfaithful. Rather it centers on him also being convinced that his partner is intentionally lying concerning his unfaithfulness and behaving as if nothing is going on in the least. And that is where the titular question, “How do you sleep”, comes from. And as aforementioned, he perceives this flagrant deceit as an act of callousness and to some degree cruelty on the part of his man, i.e. his ability to “lie” to his face and then sleep soundly next to the singer.

But Smith has beef with himself also. As a result of his suspicions, he finds himself engaging in activities like flipping through his lover’s phone and “dialing up the numbers” he discovers there in an attempt to verify his worst fears. And the singer does not approve of himself engaging in such actions.  Indeed he now perceives himself as being “desperate” and his own actions “crazy”. And in the process of thinking and behaving in such a manner, he feels he is ‘losing himself’. So instead of continuing to remain in a constant state of fear, distrust and anxiety, which is not his style, Smith has decided that it would be better to just quit the relationship.

So conclusively, we can see that the person Sam Smith is singing about is someone he truly loves. However, he is also convinced that the person is cheating on him, which is bad enough. But what makes matters even worse, as in what is really annoying the signer according to this song, is said person’s ability to conceal the truth from him while simultaneously acting as if nothing is going on. In other word’s, Sam’s lover’s deceit is bothering him even more than his infidelity. And the whole situation is affecting the singer to a point where his acts of desperation to prove his lover unfaithful are causing him to lose his own identity. So despite his affection for this individual, he has decided to just go his separate ways.

Lyrics of "How Do You Sleep?"

Is “How Do You Sleep?” an autobiographical song?

While Sam Smith is yet to say whether this song’s lyrics are based on a relationship in his life, many feel the lyrics are autobiographical. But is this really the case? It is possible the lyrics tell the tale of a real romantic relationship Smith was in which left him heartbroken.

FYI, over the years, Smith is fond of writing heartbreak songs about sad relationships he was involved in. Owing to this, many believe this song is autobiographical.

Music Video

Sam Smith drops some serious dance moves in the official music video for “How Do You Sleep?” Prior to the release of the music video, not too many fans of Smith had seen him dancing before. This was therefore something that really took many by surprise!

Writers of “How Do You Sleep?”

A total of four songwriters (including Sam Smith) composed this song. ILYA, Savan Kotecha and Max Martin are the other three songwriters who worked on the creation of this song. FYI, co-writers (Martin and ILYA) also produced “How Do You Sleep?”.

Release Date

On 19th July, 2019, Capitol Records officially released this heartbreak song. It was Sam Smith’s second single for the year 2019. Smith’s first for 2019 was his hit collaboration with American singer Normani titled “Dancing with a Stranger“.

Teasing and Promotion

On July 6, 2019, Mike Adam of New 102.7 announced the existence of this song via Twitter. Three days later, Smith himself revealed the song’s existence by saying he had some important news for his fans which he would announce on 10 July. And truly on 10 July, he revealed the song’s title and its release date. Furthermore, he made a small snippet of the instrumental of “How Do You Sleep?” available on his Twitter account to whet the appetite of his fans.    

2 Responses

  1. aysha says:

    que significa lo que hace con su mano al final del video?

  2. Frank Lafuente says:

    Loved the explanation thanks and love form Costa Rica

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