“Promise” by Ben Howard
It would appear that in the song “Promise” Ben Howard is addressing a romantic interest, as he refers to the person he is singing to as “darling”. And as is his norm, he uses cryptic language to relay certain feelings expressed in this track. However, what it is actually based on is him entreating this individual to “promise” to “wait for (him)”.
So under the assumption that this is indeed a romantic interest, the setting presents their situation as if Ben is going to be physically separated from her for a considerable amount of time (perhaps even indefinitely).
Indeed the symbolism of the seasons changing present in the first verse seem to allude to the idea that he is looking at their romance through the lens of it being an enduring relationship. So he wants to be assured that she will not give herself to someone else while he is away. This is apparently the premise behind him using a good portion of the song questioning how she perceives their relationship. He wants to know his standing in terms of how she feels about him as a guarantee that she will be faithful.
Release Date of “Promise”
Island Records released “Promise” as part of Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom album (which was his debut album). And the release date was 30 September 2011. On this same album appears popular singles such as “The Wolves” and “Old Pine“. That being said, it should be noted that “Promise” wasn’t one of the singles from Every Kingdom.
Appearance in The 100
“Promise” made an appearance on the first episode of the hit American television series The 100, which originally aired in March of 2014.
Who wrote “Promise”?
Ben Howard wrote “Promise”, and Chris Bond served as the track’s producer.
