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Originally written December 21, 2005. “Sometimes” was written and co-produced by regular Britney-songwriter Jorgen Elofsson, who also had a hand in Crazy, Girl in the Mirror and What You See is What You Get. (A recent lawsuit over the authorship of the song was settled in favour of Britney’s camp.) Main production was by Per Magnusson and David Kreuger. Keyboards were played by Jorgen Elofsson and Per Magnusson, acoustic guitar by Esbjorn Ohrwall and bass guitar by Thomas Lindberg. The only credited backing vocalist is Anders van Hoffsten.
These are the words (checked and corrected as necessary):
You tell me you're in love with me
Like you can't take your pretty eyes away from me
It's not that I don't want to stay
But everytime you come too close I move away
I wanna believe in everything that you say
‘Cause it sounds so good
But if you really want me, move slow
There's things about me you just have to know
Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
I don't wanna be so shy, uh-uh
Everytime that I’m alone I wonder why
Hope that you will wait for me
You’ll see that you're the only one for me
I wanna believe in everything that you say
‘Cause it sounds so good
But if you really want me, move slow
There's things about me you just have to know
Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
All I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby, all I need is time
Just hang around and you'll see
There's nowhere I’d rather be
If you love me, trust in me
The way that I trust in you
Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight treat you right,
Be with you day and night
Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
The song kicks off with a simple backing of keyboards, guitar and rhythm, but as the song progresses further colors are added as the keyboards assert a stronger presence, synth strings make an unobtrusive appearance during the chorus and a concise guitar/keyboard break sets up the final chorus. The rhythm track is uncredited, but sounds like a real live drummer restricting himself to snare, hi-hat and crash cymbal, while the bassline is laid-back, melodic and lazily supportive. Anders van Hoffsten’s backing vocals add depth and drama to the choruses.
“Sometimes” illustrates something remarkable about Britney’s early recording career - many of her songs received only the most minimal of production compared to those of her peers, and the whole value, and essence, and impact of her first two albums derive from the character and strength of their young vocalist. And here she communicates her engaging personality with wonderful charm and grace. Throughout the song, her vocals are single-tracked and placed dead-center - the producers clearly had complete confidence that no additional artifice was necessary.
As often happened in her earliest recordings, her vocals also display some lingering echoes of her pre-Jive singing style. Her vocal trademarks are present, but understated, and we find her singing some phrases in a surprisingly strong and open voice - check out “just hang around and you’ll see...” at 2:20, “hold you tight” at 3:10, “sometimes...” at 3:20 and 3:50 and “day and night” at 3:35. She sounds very young, certainly, but at this point in her career her voice was well above-average for a teenage pop star.
The video for “Sometimes” shows Britney engaging in a range of beach-side activities and some complex choreography. Her outfits don’t entirely conceal the sexual allure of her curvaceous physique but they don’t parade it either and there’s something pristine, clean and innocent about the whole affair. It leaves an overall impression of whiteness contrasted with primary colors - and a wholesome, sweet, loveable young girl with huge, soulful eyes.
“Sometimes I RUN, sometimes I HIDE.....I never did like that song!” In the course of the Onyx Hotel Tour, Britney pretty much dismissed this early hit from her repertoire. To be fair, it didn’t feature much in the DWAD shows either, with just a few bars being retained in the music box sequence where most of the attention was grabbed in any case by Britney’s stunning white leg-revealing robe. Why doesn’t she like it? Well, I suppose it could have something to do with the serious knee injury she sustained while filming the video, but more likely she’s turned off by the somewhat tepid mid-tempo not-quite-a-ballad-but-not-a-dance-song-either character of the song. She doesn't make them like that any more.
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