‘Take It or Leave It’ by Matt Saxton is a bittersweet folk/pop ballad that reminisces on an old love. It’s a slow, melancholic track about two people considering whether they will commit to each other or go their separate ways.
A slow piano leads the charge, with soft drums keeping time. Saxton’s vocal delivery feels pained in its pacing. The vocal feels reminiscent of Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails, with its heavy tone and long-suffering reminiscence.
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‘Take It or Leave It’: Commitment, Change & Questioning
‘Take It or Leave It” begins with the line “In the photograph, we look so young.” This sets the mood for the song, which is tinged with nostalgia and becomes a catalyst for the movement in the song.
The lyrics are really where the emotion of the song lies. It moves from the point where “…the story had just begun” to “…the day…where we wouldn’t recognise who we’d become.”
The couple at the song is at an impasse, where the only options are to “…take it or leave it”. This with the song’s heavy piano and guitar adds weight to the mood and that decision. “It’s all we’ve got.”
“There’s a choice we’re working through…” These lines in the second verse simply keep the story going. They also help the listener sink deeper into the song’s overall melancholy, allowing its depth to sink in. The piano and soft breakdown before the final chorus rides on the mood that has been established.
“We’ve got to get back to the place that we used to go.”
‘Take it or Leave It’ by Matt Saxton ends as it begins with its first lines, “In this photograph, we look so young/Time was on our side/ And the story had just begun.” These final lines bookend the song’s mood and tone, allowing it all to settle.
The Artist
Matt Saxton is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the UK. He makes songs that are melancholic and uplifting in genres like rock, folk and electronic.
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Listen to ‘Take It or Leave It’ here:
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