Let You Know

6. Let You Know

Words and music by Chris Sligh

Produced by Brown Bannister



The Writing:

When I decided to take HPF in a different direction and Adam Fisher and I started working together, he brought an extra computer over that had Logic installed. I basically used it as a songwriter tape machine. I would record ideas and write lyrics over music I had pieced together.
 Originally the opening riff was for a song called “Somewhere” (the lyric of which became the song “Somewhere” from Take a Chance with different music). The riff was cool, but the rest of the music was really stupid. I thought the lyric was cool, but it just didn’t fit the music. So, I did something I hadn’t done ever before...I wrote and recorded an entire track without lyrics. I used the riff and put together chord progression I thought was cool and later wrote the lyrics that became this song (originally just “Know” on Take a Chance - we changed it because on the radio Know sounds like “No”...it’s confusing.)
 The song, since I recorded that original demo has not changed a bit musically and once I wrote the lyrics, they have stayed the same...it’s one of the few on this album that didn’t go through various permutations.



The Meaning:

This is one of those songs that I wrote down the lyric pretty quickly and started to piece together what it means down the road. It’s actually a very Christian song without being a Christian song. The premise is this: I make mistakes, the reverberations of my choices continue on and they’re mine to deal with...but we need each other. Some day, soon, I’m gonna call on you to be there for me, and as brothers and sisters we’re there for one another.



The Recording:

This was like all the other Brown productions. We tracked with the same guys and this one went down pretty quickly. Dan Needham changed the intro drum beat up just a bit from the original HPF recording. For some reason, drummers don’t really like the Coldplay “Clocks” beat. So, we changed it up. This one in initial tracking was pretty note on like the HPF recording. It was in overdubs that different stuff started to happen.


I did all the rhythm guitar stuff with George Cocchinni acting as tone chaperone. I’ve played those guitar parts thousands of times over the years, so the recording actually went very quickly on this one. On the bridge we did several huge guitar parts on the riff going into the last chorus to give it a little extra umph. I tuned to drop D and did the riff in that tuning, giving it a huge bottom end.


We went over to Paul Moak’s studio and this was one of the songs included in that session. He threw on the little delayed part at the very beginning and on the verses. With everything that was going on, we kind of felt like that was all it needed.


Don Chapman, again, arranged the strings on this one. I think this arrangement is brilliant. It is churning and majestic at the same time. Seriously, Don is going to be a big name in arranging soon. He just does things that other people don’t do. He’s great. And this song is one of his shining lights showing his talent. For the string session, Don had already recorded the “non-real” strings and had them in the session. Then David Davidson laid down 8 violin tracks over Don’s track, making the “non-real” strings feel way more real.


Lost in the windows of time, * You see a time of change
Don't it all feel strange?
 * Stuck in the reverb of me * I hear echos of myself
 * But I can't say what I see * * 

I'm finding the answers * 
To my great divide

 * * Someday when the sky is falling I will let you know * 
Someday when my dreams are caving in, I will let you know * 
I'll let you know * * 

Forget the first verse of life * There's nothing learned at al * 
At least until you fall * Stratospheres and atmospheres collide * 
Worlds come to an end * 
And there's nowhere left to hide * * 

pre-chorus * * chorus * * 

...when I'm falling * 
I'll let you know when I'm calling
 * I'll let you know when I'm breaking
 * I'll let you know when I'm making it through * * chorus