In “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith, he recounts a previous one-night stand with a significant other, and how he is dealing with the emotional repercussions. The genders of the couple in the story are up in the air. Sam Smith is a very prominent gay singer, so the couple may be gay. However, they may not. For the sake of attempting to seek Modleski’s feminist reading, we will analyze as if the man is pleading a woman, with whom he had the one-night stand, to stay with him.
“Guess it’s true, I’m not good at a one-night stand: But I still need love ’cause I’m just a man” – Unusually emotional man is supposed to feel accomplished after sex the previous night, but he does not. His emotions are to invested. The woman, who is leaving, is unfazed and this seems to be rather normal for her. A feminist reading would highlight the woman’s supposed experience and the man’s inability to simply have physical love. This new portrayal is starkly different than usual and is a strong argument for female-empowerment qualities within the narrative.
“Oh, won’t you stay with me?” – A now pleading man is another rarely found action of a man present within the lyrics.
“This ain’t love, it’s clear to see: But, darling, stay with me” – It’s unclear if this is begging or ordering. If begging, yet another unusual aspect of men in the narrative. If ordering, the story would be portraying more of the usual domineering man qualities which are usual.