Overview of Song Exploder: Suki Waterhouse - Back in Love
In this episode of Song Exploder, Suki Waterhouse breaks down how she wrote “Back in Love,” the first single from her album Loveland — and, fittingly, the last song written for it. She talks about making the track with longtime collaborators Jules Apollinaire and Natalie Findlay, how the song emerged from improvisation and playful studio chemistry, and how its lyrics reflect a mix of loneliness, desire, postpartum intensity, and a renewed sense of self.
How the Song Came Together
Writing with trusted collaborators
- Suki has worked with Jules and Nat for over a decade, since meeting them when she was around 18 or 19.
- Their process is loose, collaborative, and intimate, often happening in a studio in East London where they live and work together.
- She describes the trio as her “tribe,” with a strong shorthand and a lot of laughter.
A song born from a rough day
- The session started poorly, with a song idea that wasn’t working and a general sense that the day was going nowhere.
- Suki even left for a disastrous Zoom audition, then returned to find the others had locked into a new idea.
- Jules had built an intro from a mouth-trumpet melody, later translated into the instrumental hook.
The title phrase arrived naturally
- The phrase “back in love” came from casual conversation — Suki was thinking about small domestic moments that can make you suddenly feel overwhelmed with affection.
- She connected it to real life with her partner Robert Pattinson: after years together, there are still moments of “falling back in love.”
Lyrics and Themes
Loneliness and glamour
- The opening line, “Loneliness is a feather bed,” reflects the isolation that can come with a life of travel and constant work.
- Suki wanted the image to feel both glamorous and sad — beautiful, but solitary.
60s influence and atmosphere
- She references listening to artists like Dusty Springfield and Primal Scream, drawing on a 60s psychedelic feel.
- That sound has long been part of her aesthetic; she says she’s always felt drawn to that era.
Postpartum volatility and protection
- One of the song’s sharper lyrics — about “shooting the apple off your head” and “sugar and violence” — came from a more volatile emotional place.
- She connects that intensity to postpartum hormones, protective instincts, and feeling more fierce after having a child.
- She describes motherhood as changing her relationship to instinct, confidence, and what she feels she has to protect.
Studio Details and Production
Imperfection was part of the magic
- Suki emphasizes that the trio loves imperfection and keeping the room’s live energy in the recording.
- The track includes playful, accidental, and human details — even the sound of Jules’s dog Otto barking made it into the song.
The song evolved through feedback
- The original chorus line, “just when I thought it would end,” didn’t feel strong enough to Suki.
- After playing it for a friend, she realized the chorus lacked the emotional lift she wanted.
- They changed it to:
- “I’m loving my lust for life”
- “Turning the dark to light”
- “Happiness hits me when I’m back in love again”
- The revised chorus gave the song the emotional “explosion” it needed.
More layers in the arrangement
- The intro began with sitar, then evolved with layered Mellotron and eventually real trumpets.
- A later studio session at Aaron Dessner’s Long Pond studio inspired the line about sweet wine, which became part of the song’s second verse.
- The ending grows into a triumphant, joyful outro, with Suki yelling “I’m back” into the mic.
Main Takeaways
- “Back in Love” is about reclaiming joy after a difficult stretch.
- The song balances romance, self-reconnection, and postpartum transformation.
- Suki’s process is deeply collaborative, and the song only clicked once the right phrase and energy emerged.
- The final track feels celebratory, but it’s grounded in real emotion, struggle, and creative instinct.
Notable Insight
“It was about knowing I got through something — feeling like I’d reconnected with myself.”
The episode frames “Back in Love” as both a love song and a personal reset: a song about emerging from uncertainty with more clarity, fierceness, and joy.