Sit Down (song)

"Sit Down"
Single by James
from the album Gold Mother (re-recorded version)
WrittenLate 1988
Released19 June 1989 (1989-06-19)
Genre
Length
  • 7:39 (original)
  • 4:05 (re-release)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
James singles chronology
"Ya Ho"
(1988)
"Sit Down"
(1989)
"Come Home"
(1989)
Official video (1991 version)
"Sit Down" on YouTube
Re-release cover
Cover of the 1991 release on Fontana
James re-release singles chronology
"Lose Control"
(1990)
"Sit Down (re-recording)"
(1991)
"Sound"
(1991)
James late-1990s singles chronology
"Runaground"
(1998)
"Sit Down '98 (Apollo 440 mix)"
(1998)
"I Know What I'm Here For"
(1999)

"Sit Down" is a song by English band James, originally released in June 1989 by Rough Trade Records. In its eight-and-a-half-minute original form, the song reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart and was ranked number eight in John Peel's Festive Fifty of that year.

After experiencing success as part of the Madchester music scene, a new version was released in March 1991 that was shorter and with new lyrics. Released via Fontana Records, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks there. It was the 20th best-selling single of 1991 in the UK.[2]

In 2013, the song placed fourth in a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number-one spot in the UK charts.[3] In the same year, James performed the song with Peter Kay for Comic Relief. On 30 March 2017 a version of the song was used in the promo of the seventh season of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.[4]

  1. ^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "1991: Time for the Mu Mu". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 637. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  2. ^ "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  3. ^ "Ultravox's Vienna tops 'number two' poll". BBC News. 1 January 2013.
  4. ^ Roots, Kimberly (30 March 2017). "Game of Thrones: Watch the Haunting First Season 7 Teaser Trailer Now". TVLine. Retrieved 30 March 2017.