PJ Harvey on writing “This Mess We're In” for Thom Yorke

PJ Harvey, interviewed by Amazon.co.uk about her new album Uh Huh Her, explains how her duet with Thom Yorke on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea came about. They had not met before the recording, though they had written to each other a few times. She wrote “This Mess We're In” with him in mind, sent it to him and asked if he would sing it; had he declined, she would have sung it herself.

She had wanted to write a duet for a long time, and had loved his voice for years. Very few voices move her, particularly among the living, and his is one. She did not seek out collaborators such as Yorke and Nick Cave, she says, but working with them has given her a network of people she can ring when things go wrong. She found it remarkable to watch Yorke work, calling him intelligent and very skilled with his voice.

Thom can sing the most mundane word, and make it absolutely heartbreaking.

PJ Harvey¹