"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released in January 1992 by London Records as the second single from their second album, Hormonally Yours (1992).

The piano, synth and bass guitar were performed by Ian aka Jennifer Maidman, and the drums by Steve Ferrera, both musicians whose contributions featured throughout the Hormonally Yours album.

"[5] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "complex modern-pop tune" and noted further that the "vocal tradeoff between Marcella Detroit and Siobhan Fahey is both intense and dramatic.

The first half is Marcie's reverent and angelic sounding voice, then out of the blue, comes the industrial clammer of heavy percussion and Siobhan's rough-edged bridge.

"[7] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report stated, "This haunting ballad proves they haven't changed course as they deliver a melody that has true staying power.

"[8] Another Gavin Report editors, Rufer & Fell, wrote that the female duo "gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance of a moody and deliberate song about staying power in a relationship.

"[9] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News-Sentinel described it as a "disarmingly sweet ballad" and added that it "segues into a stern warning ("I'll go anywhere with you/I'll do anything it takes/But if you try to go it alone/Don't think I'll understand") then concludes rather sinisterly.

"[10] Sally Margaret Joy from Melody Maker complimented it as a "pretty hymn about human frailty", adding, "Yes, it's got a great hook, with Marcella's voice quavering up high and tremulously.

"[14] Lucy O'Brien from Select stated that Detroit "makes a brave stab at the anthemic ballad with "Stay", but ends up sounding suspiciously like Jennifer Rush.

[17] Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith declared "Stay" as a "masterpiece", writing that the song managed to "show the world just what could be done to an otherwise mundane and ordinary ballad.

"[18] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger remarked "the teetering, cracking soprano" of Detroit's lead vocal, and Fahey's "growled and throaty intervention" on the bridge.

The camera pans back into what appears to be a hospital room showing Marcella Detroit and her male lover (Evans), who is in a coma and on the verge of death.

During their struggle, the man finally wakes up, and he and Detroit embrace while Death, having failed to seduce him into her realm, walks away in disgust and goes back up the staircase and into the light.