Two of country music’s biggest names came together back in 2013 to produce pure country magic in the form of “We Were Us.”
Keith Urban released his duet with Miranda Lambert as the second international single and third overall off his album Fuse. The song quickly topped Billboard’s US Country Airplay and US Hot Country Songs. In addition to that, the song won Musical Event of the Year during the 2014 Country Music Association Awards.
The Song That Marked Urban And Lambert’s First Duet Ever
Written by Nicolle Galyon, Jimmy Robbins, and Jon Nite, “We Were Us” tells the tale of two former lovers reminiscing about their lost love and pining for the days when they were still together.
“Back when that song was a song, I could sing along without thinkin’ bout you every time it came on. Every beat, every line, every word, every time. When a road was a road, I could roll on through without wishin’ that empty seat was you. Money was gas. Dreams were dust. Love was fast, and we were us,” the song goes.
“We Were Us” marked the first time the two country superstars have recorded a track together. Urban revealed that the seed for a duet was planted as early as 2005 when Lambert was opening for him on tour.
“She’s just the real deal. I just love her. I love her artistry. Her voice is awesome. She would get up and play with us when we were touring with her, and I just felt like our voices went together really well,” Urban said. “So, it was another person that I always had in the back of my mind and was hoping I could find a song for us one day.”
The problem was that no song would fit their voices perfectly – any old duet would just not do. But Urban never gave up looking for a song that would fit the bill until he heard “We Were Us.” Urban knew right at that moment that it was the one.
“When I heard ‘We Were Us,’ it was instant. I had two thoughts. The first [was] ‘This is that song’ and the second – ‘Man, I sure hope she says yes!'” Urban laughingly said. So, he called up Lambert and sent her the song. Thankfully, Lambert agreed! They sang it together, and the rest was history.
“Getting to work with Keith in the studio was awesome,” Lambert said. “He’s been someone that’s inspired me along the way.”
Interestingly, the song “almost didn’t happen.” It was revealed by one of the songwriters, Jimmy Robbins. He recalled he’d been in a songwriting session at his home studio with Jon Nite, and the song idea they had was not going in the right direction, so they’ve put it aside. Luckily, Galyon came over and came up with what Robbins called the “disconnected images” that marked the song’s verses.
“It’s easy to listen to and kinda hard to write, to tell a story without really telling a story,” Robbins revealed. And the result was something that is not a literal narrative. “It leaves it up to the individual to piece [the story] together and make it their own.”
Well, we’re glad the right song came along for the two talented singers. Urban and Lambert’s voices went so well together in “We Were Us.” The planted seed of an idea has indeed sprouted into a full-blown necessity.
You can listen to the heart-tugging duet in the video below.
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Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert