Without You

Album: Get Closer (2010)
Charted: 52
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from Australian country artist Keith Urban's seventh studio album, Get Closer. A theme that loosely runs through the record is Urban's connection to his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, to whom he's been married since June 25, 2006.
  • Urban reflects in this song on the importance of his relationship with Kidman, having for a long time previously been consumed by his job. Despite its personal nature, the song was penned by two outside writers Dave Pahanish and Joe West, who also authored Toby Keith's "American Ride" and Jimmy Wayne's "Do You Believe Me Now" Producer Dann Huff told Billboard magazine the song is "the most autobiographical thing that he's never written."
  • Urban told The Boot how he came across this song: "A friend of mine happened upon this song somewhere and called me up and said, "You've got to hear this song, you would swear that you wrote it." And sure enough, it was uncanny how much it was suited to my life. I think if I'd written something like this, I would have felt it was too literal, not poetically disguised enough. Maybe it's because I didn't write it that I was able to hear how authentic and truthful it is."
  • Pahanish told The Boot about Blue Sky singer Emily West's contribution towards getting this song cut: "I put an early version of the demo on my album as kind of an extra before it was actually finished," he recalled. "Emily had a copy and gave it to Keith at a party they were at and told him this tune was his life. Keith called me personally the next morning and said he wanted to record it for his album. He put some finishing touches on it lyrically, recorded it, and now it really is climbing with a bullet."
  • The song is not to be confused with "Without You," a track Urban recorded on his self-titled debut album in 1991.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Bryan Adams

Bryan AdamsSongwriter Interviews

What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin Popoff

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin PopoffSong Writing

A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.