Songfacts®:

• This plaintive torch song, which Clarkson co-wrote with Piece By Piece producer Greg Kurstin, is about a relationship the singer had before she married her manager Brandon Blackstock, She told VH1: "I feel like no matter what you do to prove yourself in whatever relationship that's in your life, sometimes you feel like you just can't win. No matter how much you say you love someone or how much you try to prove yourself, sometimes it's just not enough. And that's so sad. So I wrote it about that."
• Greg Kurstin's production features a harp and strings. Clarkson commented to VH1: "That can go Disney very quick, but I think that he pulled it off so well. It's so beautiful and tasteful."
  
  "I wrote 'Tightrope' as a simple song with this simple piano part, but I thought it would be cool to add an orchestral element," she added. "I said that one thing to him and he comes back with this breathtaking production. He's so talented and I love that song. It's big in a simple way, with an almost lullaby melody. The production makes it so much greater and that's what he's super talented at."