Haven't You Ever Been In Love Before?

Album: Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (2023)
Charted: 28
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Lewis Capaldi tackles the bittersweet theme of unrequited love. He dives into the complexities of a relationship with a girl who guards herself, claiming that love only brings pain. She shields her heart, refusing to be hurt, despite the allure of love's transformative power.

    It's more like a knife to me than a high to me
    And my heart can't fall apart anymore
    If you knew what I knew, you'd be terrified
    Haven't you ever been in love before?"
  • In stark contrast, Capaldi is unafraid to take risks and invest his whole heart into the relationship. He refuses to assume, like his cautious love interest, that their union is destined to fail.

    If we don't work it out, that's something I could accept
    But I feel you're ruling out a love that ain't happened yet
    And, maybe I'm a fool, but I just can't live with regret
    I'd rather dive off the deep end
  • The contrasting experiences and perspectives of love shape the essence of their relationship - an intricate dance between caution and vulnerability where one is terrified while the other remains hopeful.
  • This was the first song Lewis Capaldi recorded for his second album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent. He wrote it with Nick Atkinson and Edd Holloway at the peak of lockdown.

    "I had the melodies and the actual verses were born from listening to The 1975 and trying to work on a melody that I could imagine Matty Healy singing," he told Apple Music. "In the past, I've leaned more into 'could I imagine Adele singing this lyric?' But Matty's a massive inspiration to me and I'm a huge fan of The 1975. This was the first song where I was like, 'I think we're onto something here.'"
  • The 1975 served as inspiration for the album title as well. "I'm a big fan of The 1975, and I like their long titles because it's a bit silly," he said. "I thought, 'I'm going to have me some of that.'"

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