Songfacts®:

• In this song, Matt Nathanson looks to rekindle a romance by remembering what it was like when they first got together and trying to capture that feeling again from when they were "beginners." The key is knowing which organ to engage:
  
  Before the brain got involved
  When it was heart and that's all
• Nathanson wrote "Beginners" in Nashville with two ace songwriters: Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna. Lindsey also sings with him on the track. McKenna and Nathanson are both from the Boston area. She's recorded as a solo artist but is best known for writing hits like "Girl Crush" (Little Big Town) and "Fireflies" (Faith Hill).
  
  Lindsey is Carrie Underwood's main songwriter and has also written for the likes of Lady Gaga ("Million Reasons") and Miranda Lambert ("Way Too Pretty For Prison").
  
  The song was produced by another big name, Butch Walker, whose many productions include Train's Save Me, San Francisco and Katy Perry's One Of The Boys.
• With the line, "Before the world slammed us shut," it sounds like this song was written post-pandemic, but it wasn't. Nathanson says it was written in December 2019. "It was my last songwriting trip before going home for the holidays and before making the record in 2020," he said in a Songfacts interview. "It was one of those things where the weight of what happened after that song, happened. Hilary recorded her vocals during the pandemic."
  
  "It's funny how lyrics shift based on the experience you're having," he added. "It definitely made that song feel heavier, because none of us are beginners anymore. We've all been through this traumatic, PTSD experience."
• Lori McKenna didn't get a chance to hear this song until more than two years after she wrote it, but she was thrilled with the result. "Hearing Hillary and Matt sing this gives me all all all the feels," she posted. "Brilliantly produced by Butch Walker."