Unsteady by X Ambassadors

Album: VHS (2015)

Charted: 20

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Songfacts®:

This rock ballad finds lead vocalist Sam Harris singing of a child observing a potential breakup between his parents.

Hold on
Hold on to me
Cause I'm a little unsteady
A little unsteady

The child senses the turmoil between his mom and dad and pleads with them to stay together for his sake.
The song features on the soundtrack of the tear-jerker romantic drama Me Before You.
Sam Harris and his brother Casey (keyboards) had to live through their own parents' marriages breaking down. Sam Harris explained in a video track by track: "'Unsteady' is a song about divorce and a family kind of trying to keep itself together. It's partially based on our parents' divorce and we tried to show as many sides of the story as possible, you know, from the mother's perspective, from the father's perspective and from the child's perspective. And, yeah, that was a pretty uncomfortable song to write but, because it was an uncomfortable topic, I felt like it was worth exploring."

Comments: 20

Ms from HeeheeGot me through a rough night
Ryann from NunyaHonestly to me this song was about trying to stay here with my thoughts of wanting to end my life and honestly this song has honestly helped me through those times and when I listen to this song it tells me "darling, its gonna be okay in the end just try to keep going."
Savanah R from San Francisco, Californiai can definitely relate to this although my parents didn’t divorce they went down a very bad path and my dad ended up passing away early April of 2024, my dad was unstable and was an alcoholic, and my mom was careless and wouldnt come home nights for her kids. Both of my parents were unstable and had a mind of their own, they held on as long as they could, coming across this song late November broke my heart, idk if it was a sign or something but this song brings back memories, i miss my home that was once actually called home.
Mirangel from Right HereOh daddy please appear.......... i miss you so much. Mama cant do it alone. shes lonely. she need you. I know you trying, you watching RIP Dad. ....................it dosent feel like home anymore.
Js from Somewhere Over The RainbowIt is so AMAZING that 1 song can relate to SO many different situations to different people. To me, even though I know it is about divorce, it resonates with me in a completely different way. My father passed away & he was the heart of our family/home. Nothing has been the same since. When it says “Mama(I think of Daddy) Approach, Appear”…..”Daddy(to me Mama) I’m alone, cause this house don’t feel like home”… To me, it’s like I want my Dad to come in some way & appear, my mom is not the same nothing is & our house doesn’t feel like home anymore. It’s a powerful song on so many different levels. It’s just beautiful.
KI see this song from a different perspective to a divorce..
im 19 and I have BPD/EUPD which means I have very high highs and very low lows. some days it feels like the only thing I can do in life is disappear. I cant talk to my parents about what really happens in my head as they would be very very scared of it. the thoughts that race, the ideas, the delusions, everything. so to me this song symbolises when I finally open up and admit im not okay, and I need support. when the day comes, I just want them to love me the same. my mom is tired alot due to work and my dad and I struggle to get along alot of the time, and I know sometimes he wants to let me run off. sometimes house doesnt feel like home and I feel alone.
but I hope when the day comes that I open up, they will still love me and hold me like they always have.
I would like to add I am also autistic which makes everything a little bit harder aha
MIt's crazy because the people who went through divorced parents know its about being divorced...sadly I'm not married but I'm going into separation with the father of my child. This song hits me so hard because I am now reliving my childhood trauma through my own family. I hate this so much. I wish I could just take all the pain away from my son. I wish he didn't have to experience this.
AnonymousI just listened to the song when it was popular back in 2025, and it came on the other day and i decided to re-listen for the first time in a good few years. As someone who had their parents break up when i was very young (around 5) i always suspected it, they fought every night, he went absent for days and weeks, and my mom was financially struggling, mentally struggling, and had to take care of 3 kids, and when i was older and got the situation explained to me, it really hit me on the “I know you’re trying to fight when you feel like flying” line. It’s a great song no doubt, but it can be a bit stressful to listen to for those who have gone through this situation.
Anna from SeattleThis song has been playing in my head on repeat for 3 days. Every word resonates with me. I am a single mother, and have been with the same man for 8 years. My kids call him "Dad". He has been an addict for many years, with periods of sobriety coming and going. Right now, he is struggling to stay clean and is gone a lot. I feel alone, and my home does not feel like a home without him. The words "trying when you feel like flying" make me think of him trying to stay sober when he feels like getting high. Great song
Gv from Central ValleyThis song hit home because my son has mental problems and when it said hold to me it hit hard because my son had a bad spell and he kept hugging me and tell me to hold him because he was scared and kept telling me he loved me and then few hrs. Later I hear this song and it crushed me
Alisha Cordell from NcI get it...the kid wants them to stay together, but the kid doesn't know the pain of an abusive relationship. I'm happier that my parents divorced even though my mother forced us to go with her, and we became homeless. She was toxic and he was abusive. Together, we only heard them fighting. When he learned that we were homeless, he took us from mom--by the way, he never hit us or yelled at us even once. My mom stomped me in the stomach when I was 15 and slapped me and my sister often because we looked like dad. She even said that she wished she aborted me. I had a wonderful step mom. My dad died in peace, and my mom is still a miserable old goat...making life hell for the rest of all humanity.
AnonymousThis song hits hard especially when it’s I myself has divorced parents
Sad Guy from MississippiI listen to this song every day and I cry when it says, If you love me dont let go. And i go up in tears when my girl breaks my heart.
Just Me from IrelandIts so funny how a song can be so definitely meant about a situation but yet i listen to this and have a completely different scenario which i know isnt what the song is about but it just resonates so much. I am an adult child of parents who have a very tumultuous relationship. My dad would beat my mom terribly and as i defended her more he turned on me. I have a much younger brother who doesnt remember these times and because they are still together he is the miracle child that is pure and good as he knows nothing of their horrible past . I would say my brother and i had an arguement when he was drunk one day however i didnt argue back. He pushed me around to a point of leaving loads of bruises. Went to the parents and told them a story which god knows what it was because i have since been disowned they dont speak to me at all so in my head that is the scenario. Me just wanting them to love and if they did they wouldnt have let go
Skylah from New ZealandThis song, the lyrics, it's exactly what my situation is. Everything he says is honestly so relatable and it's terrible, my mother feels alone and broken and my dad same thing he's trying and well me I feel alone in all of this tbh but that can't compare to how they feel so putting on a brave face is all I can do...
Kandace from Texas If you watch the video the father is struggling with an alcohol addiction. His wife has seen the beginning of his problem, brought a child into the world with him and is now seeing it as a bigger problem
Jessica from VirginiaAs an Adult Child of Divorce myself, I relate a lot to this song. For any other Adult Children of divorce out there, please check out lifegivingwounds.org which is a ministry for helping us heal from this enormous and ongoing wound. God bless.
Cameron A. from Tennessee This song hits so close to home for me. I can’t listen to it without bawling. I lost my dad 3 years ago. Last words I ever said to him was “Daddy please don’t go”. I know he wouldn’t have gone if he wasn’t so tired. He fought so hard for so long.
“Daddy, I know you’re trying to fight when you feel like flying. If you love me, don’t let go”.
Kathleen Taylor from Ellijay GaThe song unsteady is a song that I can relate to because I went through the divorce of my parents when I was 16 and it was the hardest thing ever on top of losing family at the same time
Jeff from RoswellYou know why this song is so amazing? It's because the meaning could be interpreted in multiple ways. At first, I thought he may be talking about depression. Then I thought he could maybe also be talking about how he was gay and talking about his parents dealing with it (him coming out). And now this makes sense (^ the explanation on the website).

Btw, I don't know anything about X Ambassadors. So if he's straight, then that's why I didn't know. Lol