Story Behind the Song: Lady Antebellum, ‘What If I Never Get Over You’
Lady Antebellum were initially drawn to their now-hit single "What If I Never Get Over You" because it tapped into the same emotional depth and compelling lyricism of songs such as "Need You Now" and "I Run to You." The song was co-written by Ryan Hurd, Laura Veltz, Sam Ellis and Jon Green, and the songwriters say that "What If I Never Get Over You" started with an idea in Hurd's phone.
Read on as Hurd and Veltz explain how the song came to be.
Ryan Hurd: I actually jumped on the co-write [the day we wrote the song]. I texted Laura and said, "Who are you writing with?" I had a free day. I travel a lot because of my own artist project. So I came to the studio and they already had a three-way booked, and they were very kind to let me join.
I said, "I have this title in my phone: It's "If I Never Get Over You."" I wanted to write it from the perspective of, "If I never get over you, this is what I'll do. I'll go to the mountains. I'll disappear" -- however I would handle that. And then Laura decided that that was definitely not the angle.
Laura Veltz: Oh man! Well, Ryan and I have been writing songs for a long time, and it's so fun when you feel safe to bat something around and no one gets offended. It's just, you know, the song wins every time.
I wanted to add the word "What" at the beginning, to not answer the question. So, "What if I never get over you -- dot dot dot," was the angle that we landed on. And I thought, "This is gonna write itself," because we all have really tender hearts and deep imaginations, and I feel like all of us went to the "What if I lost somebody?" angle.
It fell out. I definitely cried 3,000 tears, but I think all of us were a little misty, just thinking about that.
Hurd: And Jon Green is a melodic genius. This song really started with a songwriting idea and then Jon singing the melody pretty much as you hear it. It really was him playing guitar, emoting, and then Sam [Ellis] making a track, and then the lyrics sort of filling out.
It was a really emotional day. I remember thinking that it was a really powerful song, and thinking, "No one will ever record that." And I was very wrong, because everybody else in this room believed in it before I did. It's not the kind of song that you generally get on the radio, right? But I'm very thankful that I was not correct.
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