Keith Urban Opens Up About the Song Lyrics That Left Him ‘Weeping’
Keith Urban had an unexpected moment while working on his latest album High that left him in tears.
The country singer shared the story behind his emotional song "Break the Chain" during a recent visit to the Kelly Clarkson Show.
Clarkson asked Urban what it felt like writing such a personal song and specifically pointed out this lyric:
"Out here, I've been out here on my own now, for way too long / Fighting my own battles with my demons / With the way that I was raised."
Keith Urban "Burst Out Crying" While Writing His New Song "Break the Chain"
"'Break the Chain' was just a gift that day in the strangest way," he explains to Clarkson. "I didn't have the title, I didn't have the lyric, I had no melody, nothing. I just showed up at this guy Marc Scibilia's house."
Urban had never met Scibilia before this writing session. He was set up with him, like a blind date, through a mutual friend. In fact, they hardly said anything to each other, aside from a simple greeting, when the song started to come out.
"I have a yellow legal pad and I just start writing these words and they're coming and coming and coming," he explains.
"And I get to this second line about my father and I just burst out crying," Urban admits. "And just sitting on this couch, just weeping in this complete stranger's house."
"He looks over at me on the couch and sees me like this and he goes, 'Hmm, must be true.'"
Keith Urban Recorded the Song "Break the Chain" in One Take
It didn't take long for the two to finish the song, and they recorded it right there in Scibilia's studio. Urban recorded it in just one take. He probably wouldn't have been able to do it again.
"I didn't redo it," he shares. "It wasn't one of those things like, let's take it in the studio and get it all pro. It's like, let it be true. Just let it be what it is."
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Keith Urban Did Not Plan on Writing a Song Like This
Urban stopped by Taste of Country Nights recently and talked about the song. He told host Evan Paul that he had no idea he was writing his most personal song ever that day — or at all.
"That song just came, man," he recounts. "I had no intention of writing that title. Nothing about that song — I didn't know any of that was inside of me, you know?"
"Apparently I'm still working through things."