“You Were Loved” by OneRepublic & Gryffin
This song is basically centered on the vocalist missing an old girlfriend. The romance they had reads like a teenage love, i.e. one in which they were “young” and “broke” but still shared an unforgettable era in life together.
Of course, everything wasn’t all gravy. And the lyrics imply that somewhere along the line, the addressee grew discontent and decided to part ways. But, at least from the vocalist’s perspective, he misses her and is therefore looking forward to a day when the two of them can reunite.
Summary
All in all, we have case of a narrator strongly missing his ex from long ago and hoping that someday they can get back together.
OneRepublic and Gryffin
OneRepublic is a turn-of-the-century band fronted by vocalist Ryan Tedder, who is also one of the more ubiquitous behind-the-scenes’ men in the industry. Other co-founders of the group that are still down are guitarists Drew Brown and Zack Filkins. More recent editions are:
- drummer Eddie Fisher (since 2005)
- bassist Brent Kutzle (2007)
- keyboardist Brain Willet (2012)
Gryffin is a producer from San Francisco, a city which, in the grand scheme of things, is not too far from OneRepublic’s hometown of Colorado Springs. He’s a more recent edition to the music scene, having been doing this thing since the mid-2010s.
Being a producer, Gryffin relies on other musicians to render vocals such as, in the case of “You Were Loved”, Ryan Tedder. And his biggest hit to date can be considered “Feel Good”, a collaboration with another DJ known as Illenium and vocalist Daya.
“You Were Loved”
This track was made public on 1 April 2022, via the efforts of Interscope Records and one of its imprints, Darkroom Records.
The writers/producers of “You Were Loved” are Tedder, Gryffin and Brent Kutzle.
Gryffin began teasing this song about a week before its release.
