Eric Church Believes ‘We Were’ Was ‘Supposed’ To Be Recorded By Keith Urban
“I truly believe songs find the path that they’re supposed to find…”
Eric Church and Keith Urban; Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for dcp
Keith Urban recently released the nostalgic “We Were” and little did he know, it was co-written by fellow country superstar Eric Church.
Urban immediately fell in love with the track when he first heard it and didn’t learn that Church co-wrote it with Ryan Tyndell and Jeff Hyde until after he recorded it.
“It got sent to me, not by Eric, but by someone who finds songs for me,” Urban told Bobby Bones on iHeartRadio’s The Bobby Bones Show. “I didn’t know he was a writer, which was really cool, because it wasn’t until we recorded the song, it was all done, and I found out after the fact.”
While Eric Church is no stranger to writing and recording hit songs, he can’t contain his excitement over his buddy recording “We Were” and the fact that it all happened so organically made it even more special for Church.
“That was the coolest thing for me is I didn’t send Keith the song and say, ‘Here’s a song I wrote.’ He found it, and honestly, it fits him more than it fits me,” Church explains. “There’s a line in there about ‘two heartbeats in the moonlight in leather jackets on a back of a Harley.’ I don’t ride a Harley. That’s a line, call it ‘poetic license.’ That’s where it came from. He and Nicole [Kidman] used to do that when they first started dating, and they were touring, they would jump on his Harley and they would put on their leather jackets and they’d go ride up in the countryside before the show. I did not know that until after he cut that song, I truly believe songs find the path that they’re supposed to find, and that one was supposed to be with him.”
As it nears the top of the charts, the “Some Of It” singer jokingly admits he might “rethink” passing the song to Urban.
“Naw, it was perfect that he’s the guy that did that and did it better than I could’ve done it. I love hearing it on the radio. It’s fun for me. I came to this town to be a songwriter, so for me, I’m not sure if that’s not as proud as I’ve been as when you get a song cut by somebody else and then it becomes a hit.”
“We Were” is the lead single from Urban’s yet-to-be-announced forthcoming record, which will serve as the follow up to 2018’s Graffiti U.
Written by
Lauren Jo Black
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.