| “ | this song was an exercise in writing a love letter without referencing any physical characteristics or attributes which is why it can be about literally anyone or anything. the search for love, acceptance, and completion is part of every human’s journey. we often look for it in places or people or things that we know—deep down—won’t fulfill us. slide guitar has always been one of my favourite sounds, but it usually gets pigeon-holed in the genre of country music. i think it deserves to be played in every style, so now it has its own moment in the bridge of our biggest “rock” song. | ” |
— Paul[1]
| ||
"You!" (stylized in all lowercase) is the first track on LANY's third studio album, Mama's Boy.
Background[]
"you!" sees Klein sing about a person entering his life during a difficult time, and then becoming a complement to his life in many ways.
As the third promotional single of LANY’s third studio album, mama’s boy, Klein sings over heavy guitars and drums, with a children’s choir entering in the latter half of the track.
The title was first revealed on March 28, 2020, through an Instagram story from LANY frontman Paul Klein. The image shows a notebook with tasks to be completed for the album, including this song. On August 12th, 2020, the band revealed that the song would be released two days later.
On May 6th, 2020, LANY posted a text message conversation with his father to his Instagram Stories. In it, his father effuses about the track, likening it to previous hit song "ILYSB"[2]:
- Dad: To me the hook in “You!” is ‘you are the light in the dark, you're the arrow right through my heart.’ Right? This is the best song you have written. It would be a great closer for a show. Like you have done with ["ILYSB."]
- Paul Klein: yep!!! the arrow thru my heart is my fav line
- Dad: Mine too. This is were the chills come in
Paul Klein captioned the photo with: "might be a mama’s boy but i’m a daddy’s girl too," referring to the title of the band’s 2020 album.
Lyrics[]
One, two
One, two, three
Like water in the desert
Impossible to find
But you found me when I was broken
Put me back together, gave me life
Like a flower in the concrete
So beautiful and rare
You gave me hope when I was empty
Walked me through the fire, you were there
You're the sun to the moon
You’re my ocean painted blue
You, I'm nothing without you
(Without you, without you)
Like an angel in a nightmare
You opened up my eyes
Lookin' in all the wrong places
You’re the one I needed this whole time
You're the sun to the moon
You're my ocean painted blue
You, I'm nothing without you
(Without you, without you)
You're the light in the dark
You're the arrow through my heart
You, I'm nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I'm nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I’m nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I’m nothing without you
I'm nothing without you
I’m nothing without you
I'm nothing without you
I'm nothing without you
You're the air in my lungs
You’re the veins to my blood
Yeah, you, I'm nothing without you
You're the sun (The sun) to the moon (The moon)
You're my ocean painted blue
You (Yeah), I'm nothing without you (Oh)
(Without you, without you)
You're the light in the dark
You're the arrow through my heart
You, I'm nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I'm nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I'm nothing without you (Oh, oh)
I'm nothing without you
Videos[]
