Song Lyric Sunday – Like I’m Gonna Lose You

Duets is the theme or this week’s Song Lyric Sunday hosted by Jim Adams. I have chosen a fairly recent song two very talented singers, Meghan Trainor and John Legend, called “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”. It’s a love song with a pretty melody and some beautiful harmonies. I hope you enjoy it.

“Like I’m Gonna Lose You” was written by Meghan Trainor, Justin Weaver, and Caitlyn Smith. It was composed as a demo “years ago”, but Trainor was at first hesitant to show the song to her record label during the recording of her debut album, Title (2015). At the request of Trainor’s uncle, Burton Toney, her management listened to the track. Trainor recalls one of her managers being brought to tears by the song, resulting in the decision to include it on the album. 

The song was produced by Trainor and Chris Gelbuda, who she had first met in 2011 at a music conference in Colorado. They later co-wrote Sabrina Carpenter’s “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying”. During their recording of the track “3am” for Title, Trainor told Gelbuda about “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”, a reggae song which she felt was a poor fit for the album. The pair brainstormed, with Gelbuda playing various melodies on a guitar, resulting in a change in sound and tempo. “She dug it and it just worked. We built the track together, she sang the vocals, and I worked at it for weeks,” Gelbuda recalls. They recorded “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” in 2014 at The Green Room, Gelbuda’s home studio, in East Nashville, Tennessee. Trainor and Gelbuda did all of the track’s instrumentation, production, and programming.

Initially intended to be a solo recording, L.A. Reid sent it to John Legend, who shares the same management as Trainor. Legend said, “I love this: I want to be a part of it”. Jason Agel recorded Legend’s vocals as a duet with Trainor’s at Germano Studios in New York City, with the assistance of Kenta Yonesaka. Manny Marroquin mixed “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” at Larabee North Studios in Universal City, California, and Dave Kutch mastered it at The Mastering Palace in New York City. Gelbuda describes it as “classic and jazzy” and “a big departure from everything she’s done”.

 Lyrics

 I found myself dreaming
 In silver and gold
 Like a scene from a movie
 That every broken heart knows
 We were walking on moonlight
 And you pulled me close
 Split second and you disappeared
 And then I was all alone

 I woke up in tears
 With you by my side
 A breath of relief
 And I realized
 No, we're not promised tomorrow

 So I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna hold you
 Like I'm saying goodbye
 Wherever we're standing
 I won't take you for granted
 'cause we'll never know when
 When we'll run out of time
 So I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you

 [John Legend:]
 In the blink of an eye
 Just a whisper of smoke
 You could lose everything
 The truth is you never know
 So I'll kiss you longer, baby
 Any chance that I get
 I'll make the most of the minutes
 And love with no regrets
 Let's take our time
 To say what we want
 Use what we got
 Before it's all gone
 'Cause no, we're not promised tomorrow

 [Both:]
 So I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna hold you
 Like I'm saying goodbye
 Wherever we're standing
 I won't take you for granted
 'Cause we'll never know when
 When we'll run out of time
 So I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 
 Hey
 Whoa

 I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna hold you
 Like I'm saying goodbye
 Wherever we're standing
 I won't take you for granted
 'Cause we'll never know when
 When we'll run out of time
 So I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you
 I'm gonna love you
 Like I'm gonna lose you

Written by Meghan Elizabeth Trainor,
Justin Weaver and Caitlyn Smith