If I Should Go Before You

Album: If I Should Go Before You (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title track of If I Should Go Before You is a love song with a somewhat morbid feel. It also has a dual meaning that relates to the music itself.

    "You never know what this business is going to be like," City and Colour mainman Dallas Green told Billboard magazine. "I never know when it's going to end. You can't take anything for granted. So the title is a way of saying, 'If this is my last record for some reason, if I should go before you, here's a record I'm proud of to leave you with.'"
  • Death and relationships permeate If I Should Go Before You's 11 tracks. "It's about a love so large it outlasts life and death," Green told Jam! Music regarding the title song. "The reason I also called the album that is because I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy. I'm always looking and wondering, 'What's next?' I look at it as if, for some strange reason, this is my last record; here's something I'm very proud of I'd like to leave you with."
  • Dallas Green expanded on the meaning of this devastating request to a cherished lover. "It's about the idea of loving someone so much you want them to move on if you were to go, but loving them so much you wouldn't want to if they did," he said. "But, in my head, it also says, 'if I were to go, I give you this record to listen to.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.