Without You
by Cold

Album: The Things We Can't Stop (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Cold returned in 2019 with The Things We Can't Stop, their first album since 2011. Frontman Scooter Ward had long since kicked his drug habit, but the memories of addiction still lingered. In "Without You," the second single from the album, he confronts his compulsions. "The bones of the lyrics is, whether it be an addiction, religion or love - whatever you're gravitating towards - going all-in with it and just letting it take you over," he explained in a Songfacts interview. "But at the same time there's a little part of you that has that doubt, that little line that breaks, and you're like, Oh, now I see it for what it is. It's a revelation in whatever addiction you're having at the moment."
  • A key line in this song is, "You came to kill the things I loved." As Ward explains: "With addiction, the addiction itself kills everything that you love."

    It's a sentiment that comes from a guy who lived it, and it hit home for many Cold listeners. "I've already had people from addiction things message me online and say they're going to rehab now and starting to box and trying to get off pills and stuff like that just because of this song," he told told Songfacts. "They were like, 'Dude, I connected with you on that. I knew you used to be an addict and I feel you.'"
  • Scooter Ward explained that while the song is "about doubting blind faith," its accompanying video has a "horror movie/cult type storyline about a lost soul finding hope in the darkness."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.