You

Album: Good Things (2021)
Charted: 87
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Dan Smyers penned this sweet piano ballad with his frequent writing partner Jordan Reynolds and singer-songwriter Dave Barnes. It's a simple love song where Dan + Shay tell their romantic partner how much she means to them.
  • When writing "You," Smyers drew on the unembellished '90s tunes of Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn. "I got into a nerd phase listening to those because they were so open and everything was sitting in the right place," he told Billboard. "There's just some magic in that minimalism."
  • Dan Smyers co-produced the track with Scott Hendricks. The instrumentation is by:

    Electric guitar: Derek Wells
    Acoustic guitar: Bryan Sutton
    Bass: Jimmie Lee Sloas
    Drums and percussion: Nir Z
    Piano and Hammond B3 organ: Gordon Mote
    Backing vocals: Jason Eskridge, Kyla Jade, Robert Bailey, Samson White, Vicki Hampton and Wendy Moten
  • Dan + Shay recorded "You" for their 2021 Good Things album. By the following year, it had taken off in the wedding circuit. "We've had big wedding songs, 'From the Ground Up' and 'Speechless,' but this one, our DMs, every weekend, it's so crazy," Smyers told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. "We see so many people saying, 'This was our first dance,' or, 'This was the song in our wedding.'"
  • Shay Mooney thinks "You" picks up where "Speechless" left off. "For us, I feel like this is kind of 'Speechless' part two," he told Taste of Country Nights' Evan Paul. "'Speechless' was about seeing your wife walk down the aisle for the first time and that moment, and this is that second part. This is forever love. This is down the road of, 'I've got you and only you for the rest of our life.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.