Songfacts®:

• "Where Is Gone?" is Fontaines D.C.'s dark, theatrical ballad about the pain of falling out of love and reluctantly letting go. It acknowledges that heartbreak is an unavoidable part of being alive, and that while each new chapter can bring fresh hurt, those experiences are what gives life meaning.
• Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten trades vocals with Spanish singer Rosalía, the first time the Irish band has invited a guest vocalist onto one of their tracks. Guitarist Conor Curley told BBC Radio 1 host Jack Saunders the duet format added "a new layer," explaining that a duet gives you "two sides to the story."
• Fontaines D.C. sent Rosalía several tracks to choose from, including "Where Is Gone?" "One Man," "Intimate," and "Tongue." She chose "Where Is Gone?" and recorded her vocals right away, sending them back to the band the same day.
• Guitarist Carlos O'Connell said Rosalía's contribution gave the song much greater emotional depth. With Chatten singing alone, he felt the track came across as purely sad; Rosalía's voice made the heartbreak feel shared. "It lifts the song to be something more than leaning on depressive," he explained.
• The collaboration carries a personal dimension for O'Connell, who has Spanish roots. In the track's press release, he revealed he had been a fan of Rosalía since her debut album. He admired how she kept Spanish musical traditions alive, noting that in a spiritual way, it felt akin to what Fontaines D.C. have tried to do with Irish music.
• The band recorded "Where Is Gone?" for their fifth album, Dopamine Chamber. They had pictured Rosalía guesting on the record early on, but actually reaching out proved nerve-wracking. "We were a little bit scared to ask, and we left it to the last minute," O'Connell admitted. "We like mastered the record, and then we were like, maybe we should ask. And she was so forthcoming."