Right By You (for Luna)

Album: Darkness & Light (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sweet, thoughtful ballad was written for John Legend's baby daughter Luna. The singer welcomed his first child with wife Chrissy Teigen in April 2016.

    "When I played it for her and Chrissy for the first time, I just started crying because it felt so real to me and felt so appropriate for how I feel as a new father," Legend said to The Associated Press.
  • The song raises questions about what it means to be a father. "We wrote it before she was born, in fact. And it was kind of in anticipation of being a new father and kind of the uncertainty that comes with it and the questions that we all have about how's your kid gonna turn out," Legend explained to ABC Radio. "How are you gonna be as a parent? Are you gonna influence them in the right way? So it's kind of approaching all of that."
  • The moving ballad features tenor sax from Kamasi Washington. The American jazz saxophonist also played on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and arranged and conducted the string section on the Compton rapper's "Mortal Man."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lecrae

LecraeSongwriter Interviews

The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.