You're Gonna Live Forever In Me

Album: The Search for Everything (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This touching piano ballad came to John Mayer when he was working on his The Search For Everything album at Capitol Records' Hollywood building. The only other person in the room at the time was longtime engineer Chad Franscoviak. "I wrote this in one night," Mayer recalled to Rolling Stone. "The first week we were here, we had an assistant in the room and I worked a little bit but didn't get very far. So I said, 'We have to kick everybody out and it just has to be me and Chad.' He's the only guy who I can really write in front of."

    Mayer had already prepared some lyrical ideas at home, and was trying to find the right music for them one night, when this song formed itself within a space of a few minutes.

    "We would dim the lights in the studio," he said, "I sat at the piano for hours teaching myself how the song might go. I sang it that night, and that was it: what you hear on the song is the original take. I couldn't sing the vocals again if I tried. It would be like the second snowball fight in Groundhog Day. This is the first time in my life as a singer that I'm in a state of emotion, not just intellectualizing how to sing a song. Every time I hear it, it's like getting to meet myself in the same room and take a walk around myself, like, 'I guess that's what I look like from that angle.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

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.