I Lived

Album: Native (2013)
Charted: 29 32
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Songfacts®:

  • While opening for U2 in the summer of 2012, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder observed the effect of Bono's lyrics on the Irish band's fans, as they sung along to their songs. "These lyrics are so from his gut and so like honest, but poetic," Tedder told Radio.com. "They're not trying to be ambiguous or trying to be cool."

    Inspired, Tedder decided that with Native he was going to write lyrics people could relate to, which meant he would have to share a little bit of himself. Accordingly, nothing on the album is a work of fiction. This song, for instance is a love letter to the singer's son, Copeland Cruz, who was born in 2010.
  • The song's music video pays tribute to teenage fan, Bryan Warnecke, and his struggles living with cystic fibrosis. The clip ends with Tedder driving Warnecke to a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado to see OneReublic perform.

Comments: 1

  • Linda from Oakland, Ca, UsaThis song is about living life to its fullest, but I interpreted it as to take risks because to live is to feel pain. "Hoping you take that jump
    But don't fear the fall, Hope that you fall in love/And it hurts so bad, With every broken bone/I swear I lived."
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