Brightside

Album: Brightside (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds The Lumineers singer-guitarist Wesley Schultz painting a picture of a couple on the road. The reason for the journey is unexplained, but clearly it's been an ordeal for the woman and she's now feeling low. The car heater broke down and she's missing her children, so the man wants to cheer her up. Sitting in their hotel room, he promises to brighten her evening with some love and affection.
  • The Lumineers recorded the song in a single day. "It's like a 15-year-old's fever dream, an American love story in all its glory and heartbreak," explained Schultz. "The last couple left, on the run from something and all alone."
  • "Brightside" is the title track and lead single of The Lumineers' fourth album. Simone Felice, producer of Cleopatra and III, returned to helm the record alongside keyboardist David Baron.
  • Lumineers multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites and session musician David Baron played all the instruments between them.
  • This topped Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart. It was The Lumineers' sixth #1 on the tally, following "Ho Hey," "Stubborn Love," "Ophelia," "Gloria" and "Life in the City."
  • Documentary filmmaker Kyle Thrash directed the song's music video, which doesn't use any actors. Instead, it comprises genuine couples telling their real love stories.

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