"Like We Never Loved At All" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

. It was released in August 2005 as the second from her album ''

Fireflies The Lampyridae are a family (biology), family of Elateroidea, elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are bioluminescence, light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, ...

''. The song features her husband

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

singing harmony vocals. Like two other singles from the album — "Mississippi Girl" and "Sunshine and Summertime" — this song was co-written by

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

Vicky McGehee Vicky Lynn McGehee is an American country music songwriter. Among the songs that McGehee has written are "Heart Hold On" by The Buffalo Club, "All Jacked Up" by Gretchen Wilson, "Holy Water" by Big & Rich, "Why" by Jason Aldean, "Like We Neve ...

and Scot Sax. A tale of coping with a love that has drifted away, the song provided the thematic opening for shows from McGraw and Hill's joint

Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 The Soul2Soul II Tour was the second co-headlining concert tour between American country music singers, and husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Beginning as the Soul2Soul II Tour 2006, its shows featured elaborate production values usin ...

, with the pair singing it at opposite ends of the stage and with their backs to each other. The song was a success on both

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

radios. It became a Top 5 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and a Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. Hill and McGraw won the

Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do ...

for the song, at the

48th Annual Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

, in 2006.

Music video

A music video was released in conjunction with the song, directed by

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...

. In it, Hill and McGraw are portrayed as a country music duo in the 1960s (named Jackie and Isaac), who are moving on from a romance they once shared. After the first chorus, Hill leaves the set in distress, retreating to her private room. McGraw follows, and knocks on her door. Inconveniently, his girlfriend arrives and embraces him just as Hill opens the door. Seeing this, she slams it shut again, throwing things around in a fit of aggravation. Later, Hill and McGraw are at a restaurant with various guests, sitting at separate tables. As McGraw is about to stand up, possibly to talk to Hill, her new fiancé announces to everyone that he wants to marry her, presenting her with a diamond ring. Heartbroken, McGraw walks over to the bar to intoxicate himself. Hill refuses the proposal by shutting the ring box, which McGraw does not see. The couple is also seen performing in front of a red stage. McGraw wears a suit and Hill wears a yellow dress in these scenes.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes. * Bruce Bouton — steel guitar *

Tom Bukovac Tom Bukovac is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992. He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in Sou ...

— electric guitar * Paul Bushnell — bass guitar *

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

— fiddle *

Shannon Forrest Shannon Forrest (born August 22, 1973 in Easley, South Carolina) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. As a session drummer, he has contributed to the work of many well-known artists, and he is also a pr ...

— drums *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

— electric guitar * Charlie Judge — keyboards

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 51 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs on the week ending August 13, 2005.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2005 singles 2005 songs Faith Hill songs Tim McGraw songs Songs written by John Rich Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Country ballads Warner Records singles Songs written by Vicky McGehee Male–female vocal duets