"Without You" is a song written by Joe West and

Dave Pahanish David Pahanish ( ) is an American singer-songwriter. He co-wrote the No. 1 ''Billboard'' country music singles " Do You Believe Me Now" by Jimmy Wayne, " American Ride" by Toby Keith, and " Without You" by Keith Urban. Pahanish has also had songs ...

and recorded by Australian

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, ...

artist Keith Urban. It was released in February 2011 as the second single from Urban's 2010 album '' Get Closer''. The song reached number one on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. This song should not to be confused with another song of the same title that Urban had recorded on his Australian self-titled 1991 debut album.

Background

Urban described the song as his "life story" and considered it "an amazing song that ewould have never allowed imselfto write."

Content

"Without You" is a ballad in which the narrator says that his life would not have any meaning without his lover. This song is set in the key of

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

and is accompanied mainly by

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

. It has a main chord pattern of A-A/G-Dsus2/F-D and a vocal range from E4 to F5.

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song five stars out of five, citing it a song that "suits Keith Urban and his life with wife Nicole Kidman." Blake Boldt of Engine 145 gave the song a "thumbs down," stating that Urban is "at his best when exploring heart's aches and pains," and saying that it "lacks the excitement of past hits."

Music video

The video for the song was directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Madd ...

. Filmed entirely in black-and-white, it shows Urban performing the song while seated on a stool in an empty bedroom, while home footage of his personal and professional life is shown projected onto the background. Keith would use this same setup (complete with black-and-white lighting) for his performance of the song at the 2011 ACM Awards.

Chart performance

"Without You" debuted at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts for the week of 19 February 2011.''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs – 19 February 2011
/ref> It also debuted at number 95 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart for the week of 26 March 2011.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Keith Urban singles 2010 songs Keith Urban songs 2011 singles Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Songs written by Dave Pahanish Capitol Records Nashville singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Country ballads Black-and-white music videos