It all came about around June 2022. I just started making the instrumental at the airport while I
was on an 18-hour layover, so I had plenty of time. I remember we were going to DLT in Malta, and
there was somebody I met there, somebody I had known, to be honest. However, a small situation had
occurred, and that was the inspiration for the chorus, where it was like, “Okay, I’m fine,
regardless.” The moment I landed in Malta, I just set up my studio, kept recording, kept making the
beat. I had my friend over, had a long conversation, went to the show, came back, and I just felt I
was ready to speak. I think that same night, the majority of the song was basically done. The only
thing we needed was some additional production, which was completed immediately afterwards. I think
that’s why it’s regarded as a love song, even though it’s a heartbreak song. I think that
perspective came from the relationship and interaction I had with that person in Malta, who was
someone that I’d known for a minute. A lot of clarity happened on that trip between the person and
me. I’m not necessarily saying that the song was written for the person, but that was the push to
explore that. We had a North American tour last year, and just being with fans and seeing them
experience that song for the first time in person with me. There’s a way that, the moment the song
comes on, the entire mood of the entire venue just changes because people go from, “Yeah, party,
we’re having a good time” to “Oh, I hate that ex of mine” or “I remember the feeling I had when I
first heard this song.” There’s a tone switch that just happens wherever we are whenever the song
comes on, and everyone just mentally shifts at the same time, which is what I think good art is.
Right after Malta, I went to London. I linked up with The Elements, and I just had him put some
chords on there, put some chords on it just to fill it up a little bit. And then I played drums on
top of it as well for the second verse. I feel that with each year that passes, it’s regarded more
and more as one of the greatest love songs. I think that in itself is how I want the narrative to
continue to remain, because that was the entire intention of the song. The intention wasn’t to write
a love song or a heartbreak song. It was just to make an honest song, a vulnerable song, something
that just felt real and true. In a lot of ways, I love how different people interpret it in
different ways, because some people will genuinely fight you to the end of time that this is a
heartbreak song. Some people will genuinely fight you to the end of time; that it is not a
heartbreak song, it’s a love song. That in itself is a reflection of that level of vulnerability,
where all of us just have different perspectives on it, to be honest.
