It’s a perfect example of how music really can be medicine.
On this date in 2012, Miranda Lambert released her hit song “Over You,” which was the second single from her album Four the Record. The track peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and Miranda and her ex-husband Blake Shelton won the CMA Award for Song of the Year for their beautifully written song, as well as several other awards.
They’ve had their fair share of negative press when it comes to their relationship, but a couple years ago, Miranda opened up about a beautiful moment they shared together writing a song about the loss of Blake’s late brother, Richie, who passed unexpectedly in a car accident in 1990 when Blake was just a teenager.
On the Apple’s Essentials Radio podcast with Kelleigh Bannen, Miranda told the story of writing “Over You” with then-husband, Blake Shelton, saying it was a therapeutic moment for Shelton as he came to terms with a lot of emotions he had never fully expressed about the loss of his brother:
“My ex-husband, Blake, had lost a brother and it’s one of those moments where even if you’re married to someone, sometimes you find something new about them. Dudes don’t open up about things, but he started telling me about the experience of it all.
And I was like, ‘Have you ever written about it?’ Same thing. And he’s like, ‘No,’ and he was like, ‘Well, my dad just says, ‘You don’t get over it. You just get used to it.’ And I was like, ‘Well, could we write it? Do you want to try or is that invasive?’”
Understandably, she was concerned he might not want to put his feelings about such a tragic loss out to the public.
“You don’t know how to… I would never try to write your story because I didn’t live it, but maybe I could help because I’m an outside perspective but I feel your pain talking to me right now….”
Like she’s said before, music is medicine, and it’s true. His family was able to find closure in having that song to honor Blake’s brother and remember him in such a heartfelt, sincere way:
“It was really a special moment and I’m so glad we shared that song and that it helped his family heal, to have that together.”
As to why Blake gave Miranda the song to record instead of keeping it for himself? It’s not hard to imagine why, but Blake wasn’t sure he’d be able to get through singing it every night. You can watch his emotional speech after winning the CMA for song of the year here:
It’s a beautiful song that clearly still means a lot to both of them, and remains a fan-favorite from Miranda’s catalog to this day. The subject matter is universally relatable, and is as timeless as a country song can be.
Even though they went through a messy divorce, to put it lightly, it sounds like Miranda still cherish this song and the experience they had writing it together, which once again, speaks to the power of music. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime song that could have only been written by those two in that moment, which is part of what makes it so special.
They performed the song together for a Salute to the Troops in 2014, which you can watch here:
And Miranda’s music video for the stunning ballad here:
