The Hard-Hitting Songwriting Session That Made Keith Urban “Burst Out Crying”

New Zealand-born country artist Keith Urban burst onto the U.S. country music scene in 2000 with his first No. 1 hit, “But for the Grace of God.” He has since gone on to release 11 studio albums that spawned 18 chart-topping singles. Urban’s latest album, High, showcases some of his most personal songwriting yet. And recently, the “Messed Up As Me” hitmaker revealed which track unexpectedly brought him to tears.

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Keith Urban Called This Song “A Gift”

Released Sept. 20, High debuted at No. 10 on that week’s Top Country Albums Chart, securing Keith Urban the 11th Top 10 album of his career.

The record’s closing track, “Break the Chain,” is a candid look into Urban’s fraught relationship with his alcoholic father. “Break the Chain” sees the four-time GRAMMY winner vowing not to repeat the same patterns with his own children.

During a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Urban described the song as “a gift that day in the strangest way.”

“I didn’t have the title, I didn’t have the lyric, I had no melody, nothing,” he said. “I just showed up at this guy Marc Scibilia’s house.”

Urban and Scibilia had never met prior to that day. A mutual friend had arranged their songwriting session. In fact, the two barely spoke before Urban sat down with his yellow legal pad and started writing.

“I Just Burst Out Crying”

Surrendering to the process, Keith Urban penned the second verse: Out here, I’ve been out here / On my own now, for way too long / Fightin’ my own battles / With my demons / With the way that I was raised.

[RELATED: Kelly Clarkson’s Hilarious Reaction To Finding out Keith Urban Failed Music Class in High School]

“I just burst out crying,” the “Blue Ain’t Your Color” singer told Clarkson. “And just sitting on this couch, just weeping in this complete stranger’s house. He looks over at me on the couch and sees me like this and he goes, ‘Hmm, must be true.’”

They recorded “Break the Chain” in one take, Urban said.

“It wasn’t one of those things like, let’s take it in the studio and get it all pro,” he explained. “It’s like, let it be true. Just let it be what it is.”

Featured image by Paul A. Hebert/Shutterstock

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