Keith Urban Drops Acoustic Version of Latest Single, ‘We Were’

The acoustic version of Keith Urban‘s latest single, “We Were,” is here! After teasing the song earlier this week, Urban dropped the new version on Friday, Aug. 2. The song is from an upcoming, still-untitled new album.

Eric Church wrote “We Were,” along with Ryan Tyndell and Jeff Hyde, but Urban was unaware who wrote it until after he decided to record the single.

“I had no idea Eric was a writer on it when we went in and recorded it,” Urban said, via radio station Kicks 99 Country. “We actually recorded it last December before Christmas. And then I just lived with it for a while, tinkering little bits and pieces over the next handful of months until we finished it out.

“It wasn’t until I was doing label copy and needed to make sure I had all the lyrics right and asked for a copy of their lyrics, and that’s the first time I saw the writers on the song,” he added.

Urban reached out to Church, after he recorded it, and asked if it was really him who wrote the song.

“He texted back, ‘We Were…’ Is that about something about a water town and something?’ ’cause he wrote so many songs,” Urban recounted. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He texted back ‘Why?’ and I was like, ‘I just recorded it’ and he’s like ‘What?’ I said. ‘Yeah I really didn’t know that you were a writer on it,’ and he said, ‘Well that’s the best news ever ’cause that means you really like the song.’”

The fact that Urban didn’t know Church was a writer on the song made it that much more meaningful to Church.

“I did not know that until after he cut that song. I truly believe songs find the path that they’re supposed to find, and that one was supposed to be with him. Now, as it goes No. 1 in a few weeks, I’m gonna rethink that a little,” Church said. “It was perfect that he’s the guy that did that and did it better than I could have done it. I love hearing it on the radio. It’s fun for me. I came to this town to be a songwriter, so for me, I’m not sure if that’s not as proud as I’ve been as when you get a song cut by somebody else and then it becomes a hit.”

Download or stream the acoustic version of “We Were” by visiting Urban’s website.

Photo Credit: Getty / Jason Kempin