The Meaning Behind Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” Is Actually Really Tender

Lewis Capaldi has done the seemingly impossible: his track “Someone You Loved” has overtaken Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” to become the UK’s most-streamed song. According to the Chart Company, Capaldi’s single has been played a whopping 562 million times, counting both audio and video streams. Having deemed himself the “King of Streaming,” Capaldi is understandably proud of this achievement. Not only because he’s beaten Sheeran, but has also topped some of the world’s biggest artists like The Beatles, Metallica, and Michael Jackson. “Don’t worry guys, no hard feelings, I just had to take this one,” he said. “Take a step back and let Daddy steer the ship now, OK?”

Released in 2018, “Someone You Loved” is the third single from his second EP Breach and was later included on his debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent. It was his first UK No. 1 single and spent seven consecutive weeks on the charts.

To some, the ballad sounded like Capaldi longing after a lost love — with reports suggesting it was about his ex-girlfriend and Love Island alum Paige Turley. She even mentioned it in her Love Island VT, apologising to the singer if that was the case. But during an interview with V Music Australia, he revealed that he wrote the song following a bereavement in his family. “It’s about my grandmother, who’s dead… She died a few years ago. Your classic death, not coming back that sort of thing,” he said.

“One day I sat down at my piano, after the death, and I started messing around,” Capaldi continued. “And as fortune had it my gran had just died — I went into a session and I was like ‘I can’t write another heartbreak ballad.’” A sentiment that was also echoed at the 2020 BRIT Awards in his acceptance speech for Song of the Year, where Capaldi said, “Contrary to popular belief... A lot of people think this song is about my ex-girlfriend, who you can now see every night on Love Island, but it’s actually about my grandmother.”

Although, he did tell NME that the track “reflects on both the end of a relationship and a pair of recent family bereavements.”

Take a look at the full “Someone You Loved” lyrics, below.

[Verse 1]

I’m going under, and this time, I fear there’s no one to save me

This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy

I need somebody to hear, somebody to know

Somebody to have, somebody to hold

It’s easy to say, but it’s never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

[Chorus]

Now, the day bleeds into nightfall

And you’re not here to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

[Verse 2]

I’m going under, and this time, I feel there’s no one to turn to

This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you

Now, I need somebody to know, somebody to hear

Somebody to have, just to know how it feels

It’s easy to say, but it’s never the same

I guess I kinda like the way you help me escape

[Chorus]

Now, the day bleeds into nightfall

And you’re not here to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was kinda getting used to being someone you loved

[Bridge]

And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes

I fall into your arms

I’ll be safe in your sound till I come back around

[Chorus]

For now, the day bleeds into nightfall

And you’re not here to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting used to being someone you loved

But now the day bleeds into nightfall

And you’re not here to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved