Some of the greatest songs have come from the personal lives of musicians. It’s common knowledge that Taylor Swift’s past romances and soured relationships have become the basis for many of her hits. According to Far Out Magazine, Carrie Fisher said that Paul Simon’s “Allergies” was written about her. Both Eric Clapton and The Beatles’ George Harrison wrote songs about Patty Boyd.
It makes sense that, during their two-decade relationship, former “American Idol” judge Keith Urban would’ve written at least one song about Nicole Kidman. Some you may know, others may come as a surprise.
‘The Fighter’
Keith’s most well-known song about Nicole is “The Fighter.” The song was on his 2016 album, “Ripcord,” and was recorded with Carrie Underwood. He also released a YouTube video singing it with the “Big Little Lies” star.
“It was just a very quick, quick song to write, because I literally thought about Nic and I and our relationship in the beginning, and some of the things we had said all went into that song,” he told The Boot in 2017.
Since their split, Keith changed the lyrics during a concert, which sent fans into an uproar. Instead of singing “When they’re tryna get to you, baby I’ll be the fighter,” he sang, “When they’re tryna get to you, Maggie, I’ll be your guitar player, in reference to utility player Maggie Baugh.
‘Better Than I Am’
The song “Better Than I Am” is featured on Keith’s 2020 album, “The Speed of Now Part 1.” Keith appeared on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast that year. One of the topics he spoke about was how the song was written with Nicole and their family in mind.
“She’s the one that I was searching for my whole life, and everything not only changed, but had to change in me if I was going to go that road,” he said. “It felt like an ultimate fork in the road moment in my life.”
He went on to talk about how, even though Nicole was more successful than he was, there was more he could bring to their family than money. “So I bring everything I can, most of the time,” he said.
“There’s a song on my album called “Better Than I Am” which touches upon a lot of these things,” he continued. “And there’s a line in the second verse, it talks about it’s more a truce, less a surrender, it’s more a giving, giving more than I want to give. And that’s what it takes. It takes me giving more than I want to give to actually live this life that I was trying to find.”
‘Gemini’
“Gemini” is one of the racier songs on Keith Urban’s 2018 album “Graffiti U.” Some of the lyrics include “She’s a maniac in the bed/But a brainiac in her head/And I know that everybody knows/Ooh, that she’s both.”
“The song is actually about Nicole – and she loves it,” he told iNews in 2019. “It’s a fun song. My co-writer Julia Michaels asked me to describe Nicole and that’s what came out.”
Despite feigning bashfulness, Nicole didn’t seem to mind. “I don’t censor his art, if I can be a muse for it,” the “Moulin Rouge” actress previously said on Kyle & Jackie O’s “Breakfast With the Stars” podcast. “It is embarrassing, but at the same time, it’s better than saying, ‘God, I’m so bored. Make an effort, Nicole!’”
‘Thank You’
In 2009, Keith admitted to The Boot that the song “Thank You” was dedicated to Nicole. From his 2009 album “Defying Gravity,” the tender lyrics read, “And I found myself in places I thought I’d never go. Surrounded by strangers I was so far from home. And I don’t know how you found me. All I know is I owe everything to you, yes, I do.”
“It’s something I wanted to be able to do for my wife, too,” he explained. “She’s been an incredible strength for me … in the last couple of years, particularly so.”
‘Once in a Lifetime’ & ‘Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)’
It’s no surprise that, a year after meeting Nicole, he penned two songs for her that ended up on his album, “Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing.” In 2014, during a show in Sydney, Australia, he talked about “Once in a Lifetime.” He explained that it came about after Nicole shared all her fears about getting married to him.
“I was trying to reassure her that I’m her guy. ‘I’m your guy, baby, I’m him,'” Keith told the crowd. “We got through a pretty rough night. And the next day I was with a friend of mine who’s a songwriter.”
He explained that his friend thought they should write about it. “Everything Nic had said the night before came out in the song. She was saying things like, ‘It’s a leap of faith.’ She said, ‘I’m scared, and you’ve got to come closer,’ and everything poured into this song.”
“Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)” was written around the same time. He re-recorded it for 2007’s “Greatest Hits: 18 Kids” album with a new line he added at the end. He claimed that he wanted to use the word ‘know’ instead of ‘think,’ but it didn’t sound as good.
“As a songwriter, there are choices made with words because they sing well,” he told The Boot. “So, ‘I know I got it right this time'”‘ just doesn’t sing as well as ‘I think I got it right this time.’ But as the song has evolved and grown, our marriage has evolved a lot. So, at the very end [of the new recording], there’s an ad-libbed line that says, “I mean, I know I do.'”
