Inside the song: "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat
“Lucky,” the sweet, swaying duet written by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat with Tim Fagan, was originally released on Jason Mraz’s 2008 album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
During an interview for Acoustic Guitar magazine (published in the October 2010 issue), Mraz told me that “Lucky”—like six of the tracks on the We Sing album—originated in an email songwriting group led by Austin singer-songwriter Bob Schneider. Each week, the songwriters take turns giving a writing prompt. See this post for more from Mraz about this and other writing games.
See also this video lesson on how to play “I’m Yours.”
The story
It was born in the songwriting game, and I had come up with the phrase for that week. The phrase was “me talking to you.”
I’d gotten it off this picture that a girl had sent me of her on the phone; it was a picture of her talking to me. I just thought it was such a sweet little phrase the way she wrote it, “me talking to you,” so that was the phrase for the songwriting game, and I immediately launched it into what would be the opening of “Lucky.”
I had that melody and that little voice in my head for a couple of weeks. It sounded sweet and kind of a duet, just flowing through the verse and the chorus. At the same time I had fallen in love with Colbie Caillat. I gave her a call and thought it would be great to write something together. I said I had this song in mind.
I knew I had the melody, but I was still kind of playing around with the lyrics. I sent it to her, and she and Tim Fagan wrote the Colbie verse and the bridge and then emailed it back to me, and I had this whole new arrangement suddenly that I could play with. And so the song became “Lucky.”
It’s got a couple of fun sections. To me the chorus kind of opens up, a lot more bright and dancey, but then the bridge is a little more progressive; you’re bouncing on the D minor quite a bit. It’s a simple and fun song to play.
—Jason Mraz
Dig deeper into the creative process in The Complete Singer-Songwriter, featuring songwriting tips and techniques from more than 100 artists, including Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Rosanne Cash, Jewel, Jeff Tweedy, Ani DiFranco, James Taylor, John Fogerty, Brandi Carlile, Richard Thompson, Jason Mraz, Jerry Garcia, and more.
Lucky
Words and music by Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, and Tim Fagan
Do you hear me, I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky
Oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy, I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday
And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now
Chorus