It's perfectly understandable to believe that no one would be able to put a fresh spin on the 'can't live without you' theme, given that this lyrical content has been done to death by now:
1970: Badfinger records "Without You"
1971: Harry Nilson covers Badfinger's "Without You"
1987: U2 records "With or Without You"
1989: Mötley Crüe records "Without You"
1991: Air Supply covers Badfinger's "Without You"
1993: Mariah Carey covers Badfinger's 'Without You"
2002: 3 Doors Down records "Here Without You"
2009: Hinder records "Without You"
2009: Mary J. Blige records "Be Without You"
2009: Kelly Clarkson records "My Life Would Suck Without You"
2011: David Guetta and Usher record "Without You"
2011: Keith Urban records "Without You"
2012: Lana Del Rey records "Without You"
2015: Tobias Jesso Jr. records "Without You"
All these songs mine separation anxiety for melodramatic potential, making it difficult for the listener/lover to be indifferent to the lyrical persona's plight. South-east London electropop duo Oh Wonder (Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West) take a lighter, refreshing take on this tired lyrical theme by toning down the hyperbole (few people actually die from a break-up ...although it appears that a healthy and stable long-term relationship does reduce mortality rates):
'Cause I'm kicking up stones without youCan't pick up the phone without youI'm a little bit lost without youWithout you
And I'm digging down holes without youCan't be on my own without youI'm a little bit lost without youWithout you'
The duo have been credited for their "soft vocals, polished timing, impeccable tone and a somewhere between heart-achingly and heart-breakingly emotive quality" (, 2015), and these qualities definitely shine through on this track. The lyrics and beat establish a forward-looking momentum - instead of the typical emotional stasis that one expects from any song built around the fear and paralysing anxiety of having to live life without a significant someone.
AllMusic's Marcy Donelson notes that the duo effectively utilize a "slow-grooving, R&B-infused style that's technically electronic", which she compares to "the Everything But the Girl and Sade realm of English sophisti-pop with touches of contemporary glitch". The lyrics eschew formulaic repetition by altering the verses that build a narrative around the catchy (but cliched) chorus, creating a meaningful song that manages to move ahead without sidelining the past:
Cause I am one step heavy and two steps highHold it steady with you by my sideOne step heavy and two steps highTwo steps high
