We Found Love Lyrics

[Video Intro: Agyness Deyn]
It's like you're screaming, and no one can hear
You almost feel ashamed, that someone could be that important
That without them, you feel like nothing
No one will ever understand how much it hurts
You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you
And when it's over and it's gone
You almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back
So that you could have the good

[Verse 1: Rihanna]
Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side

As your shadow crosses mine
What it takes to come alive

[Pre-Chorus: Rihanna]
It's the way I'm feeling, I just can't deny
But I've gotta let it go

[Chorus: Rihanna]
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
[Instrumental Drop]

[Verse 2: Rihanna]
Shine a light through an open door
Love and life, I will divide
Turn away 'cause I need you more
Feel the heartbeat in my mind

[Pre-Chorus: Rihanna]
It's the way I'm feeling, I just can't deny
But I've gotta let it go

[Chorus: Rihanna]
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place

[Bridge: Rihanna]
Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side

As your shadow crosses mine

[Chorus: Rihanna]
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
[Instrumental Drop]

[Chorus: Rihanna]
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place

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About

Genius Annotation

This is a single off Rihanna’s sixth studio album Talk that Talk. It was also included on 18 Months, the third album from Scottish electronic artist and this song’s producer Calvin Harris, who penned the lyrics as well.

This song became one of the bestselling singles of all time, and Rihanna’s longest running single, outlasting her smash hit “Umbrella” on top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. During the trackling week ending February 25, 2023, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at #48. This was Harris' first time on the Hot 100, and became a huge boon to his career. He’d been releasing music since 2007. Harris said:

It changed absolutely everything. Career-wise it was the best thing that could ever have happened. For example, in America my tune ‘Feel So Close’ came out about three months before. But when ‘We Found Love’ came out, the radio started playing ‘Feel So Close’ like it was the single after. Then that did really well, it charted well and sold a lot of copies."

Harris was able to tap Rihanna for the song after he opening for her on a leg of her Loud tour in 2011. When Rihanna announced the collaboration to Twitter fans, the Rihanna Navy jumped on Harris, ensuring he would produce a hit. Luckily he didn’t disappoint.

The original version of the song was recorded by UK singer Leona Lewis. She told NME:

It was a bit annoying to see how big a hit it was but if I’d released it maybe it wouldn’t have done as well.

The music video, directed by Melissa Matsoukas, depicts two lovers are in an unsustainable relationship based on passion and drugs, more like an addiction than a healthy interest. The video features a lot of drug usage and a Chris Brown lookalike, which was controversial, given their real-life abusive relationship. Matsoukas addressed the rumors about the controversial video in an interview with MTV:

Again, it goes back to a story that we all can relate to. It’s not Rihanna’s story; it’s her story in the video, and she’s acting. But everybody’s [as well]. Obviously, there’s a lot of comparisons to her real life , and that’s not at all the intention.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Translations
What did Rihanna say about "We Found Love"?
Genius Answer

“We Found Love” was one of my favorite songs to record for the album; I think we were in Sweden. It wasn’t vocally challenging, but we had to reprogram our thinking because the song wasn’t in a traditional format. It wasn’t verse-chorus-verse, it was basically a hook. But the energy was so insane!"

Kuk Harrell via Billboard

Vocal recorder Marcos Tovar:

As a general rule, I usually don’t prognosticate future chart positions when listening to songsBut with [‘We Found Love’] it was a bit more obvious that it was going to leave a mark.”

– Via Billboard (2019)

What has the media said about the song?
Genius Answer

In 2018, NPR ranked this as the #40 greatest song by a female or nonbinary artist in the 21st century, saying:

Calvin Harris' production of ‘We Found Love’ feels prickly at first, then purely stimulating. It’s an undulating landscape that gives Rihanna space to sing to the stars about the intangible but very real thing that connects us all: love. The relatable desperation and inescapably turnt energy of the song arguably made Harris into a pop superstar overnight, but it propelled Rihanna even further into the untouchable territory reserved for chart-dominating queens. The lyrics of the 2011 single are harmlessly enjoyable, perfect for dancing and fist-pumping the night away with both lovers and friends of all kinds. It’s the love song of a generation that openly encourages every form of consensual affection. It’s an anthem of inclusivity.

Live Performance
Is there a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the music video?
Credits
Featuring
Produced By
Written By
Copyright ©
Vocal Producer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Vocal Recorder
Mixing Engineer
Video Director
Video Producer
Assistant Recording Engineer
Recorded At
Fly Eye Studios, London; Westlake Recording Studios (Studio B), Los Angeles, CA
Release Date
September 22, 2011
We Found Love Live Performances
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