If I Lose Myself - Alesso vs OneRepublic

The song, in its original form by OneRepublic, was inspired by frontman Ryan Tedder's personal fear of flying. He described the lyrics as being about the sheer panic of being on a plane that's going down, seeing your life flash before your eyes, but finding comfort and a strange sense of peace in the fact that the person you love is right there next to you, sharing the same traumatic experience. The title, "If I Lose Myself," is meant to be taken literally—facing death—but the song's core message is about the profound connection that makes such a terrifying moment bearable. It highlights the idea that facing the ultimate end with a loved one transforms the experience from one of pure fear into a shared, albeit thrilling, final journey. Alesso's remix maintains this emotional core but elevates it from a personal, morbid reflection to a massive, collective, and euphoric anthem. By setting these poignant lyrics against a backdrop of soaring progressive house music, the remix shifts the focus from the fear of death to a celebration of life and living in the moment, making the "losing myself" theme a metaphor for ecstatic release on the dance floor, united with thousands of others.

The narrative begins with a moment of profound reflection, as the protagonist looks up at the sun and reminisces about all the people, places, and experiences they have loved. This sense of introspection is abruptly interrupted by a physical and emotional tremor. A palpable fear sets in, described as feeling the light begin to tremble and seeing one's life flash before their eyes, as if looking out a window during a moment of crisis. The core of the song emerges from this precipice of fear and uncertainty. It poses a hypothetical: if this night is the end, if the protagonist is to lose themselves, they find solace and strength in the idea of not being alone. The commitment to face this ultimate moment with a significant other is a powerful declaration of love and unity. The repeated phrase, "If I lose myself tonight, it'll be by your side," becomes a mantra of comfort and shared destiny.

The song delves deeper into this scenario, painting a vivid picture of a perilous situation, explicitly mentioning being at "forty thousand feet." This imagery confirms the setting of a plane in distress. Despite the terrifying reality, there's a sense of defiant hope and resilience. The line "we keep trying" suggests a fight against the inevitable, a refusal to succumb to despair. The juxtaposition of the chaotic, life-threatening event with the calm assurance of companionship creates a powerful emotional tension. The lyrics convey that even in the face of death, the connection between two people can provide a profound sense of peace and meaning. The world outside may be falling apart, but within their shared experience, there is a sanctuary. This idea transforms a moment of ultimate loss into a testament to the enduring power of love. The loss of self is reframed not as a solitary disappearance, but as a fusion with another, a final, unbreakable bond.

The original version of "If I Lose Myself" was written by Ryan Tedder, Benny Blanco, Brent Kutzle, and Zach Filkins for OneRepublic's third studio album, Native, and released on January 8, 2013. The lyrics were inspired by Tedder's aviophobia. The band's engineer played the song for friends who reacted positively, which helped solidify it as the lead single. Swedish DJ and producer Alesso (Alessandro Lindblad) received the demo and was immediately inspired to work on it. He spent a month in the studio meticulously crafting the remix, aiming to preserve the melodic and emotional weight of the original while infusing it with high energy for the dance floor. Alesso stated, "I wanted it to be still melodic and emotional like it is but still have energy. It was tough, but I'm pretty happy with it." The remix, credited as "Alesso vs. OneRepublic," was first played at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami on March 24, 2013, and was officially released on March 30, 2013. This version was immensely successful, earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical and was featured on both the reissue of OneRepublic's Native and Alesso's debut album, Forever.

The lyrics utilize a simple, effective rhyme scheme that enhances its pop sensibility and memorability. The verses often follow a loose ABCB pattern (e.g., "sun"/A, "loved"/B, "tremble"/C, "window"/D - though not rhyming, the structure is parallel). The chorus, however, is built on a strong, repetitive structure that emphasizes the core message, with the key line "If I lose myself tonight" acting as an anaphora. Musically, the remix is set in a 4/4 time signature, typical for house music, with a tempo around 126 BPM. The rhythm is characterized by a steady, four-on-the-floor kick drum pattern that drives the track forward. Alesso creates rhythmic tension and release through the use of syncopated synth melodies, off-beat hi-hats, and rhythmic build-ups using snare rolls and accelerating synth patterns leading into the drop. The interplay between Tedder's flowing vocal rhythm and the track's insistent electronic pulse is key to its success, grounding the soaring emotion in a physically compelling beat.

Alesso's remix masterfully blends pop-rock and progressive house, a testament to cross-genre collaboration. The track preserves Ryan Tedder's emotive vocal delivery from the original but entirely reconstructs the musical landscape. Alesso builds the track with euphoric synths, layered chords, and a driving bassline, creating a dynamic and uplifting atmosphere. The production uses techniques common in electronic dance music, such as builds, drops, and breakdowns, to manipulate energy and emotional intensity. The structure begins with Tedder's vocals over a relatively sparse arrangement, often featuring a simple piano or synth melody, before escalating into a full-blown anthem. The drop features a powerful, melodic lead synth hook, layered with chords, a heavy kick drum, and sub-bass, designed for maximum impact in a festival setting. The use of reverb and delay on the vocals creates a spacious, atmospheric quality, making the song feel vast and anthemic. The remix is noted for its meticulous layering of sounds, including distorted synths, plucky melodic elements, and atmospheric drones, showcasing Alesso's detailed production style.

Alesso's remix of "If I Lose Myself" became a defining anthem of the progressive house boom in the early 2010s. Its massive success on a global scale helped solidify the genre's place in mainstream popular culture. The track received a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, a significant critical acclaim for a dance remix. It was a commercial success, achieving Platinum or multi-Platinum status in several countries, including Brazil, Germany, and Spain. The song became a staple in DJ sets at major festivals like Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival for years after its release, celebrated for its ability to create a moment of collective euphoria. Its enduring popularity is evident by its continued presence on charts like the Beatport MainStage 100 a decade after its release. The collaboration is often cited as a perfect example of a pop-dance crossover, where a remix arguably surpassed the original in popularity and cultural impact, playing a pivotal role in Alesso's rise to a mainstage headliner.

The central metaphor of the song is the plane crash, which symbolizes a moment of ultimate crisis and loss of control. Ryan Tedder confirmed this was based on his fear of flying. Lyrics like "forty thousand feet, keep flying" and "you can see your life out the window" literally depict this scenario. This situation serves as a powerful symbol for any life-altering, terrifying moment where one is confronted with their own mortality. The act of "losing myself" is a direct metaphor for death, but it's re-contextualized by the presence of a loved one. The shared experience transforms the loss from a solitary end into a unifying event, symbolized by the lyric "it'll be you and I." In Alesso's remix, the physical act of losing oneself in the music on a dance floor becomes a parallel metaphor for the song's original theme, creating a dual meaning of euphoric release and existential surrender.

The most significant recurring phrase is the title lyric, "If I lose myself tonight." Its repetition throughout the song serves as the central emotional anchor and thematic statement. It's often followed by the resolution, "it'll be by your side" or "it'll be you and I," reinforcing the theme of shared destiny. This lyrical motif encapsulates the song's entire narrative arc: the acceptance of a potential end, made meaningful through companionship. The musical motif that defines the Alesso remix is its main synthesizer lead. This powerful, uplifting melody, introduced in the drop, is the song's instrumental hook. It becomes the wordless chorus of the track, conveying a sense of euphoria, hope, and emotional release that complements the lyrics perfectly. Its recurrence after each vocal section provides the song's anthemic and memorable quality, making it an iconic sound of the progressive house era.