According to US

I don't really like this song very much. I know so many people list it as a favorite. I think it might be because the lyrics make me a little dizzy - everything is old, everything is turning new - wait, what?

"and then you make flowers from hurricanes" - wait, what?

So yea, that's how I feel during a lot of the song.

One thing that always goes through my mind when Rick co-writes with someone else is "how much of this is Rick and how much is the other person?" So, I was quite surprised when I ran across Matt's version that came out five years before "Songs for the End of the World". In my mind, Rick had very little to do with this song (and this is based on pure speculation on my part.) Rick's version seems so close/exact to Matt's original.  At the same time, it does feel like a song he could have/would have written, or maybe it sounds like a song he's recorded before that someone else mostly wrote. Now I'm making myself dizzy. - rlh

"I Found You" is one of my favorite songs ever. I am a sucker for a 3/4 power ballad, and this one hits all the marks for me. A heavily distorted guitar attacks the opening. Rick takes a breath to sing the first line.  His voice is edgy, yet smooth, singing near the bottom of his usual range, almost in sotto voce. Verse 2, more instruments enter, adding to a somber mood; like a midnight drive down a rainy highway in total darkness. The minor key (B minor) helps create the dark mood. The lyric is full of paradox: "old...turning new," "same...in different ways" - is it conflict or resolution? Rick's voice on the words "between pain and fear" is full of raw emotion. And there is hope, "just in time for me."

The chorus begins, and the sun comes out. The sound brightens: the key modulates to D major. The staccato guitar smooths out. The 3/4 meter dominates, creating the feel of a slow dance at prom. The melody rises, taking Rick's vocals into his prettiest notes, sung beautifully and with strength. The rain metaphor in the lyric describes how his beloved enters his life to calm the storm and create beauty from adversity. He is saying that she saved his life by loving him. "That's when I found you/ That's how I found you."  She is a catalyst for a turning point in his life, and he sings to her so she can feel his sincere gratitude. Beautiful.

Another verse brings back the darker mood, sound, and thoughts. He's lucky she reached out to him. Does he deserve her? Darkness is quickly dissipated when she walks in for the second chorus and we again hear a stark contrast between the sounds of these elements - verse and chorus, minor and major.  The final chorus has my favorite lines. "And then you played music in silent ways..."What a huge compliment for a musician to give: that his lover brings music to his life. "And then you came into a young man's life and got me through."  He found her in  his youth and is happy to have spent many years with her.

I don't have the same passion for the acoustic version. The vocal tracks are the same, but with acoustic guitar it lacks the sharp contrast between verse and chorus that I find so powerful. Matt Bissonette released his version (the original) in 2009. I am curious how much involvement Rick had in the song then.  The distorted guitar is similar to Rick's, if a bit less crunchy. You can hear Matt's jazz background in the way he sings the verses with a swing style (on the upbeats) making an even sharper contrast to the strong downbeats in the chorus. I do love Matt's version and think the song is beautifully crafted. While I am curious who wrote most of the lyric, I think Matt and Rick share the sentiment of deep love and appreciation for their wives. Ah, to be loved that deeply!  This is a play-on-repeat song for me. - SMR