"I Was Here" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé from her fourth studio album, 4 (2011). It was written by Diane Warren, while production was handled by OneRepublic members Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle, alongside Kuk Harrell. "I Was Here" is a reflective R&B ballad, in which Beyoncé reviews her past, wanting to leave an impact on the world before her life comes to an end. Described as a "career song" by Warren, its development was motivated by the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Following the release of 4, "I Was Here" charted at number 131 on the UK Singles Chart, 74 on the Swiss Singles Chart, and 44 on the South Korea Gaon International Singles Chart in early July 2011. Later, in 2012, the song also appeared on several charts internationally.
A music video for the song was released on August 19, 2012, and it features Beyoncé, wearing a Marc Bouwer gown, performing the song live at the United Nations General Assembly Hall while images of volunteers doing humanitarian work were projected on the screen behind her. Upon its release, it received positive reviews from music critics who praised the projections, Beyoncé's vocal performance and her look.
In late July, the song was included on the soundtrack for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final. "I Was Here" was also part of Beyoncé's set list for her residency show 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé and was used in the Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live shows during an interlude. The live video from the DVD Live at Roseland: Elements of 4 appeared online on November 16, 2011, containing Beyoncé's home movies and professional highlights. "I Was Here" was covered by Lea Michele for Glees soundtrack album Glee: The Music, The Graduation Album (2012).
Development and recording
"I Was Here" was written by Diane Warren and was produced by Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, Beyoncé and Kuk Harrell. "I Was Here" is the only song on the record that was not co-written by Beyoncé. The development of "I Was Here" was motivated by the September 11 attacks. "I thought that the one artist who would be my dream to sing ['I Was Here'] would be Beyoncé," said Warren. "This is one of those magical stories where what is meant to be actually happens."
In May 2011, Warren played the song on a guitar over the phone to Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z, who then called her. Upon hearing "I Was Here", Beyoncé immediately made up her mind, "Oh my god, I have to have this song." September 2011 was going to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and Beyoncé thought that the song would perfectly complete her album, which had nearly reached completion. The mastering of 4 was delayed to allow Beyoncé to record the song. Warren was present at the recording sessions, which took place two days following her conversation with Beyoncé and Jay-Z on the phone. She said, "There's nothing better than to hear the song that you came up with [sung back]. It's like your heart found another heart", before adding:
I've never had chills through my entire body like I had from hearing Beyoncé sing this song. 'I Was Here' came from my soul and became the song that was coming from hers. In all my life, I have never heard anything as amazing as this. Hearing her sing 'I Was Here' will forever be one of the best moments of my life, and I know that this song will touch many other lives as well.
Composition
"I Was Here" is a downtempo R&B ballad that is instrumentally based on synthesizers undercurrent, indie rock guitars, musical keyboards and big drums provided by Tedder and Kutzle. The sound of the song's recurring hook uses a combination of a xylophone and a piano. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing at the website Musicnotes.com, "I Was Here" is written in the key of G major with a time signature and has a tempo of 37 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of Em–C–D–Dsus–Em–C–Em–C, and Beyoncé's vocals span two octaves from E3 to E5.
James Reed of The Boston Globe felt that "['I Was Here'] is 'Halo' on steroids — or Valium." It features Beyoncé as the female protagonist, who wants to make her mark on this Earth before her time is up as she wants that the world remember her impact. Ian Walker of AbsolutePunk elaborated on the song's composition: "'I Was Here' is Beyoncé's monument to the ages. The song climbs higher and higher, chorus by chorus, until Beyoncé reaches her apex, delivering some of her best vocals on the album. The lyrics are a bit uninspired, overly triumphant but somewhat humble as the singer contemplates her mark on history. Although she has garnered massive amounts of acclaim through her storied career, Beyoncé is far from satisfied."
"I Was Here" begins with quivering reverb and a plaintively plucked guitar setting a somber mood for about fifteen seconds before the beats begin alongside Beyoncé's voice. Her vocals set a hushed and morbid tone on the song as she bring doses of edge and grit, singing: "I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time / Know there was something that meant something that I left behind / When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets / I'll leave something to remember, So they won't forget". She further sings throughout the song, "The hearts I have touched will be the proof that I leaved that I made a difference". Watery synths shimmer in the background before Beyoncé adopts an authoritative tone to chant the chorus lines: "I was here / I lived, I loved / I was here / I did, I've done / Everything that I wanted / And it was more than I thought it would be / I will leave my mark so everyone will know / I was here".
Critical reception
"I Was Here" garnered mixed to positive reviews from critics, most of whom felt the song's message was too deep for an artist like Beyoncé to sing, and criticized its placement on the track list of 4. Georgette Cline of The Boombox gave the song a positive review stating that, although the lyrics are a bit on the morbid side, it works in Beyoncé's favor, "proving she can tackle a myriad of subjects". Matthew Horton of BBC criticized the song's order of placement on the track list of 4, stating that "'Run the World (Girls)' is tagged on like a bonus track following 'I Was Here', which sounds like the perfect ending for the album." Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone also had the same view, saying it "disrupts the flow of up-tempo songs on the second half 4". Perpetua however calls it a "showstopper" and added that it "work[s] well as a bittersweet emotional climax for the album". Perpetua finished his review by saying that "'I Was Here' is the blustery ballad one would expect by a Beyoncé/Warren team-up, and stands off as flat and generic when compared to the rest of 4." Another reviewer of the same magazine, Jody Rosen complimented Beyoncé's vocals stating that she sings with authority; however, he coined "I Was Here" as a low point on the album and added that it is "swamped in 'My Way'-style self-mythologizing."
Steve Jones of USA Today showed appreciation for "I Was Here": "At 29, the still-in-her-prime Beyoncé seems a little young to be worrying about her legacy, as she does on the Warren power ballad I Was Here. But she puts so much feeling into it that it winds up being the album's most moving song." Joanne Dorken of MTV UK was also positive, praising the song's "simple backing music, and Beyoncé's flawless and beautiful voice." She concluded that "I Was Here" ends up being a "standout song on the album [and] we won't be forgetting Queen B in a hurry." Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic was also positive, writing, "Payoff comes on 11th song, the epically loping 'I Was Here.' Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun commented that "I Was Here" comes to "a show-stopping moment in a Beyonce concert near you". James Reed of The Boston Globe wrote that the collaboration of Diane Warren and Ryan Tedder, introduces "a new strain of her balladry: an ethereal marriage of R&B sensuality and stuttering indie-rock guitars." Condar Tao of the website Sputnikmusic showed his appreciation for the song, writing, "[...] perhaps even more notable is the record's penultimate track, the Ryan Tedder-produced 'I Was Here'. Tedder is arguably one of the most irritating people working in pop today, and considering his track record, it's not a surprise that 'I Was Here' is the most contemporary-sounding song off of 4. What is surprising is just how good it is. The production is predictably icky, making that increasingly common mistake of using distant footsteps and reverbed guitar to convey a clichéd sense of 'epicness'." Gary Graff of Billboard said that the line "I want to leave my footprints on the sands of time" in the song defined the whole album. Simon Goddard of Q magazine chose "I Was Here" as one of the best songs on 4, describing it as a "breast-clutching tour de fource".
Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice complimented "I Was Here" as knocking harder than anything on 4'''s "bloated predecessor", I Am ... Sasha Fierce (2008). Similarly, Embling of Tiny Mix Tapes wrote: "'I Was Here' is a heavy brick of a song — overwrought, maudlin, delusionally grandiose — but it is also disarmingly honest about the addictive, undignified dimensions of fame and celebrity." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club described "I Was Here" as "uncomfortably overwrought" although he said that Beyoncé manages to bring conviction to its lyrical content. Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly also gave the song a mixed review stating that it reached a "lifetime-movie levels of schmaltz". David Amidon of PopMatters stated that "I Was Here" is "plain awkward to here a woman as in her prime physically as Beyoncé is to even approach such a tune. The dull music from Ryan Tedder and an army of co-producers does not help matters." Michael Cragg of The Observer gave the song a negative review, stating that it disappoints as being "corny bluster at odds with the laid-back feel of her most accomplished album yet." Andy Gill of The Independent simply stated that "I Was Here" strains too hard for "Empire State of Mind" (2009) status. Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune described the song as a "toxic string of cliches". Hamish MacBain of NME gave "I Was Here" a mixed review stating the song sounds like an X-Factor winner's single, full of unbelievably trite sentiments.
Chart performance Although "I Was Here" was never released as a single, it appeared on several charts across the world following the release of 4. Selling 14,173 digital downloads, the song opened at number 44 on the South Korea Gaon International Singles Chart for the week ending July 2, 2011 which became its peak position on that chart. Following the release of 4, "I Was Here" also charted at number 131 on the UK Singles Chart on July 9, 2011. "I Was Here" additionally debuted on the Swiss Singles Chart at number 74 on July 10, 2011, before falling off the chart the following week. On the chart issue dated January 16, 2012, "I Was Here" debuted at number 87 on the Australian Singles Chart and number 26 on its urban chart.