To Be Loved

"To Be Loved" (originally titled "Let Me Love") is a song by Askjell featuring AURORA. On October 16, 2018, Askjell posted a version without Aurora's vocals on SoundCloud.^[1] On May 2, 2019 this version was officially released worldwide on the "To Be Loved" single.^[2]

Circa April 1, 2018, some social media posts showed a recording session of the song, with Aurora present.^[3]^[4] On September 23, 2019, Askjell and Aurora announced on her Instagram story that his EP, To Be Loved, would be released the following day. On September 24, 2019, the EP was officially released worldwide.^[5] It contains six songs and includes both the instrumental version and the version featuring AURORA.

About the song[]

Askjell replied^[6] to a Reddit user wondering who wrote the lyrics:

"to be loved is a huuuuge document on my computer with lines and ideas written over almost a year i think? we had discussed the idea of her doing vocals on one of my tracks waaay back in like 2017, so i just started collecting emotions and gradually shaped some concepts until i had a track ready that made sense to have a feature on. so most of the lyrics and melodies were already written, but i kept some of it open so she could add her touch and style to it."

Lyrics[]

Waking up thinking of what it is
To be loved (to be loved, to be loved)
Should I know on my own, on a road, what it is
To be loved (to be loved, to be loved)

You touched my skin so warm, but
Time is cold and trust me
I would know in my heart
I'm the half of a whole
And it's making me feel so alone
Waking up thinking of what it is
To be loved (to be loved, to be loved)

I tell myself I have to build defenses
'Cause once you are in love you are defenseless
Everything was easy when it meant less
But once you are in love you are defenseless

Nobody knows me
Nobody knows me
I'm never lonely
Until someone holds me
And lets go just to show me
How it's like to be loved
How it's like to be loved
How it's like to be loved

I take flight but you hold me
Is that how you show me
How it's like to be loved?
How it's like to be loved

(Love, love, love)
(Love, love, love)
(Love, love, love)
(Love, love, love)

'Cause nobody shows me
Nobody shows me
How it's like to be loved
How it's like to be loved

I take flight but you hold me
Is that how you show me
How it's like to be loved?
How it's like to be loved

I tell myself I have to build defenses
'Cause once I am in love I'll be
Once I am in love I'll be defenseless
Defenseless
Once I am in love I'll be defenseless