Always Remember Us This Way

Lady Gaga co-wrote the track with Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, and Lori McKenna (pictured left to right).

"Always Remember Us This Way" was written by Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, and Lori McKenna, and produced by Dave Cobb and Gaga for the 2018 film A Star Is Born and its soundtrack.^[1][2] In the movie, Ally (played by Gaga) performs the song during a concert with Jackson Maine (portrayed by Bradley Cooper); the performance precedes music producer Rez's approach to her and foreshadows her solo breakthrough.^[3] The track was released to Italian radio on January 4, 2019, followed by release to French radio two weeks later.^[4][5]

Bradley Cooper, who also directed the film, approached Cobb for crafting the sound of the album, after listening to the latter's work. Cobb flew out to Los Angeles and met Gaga and Cooper for a writing session. He played the track "Maybe It's Time" (written by singer-songwriter Jason Isbell), which impressed Gaga and Cooper and set the tone for the soundtrack. They asked Hemby, Lindsey and McKenna to come down to Los Angeles and start composing tracks.^[6]

A music video for the song was released on November 8, 2018, showing the sequence from the film when Ally sings the track after being introduced by Jackson onstage, who sweetly tells her, "I love you, I'll always remember us this way".^[7] A vertical-shaped version of the clip was released to Spotify.^[8] Brooke Bajgrowicz from Billboard explained that the "reflective video" showed Ally and Jackson "falling in love with each other", while interspersed with scenes of the couple going on a motorbike ride, kissing in a parking lot and performing music together. The clip ends with the crowd chanting Ally's name, and Jackson walks over to embrace her.^[7]

McKenna described the songwriting as a powerful moment because the lyrics made them all tearful, and they decided that if "Maybe It's Time" was Cooper's character Jackson's song, then "Always Remember Us This Way" belonged with Ally.^[9] She later recalled that the script was still changing constantly while they were writing for the film, so the writers did not yet know the exact scene for which the song would be used, and that she could not remember whether the title phrase came from the script or was introduced during the writing session, possibly by Gaga. She said that she sat on the studio floor while Hemby and Lindsey took turns at the piano before Gaga joined them, and that the four women "sat there and wrote that song and cried", describing it as "a good girl session". McKenna said she was surprised the song remained in the film because of how much the script kept evolving.^[10] She also praised Gaga's collaborative approach during the session, saying that the singer was "so trusting" and "really was a team player" despite her stature.^[11]

"Always Remember Us This Way" was recorded immediately after the songwriters finished composing it.^[6] They also provided backing vocals as Gaga recorded her vocals in the studio.^[12] Cobb said, "It was pure magic when that went down and you can hear it in the film—the energy and the excitement that was happening. It's amazing to hear that kind of voice come through headphones."^[6] He recalled that "all of us had goosebumps" and that such a reaction "happens very seldomly".^[9] Lindsey, who had previously collaborated with Gaga on her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016), recalled that the singer had imbibed in the character of Ally she was playing in the film completely. "She was living in the hurt and ache of Ally losing the love of her life. We all just wanted to hug her. She was so broken up and in so much raw pain," Lindsey added.^[6]

"Always Remember Us This Way"

A 19-second sample from the song, showcasing its piano-driven arrangement, the addition of guitars in the second chorus, and Gaga's soaring vocal delivery.

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"Always Remember Us This Way" is a piano-driven country ballad,^[13][14] inspired by the music of the 1970s,^[15] and is "pushed along" by Gaga's raw, powerful vocals.^[7] Her performance moves from the soft, whispering opening lines to a heroic belt in the chorus.^[16] Following the first verse being on piano, the guitars and drums kick in from the second verse and Gaga's vocals build up to the final chorus uttering the lines, "When the sun goes down/ And the band won't play/ I'll always remember us this way".^[17] The song is composed in the time signature of common time and is performed in the key of A minor with a slow tempo of 65 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of Am–F–C–G, and the vocals span from G₃ to E₅.^[18]

Writing for American Songwriter, Alex Hopper interpreted the song as reflecting on the early days of a relationship in the wake of its end, with the narrator asking to be remembered fondly, thanking her partner for revealing a light within her she had not known was there, and looking back with gratitude as the relationship fades. She added that the lyrics evoke Jackson and Ally's shared musical life, referring to them as poets who "don't know how to rhyme", and argued that the song mirrors their relationship in A Star Is Born, with Jackson recognizing Ally’s star potential and Ally ultimately remembering him with love rather than bitterness after his death.^[11] Alyssa Bereznak of The Ringer similarly described the song as "a vivid supercut of the couple's journey", interpreting it as an allusion to the peak of Jackson and Ally's romantic and creative relationship.^[19] The Washington Post's Bethonie Butler highlighted the song's references to the characters' geographic roots, citing the lines "That Arizona sky / burning in your eyes" and "buried in my soul, like California gold".^[20]

Following the soundtrack's release, "Always Remember Us This Way" debuted at number-two on the US Digital Songs chart.^[34] The song consecutively debuted at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 along with four other tracks from the album charting.^[35] It was present on the chart for a total of nine weeks.^[36] As of February 2019, the track has sold 248,000 copies in the United States and accumulated 71 million streams.^[37] The track debuted at number 32 on the Canadian Hot 100 while entering their Digital Songs chart at number-two.^[38][39] In Australia, the song entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 18, and by next week reached a peak of number 12.^[40] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified it nine-times platinum for selling over 630,000 units in the country.^[41] Similarly in New Zealand, the song entered the singles chart at number 39, and after a few weeks reached a peak of number 14.^[42] The Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) certified it seven-times platinum for selling over 210,000 units in the country.^[43]

"Always Remember Us This Way" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 39 with sales of 11,029 units on the chart dated October 12, 2018.^[44] By its third week on the chart, the track had moved up to reach a peak of number 25 while selling 16,815 units, being present within the top 100 for eleven weeks.^[45][46] As of February 2025, the song has sold 1.6 million copies in the UK with 189 million streams^[47][48] and is certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).^[49]

In Ireland the song reached number three on the chart in its third week. That same week first single "Shallow" held the top-spot on the Irish Singles Chart while album track "I'll Never Love Again" also reached the top-ten.^[50][51] "Always Remember Us This Way" also reached the top-ten of the charts in Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland (number-one in the French-speaking part of Romandie), in the latter two in the same week,^[52][53][54] as well as in Belgium (both Flanders and Wallonia),^[55][56] Hungary,^[57] Norway^[58] and Portugal^[59] the digital charts of Luxembourg,^[60] Slovakia^[61] and the combined European chart, the top twenty in Denmark^[62], Estonia,^[63] France,^[64] Malaysia,^[65] and on the digital chart of Czech Republic,^[66] top thirty in Austria,^[67] Singapore^[68] and the Netherlands^[69] and top forty in Italy.^[70]

In 2022, Gaga performed "Always Remember Us This Way" at The Chromatica Ball stadium tour while playing on the piano, which was set inside a sculpture of thorns.^[71][72] The performance was called "beautiful" and "gorgeus" by Lauren O'Neill from i and The Guardian's Michael Cragg, respectively.^[73][74] While reviewing the concert, Bob Gendron of the Chicago Tribune opined that the "balladic renditions of 'Always Remember Us This Way' and 'The Edge of Glory' exposed another facet of Gaga: that of a gospel singer in hiding".^[75] During the tour's stop at East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gaga dedicated "Always Remember Us This Way" to friend/frequent collaborator Tony Bennett, and also interjected a reminder to be "kind to those dealing with mental health" toward the end of the song.^[76] In Houston's Minute Maid Park, she dedicated the song to her Houston-born friend Sonja Durham, who died years earlier due to cancer.^[77]

Gaga performed "Always Remember Us This Way" on January 30, 2025, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California for FireAid to help with relief efforts for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. She amended the song's opening line to, "That California sky burnin' in your eyes."^[78] The same year, the track was included in a number of promotional shows in Singapore,^[79] as well as select concerts at The Mayhem Ball tour (2025–2026).^[80][81]

Welsh actor and singer Luke Evans released his own rendition of "Always Remember Us This Way" on his debut album At Last (2019).^[82] The same year, Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer Smith covered the song, which caught Steve Harvey's attention who invited her to his talk show.^[83] Smith later released her version as a standalone single.^[84] In November 2025, American singer Kelly Clarkson sang "Always Remember Us This Way" during the "Kellyoke" segment of The Kelly Clarkson Show.^[85]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Star Is Born.^[86]

• List of top 10 download singles in 2018 (France)