Both of Us

**Both of Us** is a song from the B.o.B that features Taylor Swift. It was released on May 22, 2012.

## Meaning and Background

> "I wasn't in Atlanta at the time so she arranged for me to come to Dallas. I remember I had a show in Alabama and they let me use her tour bus to come to her show in Dallas. When I played her the song even before the first verse even dropped, she was onboard. She was like, 'I love it already.' I was like 'She'd be perfect for it.' She recorded her vocals in L.A. I recorded my vocals in Atlanta. When I first heard the song with both our parts it instantly felt magical. Actually I had to re-sing some of my parts so they could really blend with her vocals. I rewrote one of my verses as well. It started as a blueprint and it really continued to grow into something tremendous."
>
> - B.o.B about making Both of Us with Taylor

## Music Video

The video was released on June 27, 2012. It was directed by Jake Ava.

**Storyline**

The video starts with B.o.B standing next to an American flag. It cuts to Swift singing the chorus in a pool hall. B.o.B raps his verses when standing on train tracks and the streets, while Taylor is seen playing with a dog. Between the scenes of B.o.B and Taylor, there's footage of life in Nashville's poorer neighborhoods. During the next chorus, Taylor is singing at a flower field and several shots of B.o.B and Swift are interspliced. As the video ends, viewers are left with a sort of fantasy, with B.o.B and Taylor re-imagined as the every man and every woman living simple life in rural Tennessee, much like the people in the video. At the end, B.o.B stands in a driveway with a car backing up and B.o.B staring at it.

## Lyrics

**[Chorus: Taylor Swift]**
I wish I was strong enough to lift not one but both of us
Some day I will be strong enough to lift not one but both of us

**[Verse 1: B.o.B]**
Uhh
Ever thought about losing it
When your money’s all gone and you lose your whip
You might lose your grip when the landlord tell you that you due for rent
And the grass so green on the other side
Make a niga wanna run straight through the fence
Open up the fridge 'bout 20 times
But you still can’t find no food in it
That’s foolishness
And sometimes I wonder, why we care so much about the way we look
And the way we talk and the way we act and the clothes we bought
How much that cost?
Does it even really matter?
'Cause if life is a uphill battle
But y’all tryna climb with the same ol’ ladder
In the same boat, with the same ol’ paddle
Why so shallow? I’m just askin'
What’s the pattern to the madness?
Everybody ain’t a number one draft pick
Most of us ain’t Hollywood actors
But if it’s all for one, and one for all
Then maybe one day, we all could ball
Do it one time for the underdogs
Sincerely yours, from one of y'all

**[Chorus: Taylor Swift]**
I wish I was strong enough to lift not one but both of us
Some day I will be strong enough to lift not one but both of us

[Verse 2: B.o.B]
I could feel your pain, I could feel your struggle
You just wanna live, but everything's so low
That you could drown in a puddle
That’s why I gotta hold us up, yeah, hold us up
For all the times no one’s ever spoke for us
To every single time that they play this song
You can say that that’s what Bobby Ray wrote for us
When the tides get too high
And the sea up underneath gets so deep
And you feel like you’re just another person
Getting lost in the crowd, way up high in the nosebleeds
Uh, because we've both been there, both of us
But we still stand tall with our shoulders up
And even though we always against the odds
These are the things that’ve molded us
And if life hadn’t chosen us
Sometimes I wonder where I would've wound up
'Cause if it was up to me, I’d make a new blueprint
Then build it from the ground up, hey
But if it’s all for one, and one for all
Then maybe one day, we all could ball
Do it one time for the underdogs
From Bobby Ray, to all of y’all

**[Chorus: Taylor Swift]**
I wish I was strong enough to lift not one but both of us
Some day I will be strong enough to lift not one but both of us