who was when i was your man written for
When I Was Your Man "When I Was Your Man" was written by Andrew Wyatt, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, while production was handled by the latter three production-team The Smeezingtons.[4] Having chord progressions Am-C-Dm-G-G7-C (verse) and F-G-C (chorus), the song is written in the key of C Major, with Mars' vocals range from the low note of G3 to the high note of C5.[5] The pop piano ballad finds Mars singing about a pre-fame heartbreak as he regrets letting his woman get away.[6][7] It starts with a rolling piano riff; unto a nearly scat "vocal cadence": "Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now / Our song on the radio but it don’t sound the same", as he laments the "single state" he created for himself.[8] Next, he sings of his failings; to do right by his woman, "I shoulda bought you flowers / And held your hand / Shoulda gave you all my hours / When I had the chance".[8] Its title phrase re-emerges in the final chorus, juxtaposed by Bruno from all the things he "shoulda" done, into things he hopes his ex’s new man will do; concluding: "Do all of the things I should have done / When I was your man".[8] In an interview to Rolling Stone, Mars revealed, while reluctant, that he wrote the song for his girlfriend, model Jessica Caban, when he was worried about losing her. In contrast with the song, Mars and Caban stayed together; remaining a couple as of 2014. Mars also said, in the interview, that he finds it difficult to perform the song; saying: "You're bringing up all these old emotions again," and that: "It's just like bleeding!"[9]