'I Only Miss You' by Megan Moroney, with Ed Sheeran – Lyrics & Meaning

As one of the two collaborations on Cloud 9, ‘I Only Miss You’ is a classic breakup song, one lingering with pain and heartache. Coming in at track eight on Megan Moroney’s highly anticipated third studio album Cloud 9, the song has easily been one of the most eagerly awaited. Released on Friday February 20, the track has been gaining excitement since Moroney released the tracklist of her latest album and a very familiar name was featured on the track.

Recruiting British singer-songwriter marvel Ed Sheeran, ‘I Only Miss You’ sees the hitmaker stepping into the world of country music, something he's been hinting at for quite some time. Back in March 2025, Moroney made a surprise appearance at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and was unexpectedly accompanied by none other than the UK icon himself. The occasion led to hopes of a collaboration between the two, and a month before the release of the follow up to Am I Okay? Moroney gave us a sneak peek of the track on her social media.

‘I Only Miss You’ is a classic tale of heartbreak, coming after the end of a relationship and missing a certain person all the time. For Sheeran’s first real step into the country music world, he’s arrived with the perfect song - one as classic as they come.

With Moroney heading out on a world tour in 2026, we’re hoping that there will be space to make ‘I Only Miss You’ a permanent feature on the Cloud 9 Tour setlist - maybe we’ll even get lucky enough to have a surprise guest on the UK dates.

‘I Only Miss You’ has that classic country sound. Although pop genius Ed Sheeran makes an appearance on the track, the steel-soaked song leans heavily into the traditional country sound. The scene is set with a background of acoustic guitar picking, the chorus exuding sadness with steel guitar, a gentle rhythm, and some beautiful harmonies. This is one of those simple, late night, bottle of wine, hard-hitters.

"I thought today would be the day
That I’d finally finish sober
I’d cook a meal and go to bed
Without sadness in my chest
Wake up with no hangover"

As ‘I Only Miss You’ begins, we’re immediately thrown into the deep end. With Sheeran’s vocals kicking off the song, we learn that, today, he was hoping to avoid the heartbreak, just go through the normal motions without falling into that seemingly inescapable sadness.

"I thought tonight would be the night
I’d get a full eight hours of sleep
I’d quit leaning on the wine
Wake up and feel just fine
And leave you in my dreams"

Those breakup feelings take over everything, night or day – losing sleep, too much wine and just hoping for a few hours of peace. It wouldn’t be so bad if all of those thoughts came through in dreams, waking up and leaving them all behind, but that’s just not the case – this is one of those all-consuming breakups.

"I only miss you when I’m breathing
And my face is far from blue
I only miss you when it’s raining
But this downpour outside ain’t nothing new
I only miss you when I’m lonely
And these days I’m barely getting by
I only miss you when I’m drinking
And baby, I’ve been drinking
’Cause I miss you all the time"

With a chorus made up of all the ways this person has taken up a permanent position in everyday thoughts, it seems like a never-ending, overwhelming feeling. With some layered harmonies, the duo sing about how they only miss their love when they’re breathing, when it’s raining, when they’re lonely or when they’ve been drinking (which might be a little bit too much). So in other words: all the time.

"I’ve been running from your memory
But damn, it keeps on catching up
You’re in every song I sing, in every thought I think
Do you still believe in us?"

As the song moves towards an end, it’s clear that they’re doing all they can to escape the memories of a love gone-by. Moroney and Sheeran are both known for writing songs based on personal experiences, so it’s no surprise that these unwanted memories are even finding their ways into their songwriting. Leaving the listener on a slightly more hopeful note, the question left to ask is, “do you still believe in us?”

I thought today would be the day
That I’d finally finish sober
I’d cook a meal and go to bed
Without sadness in my chest
Wake up with no hangover

I thought tonight would be the night
I’d get a full eight hours of sleep
I’d quit leaning on the wine
Wake up and feel just fine
And leave you in my dreams

I only miss you when I’m breathing
And my face is far from blue
I only miss you when it’s raining
But this downpour outside ain’t nothing new
I only miss you when I’m lonely
And these days I’m barely getting by
I only miss you when I’m drinking
And baby, I’ve been drinking
’Cause I miss you all the time

And every time I hear your name
It’s like my stomach ties in knots
I lose direction in the night
Drink until I’m blind
Since the day that you’ve been gone

I’ve been running from your memory
But damn, it keeps on catching up
You’re in every song I sing, in every thought I think
Do you still believe in us?

I only miss you when I’m breathing
And my face is far from blue
I only miss you when it’s raining
But this downpour outside ain’t nothing new
I only miss you when I’m lonely
And these days I’m barely getting by
I only miss you when I’m drinking
And baby, I’ve been drinking
’Cause I miss you all the time

Why don’t you come over?
My bed keeps getting colder
Put your pretty head on my shoulder
See if over’s really over

I only miss you when I’m breathing
And my face is far from you
I only miss you when it’s raining
And this downpour outside ain’t nothing new
I only miss you when I’m lonely
And these days I’m barely getting by
I only miss you when I’m drinking
And baby, I’ve been drinking
’Cause I miss you all the time
I only miss you when I’m drinking
And baby, I’ve been drinking
’Cause I miss you all the time

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For more on Megan Moroney, see below:

Megan Moroney

Artist

Ed Sheeran

Artist