The song was written in 1995 by two of the founders of the original Dixie Chicks band, the Erwin sisters, who were not strangers to writing music and performing. Robison wrote most of the song, and Maguire supplied the bridge. It is a very autobiographical song, about the breakup of Robison's and Maguire's parents and their subsequent divorce. In one interview, when asked about it, Robison said that their parents generally "sweep it under the rug", saying, "They know it's about them, but we never talk about it. They don't want to bring it up because they're still weird around each other. My dad doesn't want to think it's about him, because it doesn't make him look very good, and my mom thinks she's moved on." "You Were Mine" was a key factor in the events that brought the Dixie Chicks from near total obscurity to massive commercial success. Based on a recommendation from session musician and producerLloyd Maines, in the summer of 1995 the Erwin sisters invited Maines' daughter Natalie Maines, to return to her home in Lubbock, Texas to sing the lead vocal on a demo recording of the song, rather than using the Chicks' actual lead vocalistLaura Lynch to sing the part. At the time, the sisters told the other supporting musicians that this was only because Lynch was unavailable due to being out of town on a personal matter. In reality, the recording convinced both Natalie Maines that she would be comfortable singing a more pop and country rock focused format of country material, and at the same time, confirmed what both sisters had suspected; that Maines had a powerful versatile voice that could complement their instrumental prowess. It led the sisters to remove Lynch and replace her with Maines. When recording for the first-Maines-era album Wide Open Spaces began, "You Were Mine" was the only song the band was certain would be included. The recording has a solid country music sound. From the start, until the last strains of the song, Maguire's violin draws out a hushed, somewhat sorrowful tune. A dose of Lloyd Maines' steel guitar in the background – which also helped establish the record's traditional country categorization – and the mixture of Maines' vocals with the sisters' harmony set a tone of loss and regret. "You Were Mine" was performed during the group's 2000 Fly Tour, where Rolling Stone called Maines' "powerhouse, nail-it-to-the-wall perfect delivery of achingly beautiful weeper" one of the highlights of the show, but was not performed again until the Long Time Gone Tour in 2013.
Music video
The music video for "You Were Mine" was directed by Adolfo Doring. shows the Dixie Chicks checking into the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York. The sisters go up to their rooms looking tired and forlorn, but Maines circles around the revolving door and walks the neighboring Gramercy streets, singing the song. Occasional views of happier couples and families in the hotel are shown. At the end, Maguire is seen playing the song's final phrase on violin.
