I'm Jealous of This Song...

A few weeks ago my whole family was battling the flu bug, and it had finally made it's way to me.  So I was spending most of my time resting in bed, most of the time watching Youtube.  No doubt you can find entertaining things on Youtube, like smashing things with a heavy press, putting a Mentos into a Diet Coke, or shredding objects that shouldn't be shredded.  Between the wife, kids, and me, our suggested videos can range from many different subjects.  One that happens to pop up a lot is auditions for shows like "Insert country here" Got Talent, "Insert country here" Idol, The Voice, X-Factor, and so on. On that night I stumbled upon a Britain's X-Factor clip, that in the thumbnail and description showing Simon "crying" from 2015.  I thought to myself I have to see what made Simon, who can seem like a cold, heartless, bastard, break emotionally.  This is when a young man named Josh Daniel went on stage to sing a song I had never heard of by a guy named Labrinth, who I thought was a movie. He went onto explain how his best friend had passed away, and the song meant something different that how Labrith wrote it.  You can see how emotional he is singing it, you can see how emotional the judges get, the crowd, and of course the big crybaby watching it on his tablet.  Just a verse and the chorus of this song, with the reason he was singing it, hit me pretty hard. I love how music can bring out those emotions, and with Josh Daniel's interpretation of "Jealous" he did just that.  I fell in love with this song for that emotion, and I thought maybe I should look up Labrinth's original version.  So back to the search box on Youtube, and I found the video.  Upon first listening, I thought the kid on the X-Factor had him beat, I mean his was good, but I guess the first listening was better.  I noticed in the Labrinth video of how emotional he got later on in the song.  So I decided to research the song.  He co-wrote it with Josh Kear and Natalie Hemby, and it was released as a single in November of 2014.  Here are the lyrics:

I'm jealous of the rain
That falls upon your skin
It's closer than my hands have been
I'm jealous of the rain
I'm jealous of the wind
That ripples through your clothes
It's closer than your shadow
Oh, I'm jealous of the wind

'Cause I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me

I'm jealous of the nights
That I don't spend with you
I'm wondering who you lay next to
Oh, I'm jealous of the nights
I'm jealous of the love
Love that was in here
Gone for someone else to share
Oh, I'm jealous of the love

'Cause I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me

As I sink in the sand
Watch you slip through my hands
Oh, as I die here another day, yeah
'Cause all I do is cry behind this smile
I wished you the best of
All this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me

I-I-It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me

Now reading this, you would think it is of someone who has lost a love and that they've moved on and the singer is jealous of the happiness they have found.  That they wished them the best and it'snot the one's who has lefts fault.  It is heartbreaking to think of losing someone who is happier than they were with you.  The truth of the song is that Labrinth had actually written the song about one of his parents (it was never specified if it was the Mom or Dad), who had left him when he was four years old.  Labrinth had said he wanted people to relate to their own situation.  I'm blessed that I still have both of my parents and that I was never abandoned, but I know people who have been.  The lyrics took on a whole new meaning when I looked at it through a child's eyes.  He doesn't blame his parent and wishes them the best, he wants them to come back after not finding a better life.  I love the way he conveys his message, his descriptions and comparisons.  Even though I don't know any other songs by Labrinth, I know this is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time.