Jessica Lyrics
This song broke my heart, and I will tell you why. When I was younger I had a friend who was a bit older than me named Jessica... one winter she took her own life... it's odd now because I am now older than she was when she died and to me she's frozen in that time, simply sleeping.
"It's February again, we must get older, so wake up"
It just fits so perfectly. Again, broke my heart.
<3
<3
This song is about Regina Spektor's good friend Jessica who shares the same birthday month, but sadly died of cancer. Terribly sad song, the happy melody makes it even sadder.
This song is about a friend of Regina's from university who died of cancer last year. Both their birthdays are in February.
I literally saw this post after all of my speculation. But I guess I was right. Thanks for the clear answer.
I literally saw this post after all of my speculation. But I guess I was right. Thanks for the clear answer.
With certain artists, it is crucial to give the entire album a listen to get a feel for what the meaning behind an elusively lyrical song is. When I heard "Firewood" earlier in "What We Saw from the Cheap Seats," I got a feeling that the story being told through these songs ran deeper than Regina Spektor's pseudo-upbeat projections. It definitely hinted that Regina (or maybe someone from the "small town in her mind") was in denial about the terminal illness (likely cancer-- due to the fact that there is often some palpable hope of recovery in terms of remission) of a close friend or family member. Lyrics like "rise from your cold hospital bed/ you're not dying/ everyone knows you're going to live/ so you might as well start trying" suggested anger towards the ill, which is an early stage of grief. By the time I heard "Jessica," which was the very last song on the album (showing the importance of it in relation to the story being told throughout Regina's lyrics) I knew that its length was so short because it was answering the questions that "Firewood" left me, as a listener, with. In short, "Jessica" is clearly about a deceased family member or friend who passed due to a terminal illness that she had long enough for others to witness a change in energy levels (i.e. "rise from your cold hospital bed") and yet still at a young age (i.e. "we must get older now"). I strongly doubt that depression (or suicide) was the main cause of death, but it could have played a part in the last stages of Jessica's life (depression, that is).
I think it's about Jessica being in a coma. Regina's singing to her in hopes that she'll wake up. She remarks that it's February again because she's still under more than a year later. She wants to grow older with Jessica rather than alone. And I think she's out of melodies because of the depressive nature of the subject matter.
Even though this song reveals so little, I'm pretty sure it just broke my heart.
My first impulse was that this song is about someone with depression. It's something I can relate to - the idea of hiding in bed in the hopes that the world will go on without you, while you don't live your life and don't get older. And the singer, who has been with her for a while, knows that a song or a melody can't help her. The best she can do is ask, and be there for her, in the hopes that she can rouse her from her depression.
Regina's birthday is in Feb so perhaps this is her way of serenading a friend that she shares a birthday with.
I love the song and it certainly does have a bittersweet quality to it that gives the song more depth. Jessica's possible depression does sound plausible.
It actually is about a friend who has a birthday in February who died of cancer.
It actually is about a friend who has a birthday in February who died of cancer.
I think that it's about a girl who killed herself and her little sister (i say little sister because of the simple lyrics) finds her, and thinks she's sleeping. And the sister is basically just saying these things, being naive and young and not knowing that Jessica is dead.
It actually could be a continuation to Better, because i think Better is a little sister noticing their sister is sad, and trying to help, and now the sister killed themselves.
It actually could be a continuation to Better, because i think Better is a little sister noticing their sister is sad, and trying to help, and now the sister killed themselves.
Like a few of you have said, it seems like this is a song about someone who is in a coma. It's very clear that her being okay is important to this friend and it seems as if she's been in this state for quite some time. When I got further into the song, I started to get the idea that maybe this isn't a friend talking to her. I got the feel that maybe she herself (or her body) is telling her to wake up.