What the Jonas Brothers' 'Hesitate' Lyrics Really Mean

Back in April, months before the Jonas Brothers' comeback album Happiness Begins was slotted to come out, Nick Jonas gave away what track on the album his brother Joe Jonas wrote about his now-wife, then-fiance Sophie Turner. Nick described the song "Hesitate" to Billboard as Joe's "love letter" to Sophie. And it truly is a

Back in April, months before the Jonas Brothers' comeback album Happiness Begins was slotted to come out, Nick Jonas gave away what track on the album his brother Joe Jonas wrote about his now-wife, then-fiancée Sophie Turner. Nick described the song "Hesitate" to Billboard as Joe's "love letter" to Sophie. And it truly is a raw, intense look at their relationship and alludes to the way Joe really sought to help Sophie as she went through depression.

A key part of the song is its chorus lyrics: "I will take your pain / And put it on my heart / I won't hesitate / Just tell me where to start / I thank the oceans for giving me you / You save me once, and now I'll save you too / I won't hesitate for you." They're especially poignant when you consider what Sophie and Joe have said about how Joe changed the way Sophie saw herself and how she had been struggling before she met him. (Sophie is British, while Joe is American, so she literally came across the ocean before they met.)

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sophie spoke about how Joe really did make a big difference on her mental health. “I was going through this phase of being very mentally unwell,” she said. “He was, like, ‘I can’t be with you until you love yourself, I can’t see you love me more than you love yourself.’ That was something, him doing that. I think he kind of saved my life, in a way.”

She also spoke to Glamour UK about how Joe really put her before himself, like when he sings, "I will take your pain / And put it on my heart."

“A lot of [my happiness now] is to do with being with a person I’ve fallen in love with, who loves me more than he loves himself, and who wants to see me find my own happiness," she told the outlet. "That was probably the biggest thing that pushed me to find who I am—and find my happiness in things other than acting.”

Joe, meanwhile, credited Sophie with helping him repair his relationship with his brothers in the Harper's Bazaar profile of them that came out on Thursday—just one example of the lyric "You save me once and now I'll save you too" in the couple's real life.

“It encouraged me to see she had such a great relationship with her brothers,” Joe said. “That was really a big thing for me to be able to look at, and say, ‘I gotta get my shit together.’”

With that context, the song's lyrics via Genius to take in. You can stream it and all of Happiness Begins here on Spotify.

Kiss the tears right off your faceWon't get scared, that's the old, old, old meI'll be there time and placeLay it on me, all you're hold, hold, holding

Pre-Chorus

Time, time only heals if we work through it nowAnd I promise I'll figure this out

Chorus

I will take your painAnd put it on my heartI won't hesitateJust tell me where to startI thank the oceans for giving me youYou save me once, and now I'll save you tooI won't hesitate for you

Verse 2:

Don't you ever say goodbyeCross my heart, and you can keep, keep, keep mineIf I could only read your mindThen I could map out all the ways to make it right

Pre-Chorus:

Time, time only heals if we work through it nowAnd I promise we'll figure this out

Chorus:

I will take your painAnd put it on my heartI won't hesitateJust tell me where to startI thank the oceans for giving me youYou save me once, and now I'll save you tooI won't hesitate for you

Bridge:

Pull me close and I'll hold you tightDon't be scared 'cause I'm on your sideKnow there's nothing I wouldn't do for youPull me close and I'll hold you tightDon't be scared 'cause I'm on your sideKnow there's nothing I wouldn't do for you

Chorus

I will take your painAnd put it on my heartI won't hesitateJust tell me where to startI thank the oceans for giving me youYou save me once, and I save you tooI won't hesitate for you

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