Meaningful Lyrics Still Matter: Alicia Key’s ‘Why Do I Feel So Sad’ Is More Than Just Another Sad Song

“Friends we’ve been for so long / Now true colors are showing / Makes me wanna cry oh yes it does / Cuz I had to say goodbye.”

These are the lyrics crooned out by R&B soul artist Alicia Keys from the song “Why Do I Feel So Sad” off of her 2001 multi-platinum debut album Songs in A Minor. The mid-tempo R&B song wasn’t part of the hit singles released to promote the album, but it stood out as one of the tracks that had a very melancholy meaning that resonates as true for many circumstances.

Indeed, the song can be interpreted many ways, but at the core of its existence is the underlying message that it’s painful to let something you’re so used to go. Nowadays, people call these attachments soul ties, trauma bondings or mental addictions. What it comes down to is the comfortability of co-dependency. Some people just can’t exist without being tied to…well, other people. It’s like breathing or drinking water, as COVID-19 has demonstrated, some people need that social connection to make it through the day.

But, what do you do when the very person you’re attached to is the one that is inhibiting your growth? What if the person is a secret hater or is so toxic that their waste is spilling on your life and dreams? As Alicia Keys puts it, you need to leave that situation behind. She sings, “By now I should know / That in time things must grow / And I had to leave you behind.”

Despite all the boss anthems on the radio and social media that encourage ladies and gents to just throw a whole person way, it’s not that easy — especially, if you have a real connection with the person and care for them deeply. So, what you have to do is gauge whether this person is leading you on a destructive path or not. If you spend your nights worrying about this person, having nightmares about the “situationship,” developing harmful symptoms, including physical changes to depression because of this person…Bro, Sis, let that go!

Nothing is worth jeopardizing your physical health, mental health, self-esteem and self-worth. It’s not worth damaging your life prospects, such as a good job or your education. Nor, is it worthy of isolating you from your day ones, family members, and support system. If the relationship that you’re so desperately trying to hang onto is doing any of those things and doesn’t have a worthy award at the end of the rainbow for your sacrifices, leave it alone.

In “Why Do I Feel So Sad,” Alicia Keys, along with contributing writer Warryn S. Campbell, understand how difficult it is to make that necessary change. “How can I adjust / To the way that things are going / It’s killing me slowly / Oh I just want it to be how it used to be.”

Listen to “Why Do I Feel So Sad” below:

Friends we’ve been for so long
Now true colors are showing
Makes me wanna cry oh yes it does
Cuz I had to say goodbyeBy now I should know
That in time things must change
So it shouldn’t be so bad
So why do I feel so sadHow can I adjust
To the way that things are going
It’s killing me slowly
Oh I just want it to be how it used to beCuz I wish that I could stay
But in time things must change
So it shouldn’t be so bad
So why do I feel so sadYou cannot hide the way you feel inside I realize
Your actions speak much louder than words
So tell me why ohBy now I should know that
That in time things must change
So it shouldn’t be it shouldn’t be so bad
So why do I feel so sadBy now I should know
That in time things must change
So it shouldn’t be so bad
So why do I feel so sadBy now by now i should know
That in time things must grow
And i had to leave to you behind
So why do i feel so sad
If it couldnt be that bad
Tell me why?By now I should know
That in time things must grow
And I had to leave you behind
So why do I feel so sad
If it couldn’t be that bad
Tell me whyBy now I should know
That in time things would change
So it shouldn’t be so bad
So why do I feel so sad