Not that such anxiety is evident on the highly accomplished disc, the follow-up to Ruben’s self-released 2008 debut, Aiming for Honesty. Adding full-band accompaniment to his lush, soulful pop-rock, Ruben also stretches impressively as a writer on The Ones That Matter, achieving a near-novelistic sense of character and setting on finely hewn tracks like “A Lack of Armor,” “Bleeker and Sixth,” and “Unbreakable.” His relentless attention to detail pays off handsomely.
He makes no apology for meticulously fine-tuning all aspects of his work and presentation. “Every time you create something you have an opportunity to say something new – or at least something honest,” he says. “I take that opportunity seriously.”
Ruben’s expansive and deeply compassionate point of view has resonated strongly with an ever-growing audience, whom the performer has cultivated with virtually nonstop touring and persistent online networking; as a result, he’s sold some 5,000 copies of Honesty on his own.
He often receives emotional messages from fans declaring that his songs have crystallized their feelings, commemorated milestones in their lives and even helped repair broken bonds. “One woman wrote to me and said she and her daughter didn’t get along, but when she drives the girl to school every day they listen to my music – and it’s the only time they don’t fight,” he marvels. “The songs I wrote in my basement helped her relationship with her daughter. How could I ask for more than that?” Indeed, his compositions have connected so powerfully with listeners that several cover versions have been posted on YouTube.
Such moments of connection helped inspire the title of The Ones That Matter. Ruben had compiled a list of some 80 candidates, but it was in the aftermath of the recording process that he realized what the disc should be called.
“I was on an epic road trip,” he remembers of this epiphany. “I realized that as much as this album is about music, it’s ultimately a representation of who I am – and all that amounts to is all the incredible people I’ve surrounded myself with, and the places I’ve spent time, and the stories and jokes that came out of those experiences with those people. That’s when I understood that the only logical name for the album was The Ones That Matter.”
Recorded during a record-breaking snowstorm in Charlottesville, Virginia – where producer Chris Keup (Jason Mraz, OAR, Parachute) and partner Stewart Myers (Mraz, Lifehouse, Rachel Yamagata, Mandy Moore) have their studio – the disc afforded Ruben a chance to fully appreciate the devotion of his pals. “I had some of my best friends in the world come down to help me finish the record,” he relates. Other players on the disc include drummer Brian Jones (Mraz, Yamagata, Moore); and keyboardist Daniel Clark (Ryan Adams, kd lang, Moore). Meyers handled bass on several tracks.
The profound gratitude Ruben felt upon finishing the album snowballed in the coming days. “I wanted the title of this record to express my thanks to everyone who mattered – not just my friends who worked on the record, but their friends. The people who gave me a couch to crash on, made me dinner, drove me to the train station. Everyone who came to my shows, and walked up to tell me what the songs meant to them. I’m thanking them all with this record.”
Enough
Jesse Ruben Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the walls are talking crazy
I'm not proud to say it out loud, but maybe
I miss you
Couldn't give up the one that I was close to
Couldn't let go even though I chose to
And I won't brag, or wave a white flag, like some do
Now I'm stuck to these sheets, in the bed we used to share
These chains on my feet, are the ones you made me wear
Feelin incomplete, and I doubt that you still care, but its been rough
But I'm enough
I drove past our old apartment
A broken glass is how it started
Since you left, catchin my breath is harder
And I miss you
So I'm all alone in my basement
And a dial tone won't help erase it
It's my turn I guess I should learn, to face it
And I miss you
Now I'm stuck to these sheets, in the bed we used to share
These chains on my feet, are the ones you made me wear
Feelin incomplete, and I doubt that you still care, but its been rough
But I'm enough
In Jesse Ruben's song "Enough," he sings about the aftermath of a breakup and the difficult emotions that come with it. He admits to not sleeping well and hearing "crazy" thoughts from the walls, revealing the turmoil he's experiencing. Ruben confesses that he couldn't let go of someone he was close to, even though he knew he should have. He misses them and feels incomplete without them. The imagery of being stuck in the same bed they used to share and wearing chains they made him wear is a powerful metaphor for being trapped in the past and unable to move forward. Despite the pain he's feeling, Ruben affirms that he is enough on his own, even if he doesn't necessarily feel that way.
The lyrics in "Enough" are relatable for anyone who's gone through a breakup and the complicated emotions that can follow. By admitting to not sleeping well and hearing strange things, Ruben acknowledges the mental toll a breakup can take on a person. The mention of not being able to let someone go, even if you know you should, is a common struggle in relationships that many can relate to. The use of metaphors and imagery throughout the song adds depth to Ruben's emotional state and makes the experience feel more visceral.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't been sleepin much lately
I have not been sleeping well lately
All the walls are talking crazy
My mind is playing tricks on me and I feel paranoid
I'm not proud to say it out loud, but maybe
It's hard to admit, but I think I miss my former partner
I miss you
I am feeling the loss of my past relationship
Couldn't give up the one that I was close to
I couldn't let go of the person I had a strong connection with
Couldn't let go even though I chose to
Even though I made the decision to let go, it's been hard to follow through
And I won't brag, or wave a white flag, like some do
I won't act like everything is fine or pretend to be strong like others do
Now I'm stuck to these sheets, in the bed we used to share
I am immobilized by my grief and memories of our shared life
These chains on my feet, are the ones you made me wear
I feel trapped and held back by the emotional baggage from our past relationship
Feelin incomplete, and I doubt that you still care, but its been rough
I feel like something is missing in my life and I'm not sure if my ex-partner still cares, which is causing me emotional distress
But I'm enough
Despite my struggles, I am enough and will be able to move on eventually
I drove past our old apartment
I revisited the place where we used to live together
A broken glass is how it started
I remember the moment our relationship began to fall apart
Since you left, catchin my breath is harder
Ever since you left, it's been harder for me to cope with my emotions
So I'm all alone in my basement
I'm isolating myself from the world and shutting down emotionally
And a dial tone won't help erase it
I can't hide from my emotions by ignoring phone calls from my ex-partner or anyone else
It's my turn I guess I should learn, to face it
It's my responsibility to confront and work through my feelings
But I miss you
Despite my difficulty, I still feel the absence of my ex-partner in my life
Contributed by Kaelyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.