A performer since the age of seven (the age at which he joined the Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun), Nicholas made his songwriting debut in 2002, when a holiday tune he'd co-written with his father found its way onto a Broadway Christmas album. A contract with Columbia Records followed two years later. Nicholas began prepping for his solo career by writing material with his older brothers, Kevin and Joseph, who eventually climbed aboard as permanent partners. Nick's solo project thus blossomed into a full-fledged band, and the siblings aptly named themselves the Jonas Brothers.
It took several years for the Jonas Brothers to find an adoring audience. It's About Time, the band's 2006 debut, was a commercial flop, and Columbia Records dropped the group one year later. Signing with Hollywood Records in 2007, the band began attracting new fans -- most of them young and female -- by establishing a presence in the Disney world. They appeared on the network's television shows, earned their own series, starred in a made-for-TV movie with Disney starlet Demi Lovato, and sold close to two million copies of their self-titled sophomore album. They replicated that feat one year later with A Little Bit Longer and returned in 2009 with Lines, Vines and Trying Times. All of the albums featured heavy contributions from Nick, who not only led the songwriting process but also played a wide variety of instruments, from drums to keyboard to guitar.
Taking a rare break from the band, Nick Jonas began working with several other musicians on a side project in late 2009. Members from Prince's New Power Generation were recruited to join the lineup, including Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella, and the group dubbed itself Nick Jonas & the Administration before making its debut in early 2010 with the album Who I Am. The record performed respectably, peaking at three on the U.S. charts on its way to sales of 151,000, but there were soon suggestions that Nick was planning to return to the Jonas Brothers fold. This didn't happen. A 2013 tour was scrapped just prior to its October launch and, soon afterward, the band split. Nick Jonas regrouped with a 2014 solo tour followed by the November release of an eponymous album. Over the course of 2014, Jonas gained momentum, generating the Top 10 single "Jealous," which also topped Billboard's dance charts, as did "Chains " and "Levels," a bonus track from 2015's Nick Jonas X2.
In the Summer of 2016, Jonas returned with a new full-length effort, Last Year Was Complicated, featuring production by Jason Evigan, Mattman & Robin, Sir Nolan, and others. Included on the album was "Close," a duet with Tove Lo, and "Bacon," featuring Ty Dolla $ign. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Also around this time, Jonas returned to acting, starring in the erotic thriller Careful What You Wish For and the fraternity hazing drama Goat. In 2017, he released the singles "Remember I Told You," featuring Anne-Marie and Mike Posner, and "Find You." Also that year, he collaborated with Nicki Minaj on the track "Bom Bidi Bom" off the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack.
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Nick Jonas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone
Here they talked of revolution
Here it was they lit the flame
Here the sang about tomorrow
From the table, through the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
And I can here them now
The very words that they had sung
Became their last communion
And the lonely barricade
At dawn
Oh my friends, my friends forgive me
That I live and you are gone
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more
Oh my friends, my friends
Don't ask me what your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more
The song "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" by Nick Jonas is a heartbreaking ballad that is inspired by the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. The lyrics portray the pain and loss that comes with the aftermath of a revolution. The singer is filled with immense grief and pain as he remembers the empty chairs where his friends once sat, and the table where they once talked and sang of revolution. The memories of his friends haunt him, and he feels guilty for being alive while they are not. He acknowledges the sacrifice his friends made for a better future, but he is left with only emptiness and sorrow.
The verses speak of the past glory and hope of the revolution, how it all began at this very table where they once sang about tomorrow. The chorus is a lamentation of the present state of emptiness and loneliness, where the singer can only imagine the ghosts of his friends. The last verse is a message to the departed, a plea for forgiveness and a reminder that their fight was not in vain.
The lyrics of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" depict the struggle of those who survive the loss of people they loved in a difficult time in history. They show that memories have immense power, and though they bring sorrow, they also hold a promise of a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a grief that can't be spoken
The sadness and loss is so great that there are no words to describe it
There's a pain goes on and on
The pain of losing loved ones feels never-ending
Empty chairs at empty tables
The physical emptiness of the room represents the absence of friends who have died
Now my friends are dead and gone
The friends he used to sit with at that table have passed away
Here they talked of revolution
The friends had big ideas and desires to change the world
Here it was they lit the flame
They were passionate and driven, inspiring others to join their cause
Here they sang about tomorrow
They believed in the possibility of a better future
And tomorrow never came
Their dreams and ideals never became a reality
From the table, through the corner
They had a view of the world they hoped to improve
They could see a world reborn
Imagining a world without injustice, oppression, or inequality gave them hope
And they rose with voices ringing
Their spirits and voices were full of enthusiasm and conviction
And I can hear them now
Their memories and presence stay with the artist
The very words that they had sung
Their songs and message were a testament to their beliefs
Became their last communion
Their final moment together was one of unity and solidarity
And the lonely barricade at dawn
They were willing to fight for what they believed in until the end
Oh my friends, my friends forgive me
The artist is stricken with guilt for surviving while his friends perished
That I live and you are gone
The reality of their deaths is difficult to accept
Phantom faces at the window
The singer still sees his friends' faces everywhere he looks
Phantom shadows on the floor
Their memory casts a shadow on every aspect of the singer's life
Where my friends will meet no more
The empty chairs signify the absence of the artist's dear friends
Don't ask me what your sacrifice was for
The artist questions the purpose and meaning of his friends' deaths
Where my friends will sing no more
The artist laments the loss of his friends' voices and the future they could have had
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alain Albert Boublil, Claude Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kimberly Kyles
I had no idea Nick Jonasâs voice was that deep.đ
alicia martinez
Iâve never seen this! He did so well â€
Trina Q
Such a heartbreaking song, it always brings tears to my eyes. đđą
Mariam Meliksetian
I remember how shocked I was when they put this play out on PBS. It was glorious.
Camille McKenzie
The ghosts of his friends standing behind him is so haunting
ShieldAgent084
Nick Jonas continues to astound.
Ximena Sebastian
Gracias por este Maravilloso concierto y por esta hermosa voz es un regaLo para mi CRis Amo esta composiciĂłn beLLa musicaL me hace LLorar por dentro hasta asomar y sentir mis Lagrimas CRistina đđ
Angela L. Owens
Siiiing, Nick! Well done!
Luke Davidson
ok but itâs so annoying that some of this is so fckn good
Jonathan McVay
I am a fan of Nick Jonas but this isnât his wheelhouse at all. Anyone saying this was s good proper rendition of this song doesnât know theatre. Give Nick the right style music and heâs amazing. This just isnât it.