“It Never Went Away” by Jon Baptiste’s Lyrics Showcase The ‘Most Vulnerable Moments’ With His Wife

What is the meaning behind “It Never Went Away”?

In a video about the song, Batiste revealed that he wanted the song to be “giving the people the real unvarnished truth.” The Academy Award-winning songwriter also added that it involves “seeing the most vulnerable moments of your life”

Batiste wrote lullabies for Suleika when she was in the hospital, but the idea came to him while he was asleep. “I wanted [the song] to feel tied to the film as your spirit is to your body. It never went away, it’s like love, it never goes away. It’s infinity, it’s forever. That’s what love is.”

“It Never Went Away” by Jon Batiste lyrics

It never went away, oh
The feeling’s just the same, oh
Every time I see your face, oh
It’s never goin’ away, no

Thought I was wise lad
When you plan, God laughs
Thought I was hot
Got a detour along the way

Summertime adventure
That’s what we were meant for
I need you
And that’s never goin’ to change

It never went away, oh
Every time I see your face, oh
The feeling’s just the same, oh
It’s never goin’ away

Lookin’ for adventure
That’s what we were meant for
I need you
And that’s never going to change

It never went away, oh
Every time I see your face, oh (ooh)
The feeling’s just the same, oh
It’s never goin’ away

No, no

What kind of cancer did Jon Batiste’s wife Suleika Jaouad have?

Jon Batiste’s wife Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with a rare form of of acute myeloid leukemia in 2011. She was told she had a 35% survival rate, and documented her recovery with the Emmy Award nominated New York Times column, “Life, Interrupted.”

In 2021, the cancer came back and she undergone a second bone marrow transplant. On filming the process between her and her partner, she told Harper’s Bazaar, “We didn’t think about the film being everywhere, partly because the moments we were living through—the wedding, the transplant, all of these milestones of life—you have to be present in that. We didn’t know if it would be a happy ending,” he says. “And then the pressures of the professional side of things piling on at the same time … We weren’t thinking about making a movie. We were thinking about making it through the day, and that was something that we decided to keep filming.”

She also talked about how making the film was a clear reflection to her and her husband. “When this happened to me, especially the second time, it was a very clear rerouting of priorities. I had such limited energy during the bulk of my bouts with cancer treatment that I had maybe about three good hours every day,” she says. “When you have only two to three good hours in a day, you have to get very clear on what is most important to you—what you want to do in those hours and who you want to spend it with and how.”