Piano Man Steve's Blog

I Won't Give Up (Jason Mraz)

Feb 21, 2025

Obviously, there's a common theme in this blog of songs that I love. But, not all of them are quite so personal for me as this one.

This song was a hit single for Jason Mraz in 2012, cracking the top 10 and peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as landing in the top 20 in a smattering of other countries. Jason is my favorite more contemporary singer songwriter...I've seen him once in person as of this writing (no way there won't be a second, and a third, etc. as long as we're both still alive and he's doing shows), and it was one of the all time great experiences I've ever had. The music was great...but the vibe....I can't even describe it. This guy is so committed to making people feel happy and special, and it absolutely radiates out of him and his whole band and crew from the second you arrive until the lights go out.

I loved this song when it first dropped in 2012, but it became a mantra and personal anthem in 2020. The lyrics are framed primarily in the context of a relationship, with the singer pledging that he won't give up on it no matter what happens. But, it's written in a way that allows you to make it about anything you feel committed to for yourself. And for me, it has been my mission statement on two concurrent challenges.

Some of you might know, I contracted COVID early on....the very first strain. I caught it before we really understood what it was. I was on a cruise in November of 2019 on the Mediterranean Sea, truly one of the great experiences of my life. I don't know if I caught it on the boat, or in Italy, where it had really been gaining steam in the final months of that year (they didn't really understand it fully yet, but there was a serious "dry pneumonia" spreading around the country that was becoming of great concern), but I came home with it. It had a 10 day incubation time, so I didn't know I came home with it...but a week after returning something was very wrong.

I got a load of congestion that dropped into my lungs, and I had a full month where I could barely get enough oxygen to survive. Along with that came crippling fatigue, panic attacks, and violent uncontrollable coughing fits that were so severe my abdominal muscles would ache. I badly needed rest, but couldn't sleep longer than 60 - 90 minutes at a time before waking up panicked because I felt like I was suffocating. Nobody knew what to do, and there were no effective treatments at the time. And it happened just before the world was put on notice that something new was spreading and may become a global emergency. About the only thing anyone could have done was put me on a respirator, and I was committed to avoid that if at all possible because I knew it could permanently damage my vocal cords, and singing is such an important part of my life and happiness.

But the truth is...I was terrified. I had never, and haven't ever since, been that sick. It was the first time I have ever really contemplated my mortality. I was 42 years old, and I had no idea if I was going to survive this, let alone fully recover. I had a number of nights when I was awake, gasping for air, unable to sleep, and wondering if I would just suffocate once I finally passed out from exhaustion. I shed a lot of tears during that month....I didn't want to tell my family how bad I really felt because I knew there was nothing anyone could do about it and I didn't want them worrying about me....and I damn sure didn't want anyone to catch whatever it was that I had....I wasn't sure I was going to survive it, but I knew for certain that if either of my parents caught it, they would likely perish, and I wouldn't take that risk. It was a very lonely and frightening experience.

But, after a couple of weeks of that, I made a very strong determination that I didn't want to go out like that. Let's be honest...I was lucky...I'm sure everyone who ended up dying from Covid had similar thoughts, and just weren't able to get to the other side, so I mean no disrespect. But I grew comfortable with just "surviving" the next minute, the next hour, and the next day, believing that if I did that long enough, my body would heal, or at least improve. And I started listening to this song on repeat....Goddammit, I wasn't going to give up. I know someday I'm going to have to take my last breath, but I didn't want it to be alone and scared. And I said to myself over and over again, "I won't give up! Even if the skies get rough!"

Another two weeks passed and I could see a light at the end of the tunnel...I wasn't anywhere close to "healthy", but I was beginning to be able to breath more comfortably. I never knew how much I take that for granted....but there's nothing that we rely on more than the continual process of inhaling oxygen...when that is compromised, everything else feels shaky.

Well, the process of recovery was long and bumpy....I had residual chronic fatigue for 4 years, along with diminished breathing capacity and a constant cough, which eventually scuffed up my vocals cords so much that I had to take a 3.5 month break from singing in order to let them heal. But all through that recovery, I sang this song to myself saying, "Just keep getting to the next day, and eventually you'll be fully healed." I'm very happy and grateful to say that I don't feel any of my post Covid symptoms anymore, but it truly was a 4.5 year journey.

Once I was recovered enough to sing, the pandemic hit at scale and we all went into quarantine. After what I had lived, I was pretty aggressive in my sheltering in place. Under no circumstances could I risk giving ANYONE, not even my worst enemy what I had just gotten through. But I needed to do something to preserve my sanity....and I found live streaming. I was lucky...I had a great following of people tuning in twice a week throughout 2020 and giving me requests. I felt like I was not only amusing and fulfilling myself, but also doing something beneficial for a small corner of the world....giving them somewhere to feel seen and heard, and to make new friends. It was very gratifying, and we had a lot of very special experiences together....we were in a foxhole together as a community of music lovers.

But around me, the world felt like it was falling apart. People were angry at each other, angry at the government, angry at corporations, angry at schools....just angry in general. Half the population was scared to death of leaving home, and the other half was furious that we'd been asked to shelter in place to begin with. And we were just at odds as a collective. This song expanded for me during 2020 to include more than just my own healing and recovery....but to also include my belief that we can recover our sense of common humanity and purpose again. In this era of micro tribalism, social media and other platforms have been badly abused by people of all stripes trying to divide us against each other and create animus and acrimony among us in order to help promote a brand or intensify an audience. I find it despicable, no matter who it is or what they are advocating, but it's the way of many influencers in the world right now.

We have so much to be grateful for in the modern world....so many blessings and abundance beyond our ancestors' wildest imagination. But we also have some significant challenges and problems that we are going to have to solve collectively at some point or the consequences will envelop all of us. I haven't lost faith that we can still do that. We're somewhat young in this age of social media and tribalism, so we are still learning how to exist together inside a new normal. It often feels like we're doomed and there's no way we can ever rebuild the bonds of our broader community, but I simply refuse to believe that. Goddammit, "I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm giving us all I've got, and still looking up."

As we felt more and more divided and angry through 2020, I often played this song in my live stream concerts to let my community know that my faith in the better angels of our collective nature was unassailable, and that even when we made a communal misstep, we could still find our balance and course correct.

I still believe that, and I still sing this song with an unwavering belief in the basic goodness of humanity and an abiding faith in what we can still do together.

Enjoy my cover of this song from a livestream show I did on July 12, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and then check out my two favorite performances of it by Jason Mraz himself, one from the "Guitar Center Sessions" series with a small group of acoustic instruments and singers, and the other with more traditional rock/pop ensemble with Daryl Hall on the "Live from Daryl's House" series. I love how this song is so well written that it translates beautifully to so many interpretations...a solo piano/vocal, a small acoustic jam with stacked vocal harmonies, and a bluesier more soulful, even gospel-like approach with full drums and a more traditional rock band set up. That's how truly great songs are...evergreen and open to many presentations. Chef's kiss to Jason Mraz & Michael Natter...this is one for the ages.

If you'd like to explore my piano method more deeply, my best students use my video courses and join me for conversation and twice monthly Q&A Livestreams in my private community...you can find it all HERE. Thanks.

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube