What Does "Sucker" By The Jonas Brothers Mean?
“Sucker” Lyrics Meaning
After five long years of silence from the Jonas Brothers since their breakup, fans are ecstatic at the reunion of the band and the release of “Sucker” this week. The aspect of the song that has become most popular isn’t the lyrics, but the music video where each brother’s wife/fiance is shown sharing lavish and wild moments with the brothers. Fans have highlighted the adorability of the three couples working together in the music video. Nick Jonas tweeted: “We really had the best time shooting this video in England with our family. Hope you guys love it. Feels good to be back.” The emphasis on it being a family event has made the lyrics even more meaningful to fans as they cheer on the romances of the brothers. But is the song as sweet and innocent as it sounds, or is there something hiding beneath the surface?
“It’s true, I’m a sucker for you”
The narrator of “Sucker” is falling in love with a woman he’s determined to spend his life with. She may be his soulmate, but there are darker tones that indicate she is far from perfect. However, the Jonas Brothers’ narrator looks past her imperfections and is willing to humor her manipulation and strong personality because of his attraction to her and desire to make the relationship work. “Sucker” tells the story of a man who is helpless against his love for this woman who may be bad for him at times, but is so perfect in his eyes that he ignores the negative side effects.
Verse 1
We go together
Better than birds of a feather, you and me
We change the weather, yeah
I'm feeling heat in December when you're 'round me
The opening stanza of “Sucker” addresses the romantic partner (depicted in the music video as the brothers’ respective wives and fiance) and declares that “we go together” in a way that surpasses all romances that came before. They are even “better than birds of a feather,” a phrase that describes people who share similar values and traits. Describing the romance as superseding this indicates a soulmate level of connection that neither partner has seen. This soulmate status changes the atmosphere of the lover’s lives so that they are “feeling heat in December” when they are together. This could be taken to mean that either difficult times are made easier with this soulmate by his side, or that the dreary periods of life become exciting with her presence.
Verse 2
Don't complicate it (Yeah)
'Cause I know you and you know everything about me
I can't remember (Yeah) all of the nights
I don't remember when you're 'round me (Oh, yeah, yeah)
In the second verse, the relationship has had more time to grow and become more serious. Nick Jonas’ narrator reminds his lover not to “complicate it” and to remain in that place of wonder and innocent love even though things have become deeper and they both “know everything” about each other, adding new dimension to their connection. The line “I can’t remember all of the nights/ I don’t remember when you’re ‘round me” could mean that the dark and lonely nights fade away when she is with him. However, it more likely indicates that their nights together are very high energy and wild, involving a heavy amount of partying and passion (as depicted in the music video), and a result of this living in the moment and letting go of his mind for the night, is difficulty recalling some of the wilder moments they share.
Pre-Chorus
I've been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars
I follow you through the dark, can't get enough
You're the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain
And, baby, you know it's obvious
The reckless partying occurring while “dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars” is likely a side effect of the relationship, and not a previous way of life that has been brought to a halt by the romance. It’s alluded to that while he views this behavior as a kind of darkness, it is a darkness worth following her through because he “can’t get enough” of her. Though either this lifestyle or other qualities in her causes him pain, he accepts it because whatever damage she causes, she is “the medicine” to the pain. He feels drawn to her by something deep inside of himself that he couldn’t change if he tried, singing she is the “tattoo inside my brain.” A tattoo is meant to be with someone for a lifetime, much like his attraction to her. It would be next to impossible to rewire his mind to not think about her and desire for a relationship with her.
Chorus
I'm a sucker for you
You say the word and I'll go anywhere blindly
I'm a sucker for you, yeah
Any road you take, you know that you'll find me
I am a sucker for all the subliminal things
No one knows about you (About you), about you (About you)
And you're making the typical me break my typical rules
It's true, I'm a sucker for you, yeah
In the chorus the themes in the pre-chorus of feeling helpless to her love are underscored. He would “go anywhere,” good or bad, “blindly” because of either his passion for her or his trust that when she “say[s] the word” it will be safe for him to listen. He will follow her down “whatever road [she] take[s]” because he always falls for her. He playfully indicates that some of her actions are intended to manipulate him with the use of all the “subliminal things” she does. (Something subliminal is, according to the dictionary, something that ‘affects someone’s mind without their being aware of it’. So, if she is being subliminal, it is in an effort to manipulate him without his being aware of it.) Rather than being upset by the realization that his partner is attempting to manipulate him, he accepts it because he’s “a sucker” for all those “subliminal things.” Rather than prevent future manipulative behavior, he gives her what she wants and breaks his “typical rules” (hopefully not important ones) because this isn’t a typical romance to him, and he’s “a sucker for [her].”
Deeper Meaning of “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker” tells us about a sweet, passionate love story between two people who were “meant to be.” It’s a sweet story, especially when we see them singing it to the loves of their lives in the music video. However, despite the initial sentiments of being “better than birds of a feather,” the most prominent parts of the song (the pre-chorus and chorus) reveal slightly darker undertones of a man who sacrifices pieces of himself to fit into the fast moving, high energy life of his partner. Far from being a ballad of lament over this change, the song celebrates the power of the relationship over him to bring him to a place of being so eager to change his life for her. He is so intoxicated by her love, he is happy to give up all else, because he is a “sucker” for falling for her.
