Missing your home while knowing that you had to go chase your dream always hits hard. Singer-songwriter and Why Don’t We alum Jonah Marais‘ latest single, “Heart’s Back Home,” is rooted in nostalgia and longing. It’s reflective, emotional and sees Marais missing life’s milestones with family and friends.
The song is a gentle, heartfelt guitar ballad that capitalizes on this idea of missing a past you’ve left behind. “It’s about growing up in a small Minnesota town, seeing the world, and realizing home is still what keeps me grounded,” Marais says.
He says that this song is essentially his story — as he captures the bittersweet experience of growing up and moving away. He sings, “And when I feel alone, it’s written in my bones / My body’s right here, but my heart’s back home.”
Despite feeling confident in his choice, he knew he “had to go” and build his own life, but he’s ultimately left feeling incomplete. Lines like “Watched my sister growing up through my phone” and “Parents call me just to say how they’re proud” show Marais acknowledging how life at home keeps moving forward without him and it feels like he’s only missing it secondhand.
The song captures what it’s like to feel homesick, even when you’re longing for family and struggling with the tension between independence and a sense of belonging, with Marais saying “I want this song to feel like a warm hug for anyone who’s ever felt torn between chasing dreams and missing home.”
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