Hey Jealousy

Album

New Miserable Experience

Label

A&M Records

Genre

Post-Grunge

Composer(s)

Doug Hopkins

Entered Chart

Jul 24, 1993

Peak Date

Oct 16, 1993

Released

June 1993

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

A&M 0242

B-Side

Cajun Song" "Just South of Nowhere" "Angels Tonight"

This song has a tragic story. Gin Blossoms guitarist Doug Hopkins wrote "Hey Jealousy" about his old girlfriend, whom he was trying to reconcile with. The song dates back to 1989, when the band included it on their debut album, Dusted, released on the small Arizona label San Jacinto Records. They built up a following in the Phoenix area, but struggled until "Hey Jealousy" got the attention of A&M Records, which signed the band. In early 1992 they recorded their first album with the label, New Miserable Experience, which included new versions of some of their Dusted tracks, including "Hey Jealousy." During those sessions, Hopkins was in rough shape and very unreliable, having developed an alcohol problem. He played on the album but after the sessions the band fired him. The album was released in the summer of 1992 and the band started touring with his replacement, Scotty Johnson. The band finally broke through when "Hey Jealousy" started climbing the charts in the summer of 1993, peaking at #25 in the US in October. Hopkins had to watch from the sidelines as his song propelled the band to stardom. He got even more depressed and committed suicide on December 5, 1993 at age 32. The band continued to play the song, considering it a tribute to Hopkins. Early on, Gin Blossoms prided themselves on their heavy drinking - the band name is a reference to red, blossom-like markings that can show up on the skin of longtime drinkers when their capillaries burst (as seen on the comedian W.C. Fields). The line "you can trust me not to think" was written by Hopkins as "you can trust me not to drink," but vocalist Robin Wilson, who was tired of singing about drinking, asked him to change it. When "Hey Jealousy" was first released in 1992 as the lead single from New Miserable Experience, it flopped. It wasn't looking good for the band, but then A&M Records commissioned a video for the song. Three different videos were shot before the label approved one and submitted it to MTV, which made it a "Buzz Bin" item. A&M re-released the song in the summer of 1993, and with help from the video and a steady stream of adds from radio stations, it gave the band their first hit. Pop radio loved the Gin Blossoms, and after "Hey Jealousy" caught on, their songs found their way onto playlists throughout 1994. The follow-up was "Found Out About You," which was also written by Doug Hopkins. That song went to #25 in February 1994 but spent 34 in the Hot 100. The next two singles - "Until I Fall Away" and "Allison Road" - A&M sent to radio but didn't make available for sale because they wanted to move more albums. Radio stations, trapped between grunge and hip-hop, were thrilled to have these pure pop songs and played them steadily. The album ended up selling over 4 million copies in the US. The video was directed by David Mould, who also did Elastica's "Connection" and Evanescence's "My Immortal." Band members show up in boxes on the screen throughout the clip, which in 1992 required a lot of mixdowns. The original version released in 1989 was recorded, along with the rest of the album, in just a day. Without much time or studio acumen, they basically recorded their live set. When they re-did the song for New Miserable Experience, it was in Ardent Studios in Memphis, produced by John Hampton. This new version is slower and a lot more refined.

Well, tell me do you think it'd be all right
If I could just crash here tonight?
You can see I'm in no shape for driving
And anyway, I've got no place to go
And you know it might not be that bad
You were the best I'd ever had
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might not be alone

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take its place
Hey jealousy, hey jealousy
Hey jealousy, hey jealousy

You can trust me not to think
And not to sleep around
And if you don't expect too much from me
You might not be let down

'Cause all I really want is to be with you
Feeling like I matter too
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might be here with you

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take its place, hey jealousy

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take its place
Hey jealousy, hey jealousy
Hey jealousy, hey jealousy

Well, tell me, do you think it'd be all right
If I could just crash here tonight?
You can see I'm in no shape for driving
And anyway I've got no place to go
And you know it might not be that bad
You were the best I'd ever had
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might not be alone

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take its place, hey jealousy

Hey jealousy, she took my heart
Well, there's only one thing I couldn't start