However, would you be surprised if I told you this isn’t only from Cole’s view? For Whom the Bell Tolls transforms into a metaphor for how the album serves as a collection of memories, as this song calls back on how Jermaine is lost inside of his own head battling these thoughts. He’s always just kinda been the weird friend among the rap industry, and he’s often compared to rapper Kendrick Lamar. Obviously I do not want to dive too deep into this, but I relate to Cole so much, even past this song. All he sees and feels is 'the bells getting loud,', which shouts out bells ringing at a funeral. Cole can't escape his looming, dark, depressing thoughts. Right? This album has a different POV and a full concept that I will get into later. At first, the lyrics can be viewed as Jermaine speaking to himself as he croons about the rain. Cole is by far one of the most personal albums I’ve listened to and what it’s done for me is magical.įor Whom the Bell Tolls, the opener of this masterpiece, is a perfect example of what this album inflicts on me. Why? This album hasn’t barely started yet? Is this album really able to invoke so much emotion in me? I’ve accepted my answer to this question. My eyes go glassy, the moon reflects off of them and I start crying. I’ve grown to truly value these people, and I’m eternally grateful that they’ve made my life so much better just by chatting with me.

I think about being alone, I think about how I currently live, I think about my friends, both the ones I have made in real life and the ones who I have made over the internet, the ones whom I will probably never meet in real life, but the ones whom I have spent months with. I lean back against the cold glass, I let the smooth jazz instrumentation work its way into my mind. As I currently stare out the window of my sister’s house, I feel alone. It’s incredibly self reflective, yet it still never grows old for me and still packs the emotional punch I remember from my first listen. Despite that, you still share memories, dreams, hardships, nostalgia etc.

It’s the embodiment of a friend who’s hiding something from you, and it’s obvious at times. His messaging becomes more and more clear as the story is told.Ĥ Your Eyez Only serves so much more than just a great album to me. I don’t expect anybody to love this album like I do. Cole is a smart man, he made this album not for the casual audience of spite being a chart topper, he made it 4 (My) Eyez Only.

Cole is not a particularly gifted singer, right? But with each listen, I, for one was able to understand this narrative. At first listen, this album may seem cold. It just gets better and better with every listen, and it’s at the point where I can’t listen to it front to back without sobbing uncontrollably. A special message to everybody I know at the end of this review 🌸Ĥ Your Eyez Only is the album that has changed the way I see everything.

4 your eyes only j cole shared