Make Sure He's OK (Alzheimer's Song)

[JayForeman]

15 years after writing this song, I’ve realised I rhymed “before” with “before”. Shoddy. Went to fix it, ended up writing a whole extra verse, and now the song is even sadder with more rhymes. Enjoy!

By the time I’m 83,
He will take over from me.
He’ll look like me on the outside
But it won’t be me in there
There won’t be much left of me anymore.
He and I won’t think the same,
He won’t remember my name.
And he’ll treat you like a stranger
But he won’t mean any harm
And he’ll need you more than ever before.

Make sure he’s OK
Make sure he’s alright.
Tell him who you are
Every day, every night.

He’ll often stare into space
With a blank look on his face
He’ll quite often lose his glasses
And he’ll search in every drawer
But the ones found on his head won’t be his.
He’ll never know what to do,
Sometimes he’ll spill drinks on you
He’ll quite often lose his temper
And I don’t know what he’ll say
But he’ll tell nobody how scared he is.

Make sure he’s OK
Make sure he’s alright.
Please tell him who you are
Every day, every night.

Make sure he’s OK
Try to make him smile
Tell him about me maybe
Once in a while.

[GeniusLad]

As someone who has seen several family members living with Alzheimer's, it's a condition we don't talk about enough. Thank you for writing this song Jay.

[corgistaniel]

i thought the title was a joke, now i'm crying in the club

[luqcrusher]

“Tell him about me every once in awhile”

Did not expect a Jay Foreman vid to break my heart 💔

[StaticImage]

Holy crap, man... does Jay Foreman have any other serious songs? Hearing people that typically do comedy play a serious song is always so powerful

[Kovukingsrod]

I hope this is a valid reason to shed a tear

[TheRulerofEarth]

I subscribed to you to learn about London infrastructure, but I'll enjoy your music too.

[JulianKarusell]

I’m 15 and my dad has dementia. Thank you so much for this song

[DrMcFly]

I know everyone's (rightfully) smitten by the lyrics but let me congratulate you on that chord structure... the "tell him who you are every day every night" part is so skillfully done it's amazing.

[mimigottfried]

As a grown-ass man in his 30s, this song reminded me of my late grandmother who raised me, and I'm sobbing like I haven't sobbed in over a decade. I guess this song has dug up some things I had buried long ago.

[theyorkshire]

By the time I'm eighty-three
Someone will take over me
He'll look like me on the outside
But it won't be me in there
I'll have all but disappeared long before

He and I won't think the same
He won't remember my name
And he'll treat you like a stranger
But he won't mean any harm
And he'll need you more than ever before

Make sure he's OK
Make sure he's alright
Tell him who you are every day, every night

He'll never know what to do
Sometimes he'll spill drinks on you
He'll quite often lose his temper
And I don't know what he'll say
But he'll tell nobody how scared he is

Make sure he's OK
Make sure he's alright
Please tell him who you are every day, every night

Make sure he's OK
Try to make him smile
Tell him about me maybe once in a while

[InvictusByz]

That is my greatest fear in life. Not death, because my memory will endure. People will remember who I was. But to lose those I care about, or rather, find myself lost to them, unable to remember what they mean to me... That terrifies me.

[JoeBleasdaleReal]

How could you follow that up with bim bim bim?!

[nairocamilo]

I find it amazing that when the video ends, the sound is cut after the round of applauses, while he possibly starts singing a funny and silly song, judging by his gestures and movement.

[Pan_Blazej]

I'm a 32 year old man and I'm nearly in tears. You don't get half the credit you deserve. This song is so great in terms of melody, text and delivery. Heaps of respect to you, Jay.

[benik]

That last line makes me cry every time.

[hamez]

It's underappreciated how good he is at guitar.

[lawrencecalablaster]

My 93-year-old great grandmother had dementia at the end; she wouldn't eat anything the people at the clinic gave her and always asked me the exact same questions. None of my grandparents have yet but this song is nevertheless touching.

[jakesteampson]

Jay: sings a stunning powerful song
Also Jay: immediately follows with Bim Bim Bim

[tomkenning]

Is there like a time signature change in the 'make sure he's okay' bit?