Jason Mraz Dishes on Unexpected Meanings Behind 2 of His Hit 2000s Songs (Exclusive)
Jason Mraz recently sat down with Parade to promote his new album Grandma's Gospel Favorites. In the process, he also discussed the unexpected meanings behind two of his hit songs: 2003's "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" and 2008's "I'm Yours."
Jason Mraz's New Album Grandma's Gospel Favorites Is Dropping in May
On May 8, the two-time Grammy-winner, 48, will release Grandma's Gospel Favorites, an album he made for his grandmother, the late Mary Helen Mraz-Fowler, as a Christmas gift 20 years ago.
Mraz's ninth studio album features his take on classics like "Old Rugged Cross," "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," and "It Is No Secret," in addition to a bluegrass-inspired track of "Turn Your Radio On." It also features two original songs, "Peach Pie" and "When We Die (You Are Loved)."
"The secret is that it's not very new," he told Parade of the upcoming album. "I recorded it in 2007 for my grandmother. And it was her favorite thing for many, many years. So it's been in our family for almost 20 years, and at the encouragement of family and friends, I'm finally sharing it."
Mraz explained, "In a way, they're time-tested songs. Some are 100 years old. They're songs that I grew up listening to in my household with my family. I know them well, and they're songs of comfort, they're songs of peace-asking why are we here? And that has always been present in my music."
Jason Mraz's Song 'The Remedy' Was About His Friend's Cancer Battle
"The Remedy" was released in 2003 and peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And it was actually about Mraz's close friend, Charlie Mingroni, who was diagnosed with cancer in his early 20s.
"My best friend from childhood had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma when he was 21, I was 22," Mraz told Parade. "And while I'm making my first album, he's getting a port and he's getting ready to endure months and months of chemo. And I couldn't figure out why I had my life and he had his life."
Mraz continued, "And he said, man, I'm not going to worry my life away. I'm going to do what they tell me to do. The remedy is the experience to go through with it. And whether I live or die, I'm meant to have this experience.'"
For Mraz, Mingroni's attitude during that difficult time was the "first time in my life that I had known someone and experienced the power of positive thinking, the power of positive language. The way he would continue to talk about his experience was comforting to the rest of us."
He concluded, "I celebrate him still today. He's still with me. And so I really was singing his messages in that song."
Jason Mraz's 'I'm Yours' Wasn't Intended as a Love Song
"I'm Yours" was released in 2008 and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also spent an impressive 76 weeks on the chart. Additionally, the track reached No. 1 on Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop Airplay charts.
Interestingly, "I'm Yours" wasn't intended as a love song, but rather a message about surrendering to a higher power.
"I start playing chords on guitar, piano, build a rhythm, build a pattern and close my eyes, and sing. And in that singing, I'm also simultaneously asking for guidance, asking what's going on, asking where can I serve?" he told Parade.
Mraz said that he wrote the song after a "little slump" in his personal life, and that he was ready to "get excited again about life."
"I'm basically singing to the great unknown, to God or the higher power or universal love, whatever it is that gives us our dreams and our lyrics," he said. "And I said, you know, make me an instrument. I'm yours."
Mraz continued, "And that really is what the lyrics are. It's like, I won't wait any longer. I'm going to interact with you. I am yours. And having that intimate relationship with a cosmic, ginormous, invisible thing also feels like an intimate relationship that two people can get married to. And so I didn't see that coming."
In addition to his gospel album dropping on May 8, Mraz is hitting the road in May and June along the U.S.'s eastern seaboard for his "I'm Still Yours" tour, with Gregory Page serving as the opening act.
Next: '90s Rock Legend Gets Lackluster Response to Surprise Coachella Performance: "So Disappointing"
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 7:00 AM.