“How I’m Feeling Now” by Lewis Capaldi

“How I’m Feeling Now” officially made its way onto the marketplace on 17 March 2023. In doing so it acted as the third single from “Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent”, Capaldi’s second studio album which, as with the first, is backed by UMG, Vertigo Records and Capitol Records. The song also served as the title track to a Netflix documentary about Lewis.

Up until this point Capaldi has only one studio album under his belt, “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent” (2019), which may beg the question as to why he was afforded his own Netflix documentary. But that LP proved to be a multi-platinum debut hit, and a handful of singles in his discography have performed exceptionally well.

The Team behind “How I’m Feeling Now”

TMS is a trio of song composers – Benjamin Kohn, Tom Barnes and Pete Kelleher – who have been heavily involved in Lewis Capaldi’s come-up. And it is they who co-wrote and co-produced “How I’m Feeling Now” with the singer. 

Meanwhile, Tobias Jesso Jr., a well-traveled musician whose most notable contributions thus far have been to the successful career of the late Xxxtentacion, also contributed to the authoring of this song.

How is Lewis Capaldi Feeling Now?

Capaldi is feeling such a way that we can now add him to the list of popular musicians who have gone about capitalizing, if you will, on their mental health issues. However, in describing this song, he didn’t particularly come off as being as vulnerable as others who tend to fall into that category. 

That is to say that Capaldi is very much aware of how “lucky” he is to be such a massive music star. But at the same time, the success he’s experienced since bursting on the scene has “taken its toll mentally”.

So, as put forth, the purpose of these lyrics are twofold. First and foremost, they are meant to illustrate how Lewis felt when he reached “extremely low points” in the above regard. But at the same time, he knows that “the last few years have been difficult for everyone” and is therefore hoping us listeners can “relate to the tune in some way”.

The Lyrics of “How I’m Feeling Now”

It can be said that these lyrics are based on a general motif that we come across semi-regularly in the music game, that of an A list star revealing to the public that being a celebrity isn’t all gravy. 

Or interpreted otherwise, becoming a music star did not result in Lewis’s psychological shortcomings magically disappearing. To the contrary, in terms of how he views himself, Capaldi comes off as quite the vulnerable everyman.

For instance, it can be deemed via the first two paragraphs that he has serious self-doubt issues. And the reason that admittance can be considered revelatory is because logically you would presume that a person who can, say, perform in front of 30,000 people would instead be supremely confident.

Then, the third verse reveals that the singer is dealing with a considerable amount of regret in relation to things he ‘wishes he had never said’. And that can also be described as a pretty common problem, i.e. someone with a lot going for them being unable to fully focus on a promising future due to mistakes they made in the past. Or more simply put, Lewis appears to be guilt-ridden.

“So here’s to my beautiful life
That seems to leave me so unsatisfied
No sense of self, but self-obsessed
I’m always trapped inside my f–kin’ head”

So ultimately, the thesis sentiment really isn’t about the singer’s mental health per se.  Rather it revolves around Capaldi lamenting, in sort of a roundabout way, that despite the level of fame and success he’s achieved, he is still contending with what read like the same self-esteem issues he possessed beforehand.

But that is not the conclusive sentiment. The bridge also indicates that Lewis is determined to best these psychological maladies. How so is not specified, and obviously, as expressed in the chorus, his confidence wavers in terms of achieving that goal, with Capaldi more commonly being “trapped inside (his) f*-king head” instead of focusing on the brighter side of his life.

Other Singles from “Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent”

“Forget Me” was the first song to be released as this album’s single. This was followed by “Pointless“. Both songs came out in 2022.

On 13th April, 2023, “Wish You the Best” was released as the album’s fourth and final single.