Brantley Gilbert is releasing his new record Sins of the Father on Friday (July 24). Track No. 4 on the album is a raw and emotional song written and recorded by Jelly Roll, Gilbert, Brock Berryhill and Andrew Baylis, called “Begging for Change.”
What is Brantley Gilbert and Jelly Roll’s New Song About?
The message behind the ballad is easily told within the song’s chorus. You can instantly identify that the two singers are talking about needing some sort of change to break the chain of homelessness and/or addiction, as opposed to literally asking for money.
Gilbert joined me on Taste of Country Nights ahead of the album release and described the process he and Jelly went through when coming up with the song.
@lovelossandlilacs @Brantley Gilbert and @Jelly Roll killing it together last night! @Rock the Country was SO much fun! #brantleygilbert #brantleyandjelly #rockthecountry #rockthecountry2026 #concert ♬ original sound – Lovelossandlilacs
Turns out, the song’s inspiration came from a powerful experience Jelly had the day they wrote the song.
“Jelly Roll came in to the write one day and I could tell he was a little heavy [emotionally],” Gilbert recounts.
“We stepped outside to smoke and I was like ‘Hey man, you good?’ And he was like ‘Yeah, I had an event this morning for the label.'”
After a little more conversation, Gilbert says that he learned that “as he was getting into his car there was a homeless guy there and he got turned around and he [Jelly] saw him and recognized him.”
That man was actually a guy Jelly had gone to school with.
“Jelly was like, ‘It wasn’t so much that I recognized him, it was that he was the least likely to be homeless than any of the kids in our class,'” Gilbert continues.
This really got to Jelly as he was still emotionally hung up on that fact even hours after seeing his old pal.
@thestudyofpsych Addiction is a complex condition characterized by compulsive behavior despite harmful consequences. It involves substances like drugs or alcohol, or activities like gambling or gaming. The core of addiction lies in the brain’s reward system, where addictive substances or behaviors trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation. This reinforces the behavior, leading to cravings and continued use despite negative impacts on a person’s life. – #addiction #addictionawareness #addictionrecovery #psychology #science ♬ Je te laisserai des mots – Patrick Watson
Jelly explained to Gilbert that the homeless guy was a cool kid at school that always had all the new stuff, telling Gilbert, “I’ve been in treatment with billionaires and I’ve been in treatment with homeless guys. [Addiction] just wants us all dead.”
