Lyrics
What I knew
Was only one view
The truth inside you cannot manifest
Unless I see it, too
How far will I go
To look through another window?
Resisting skeptics with the benefits
Leaves me overused
Chorus:
Now that it's over
Hiding the truth in disorder
I wonder, where is the border?
I cannot be the only one who believes
There's no such thing as delusion
A schizophrenic confusion
Why would I think that I knew one?
Am I the only one with immunity?
(Oh)
To be one
To understand isolation
We must forfeit all our influence
And surrender faculties
I admit that it scares me
The fear of helplessness tears me
And when the darkest thoughts come beckoning
I lose authority
Chorus
(Oh)
Chorus
(Oh)
Was only one view
The truth inside you cannot manifest
Unless I see it, too
How far will I go
To look through another window?
Resisting skeptics with the benefits
Leaves me overused
Chorus:
Now that it's over
Hiding the truth in disorder
I wonder, where is the border?
I cannot be the only one who believes
There's no such thing as delusion
A schizophrenic confusion
Why would I think that I knew one?
Am I the only one with immunity?
(Oh)
To be one
To understand isolation
We must forfeit all our influence
And surrender faculties
I admit that it scares me
The fear of helplessness tears me
And when the darkest thoughts come beckoning
I lose authority
Chorus
(Oh)
Chorus
(Oh)
Story
<Will>
This song is inspired by my frustration at people who are unwilling to look beyond their gut reaction of disbelief towards a person's worldview in order to understand him or her. Unfortunately, these are often people who are perfectly content with holding false beliefs of their own, even when judged by the same standards. It is easy to write off another as incorrect, and this is usually preferred over taking the time to gain insight into the other’s perspective. This problem, taken to the extreme, is a large part of what I think leads to the classification of “delusional” or “insane.” If we are willing to call another insane for what he or she believes and does, we had better be certain that our worldview and actions are without similar errors.
The song is also inspired by my frustration at people who create confusion by using excessive figurative speech. Metaphor, exaggeration, and other tools can be powerful, and are often useful when explaining foreign concepts, but the false interpretation of these figures of speech as literal can be harmful. This is particularly true when speaking aggressively. People are prone to interpret figurative promises of violence as literal ones, and will, understandably, put self-preservation above patience. The burden of clear communication lies with the speaker as well as with the listener.
Lastly, this is inspired by my own personal fear of being considered “crazy." Not necessarily being crazy, since I don’t even know what that would entail, but just being labeled as such. I have read about and seen the way people are treated after being diagnosed with certain mental illnesses, and it is one of the scariest situations I can imagine. At best, they are given antipsychotics with serious, and sometimes unknown, side effects, and at worst, they are hospitalized against their will. Once labeled as insane, there is very little someone can do to convince people that they are sane. People will dismiss the “crazy” on the grounds that they are insane, and will create an actual catch-22 (well, a catch-22 in reverse, but I bet 99/100 times that phrase is used in a less applicable scenario).
I suppose this song is really about my frustrations and fears with communication and the lack thereof. Communication and interaction is what connects all of us. Humans are clearly social animals - I don’t think anyone wants to be completely alone.
Since I know some of my views can appear radical and/or confusing, and I literally just made a comment about people having effective communication, I want to clarify some things. Although I have given a lot of thought to mental illness and psychiatry, my opinions are, of course, open to change in the face of new information and experiences. This "story" is more of a description of the thoughts and feelings I was originally trying to express in the song. I do not think the labeling of someone as “insane” is necessarily unfounded, useless, or harmful. I also believe that nearly everyone dealing with “mental illness” has good intentions. I am simply worried that good intentions do not always lead to good outcomes.
I came across the following quote when looking up the phrase "nothing to say," but it applies to this song, as well:
"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." - Robert Frost
This song is inspired by my frustration at people who are unwilling to look beyond their gut reaction of disbelief towards a person's worldview in order to understand him or her. Unfortunately, these are often people who are perfectly content with holding false beliefs of their own, even when judged by the same standards. It is easy to write off another as incorrect, and this is usually preferred over taking the time to gain insight into the other’s perspective. This problem, taken to the extreme, is a large part of what I think leads to the classification of “delusional” or “insane.” If we are willing to call another insane for what he or she believes and does, we had better be certain that our worldview and actions are without similar errors.
The song is also inspired by my frustration at people who create confusion by using excessive figurative speech. Metaphor, exaggeration, and other tools can be powerful, and are often useful when explaining foreign concepts, but the false interpretation of these figures of speech as literal can be harmful. This is particularly true when speaking aggressively. People are prone to interpret figurative promises of violence as literal ones, and will, understandably, put self-preservation above patience. The burden of clear communication lies with the speaker as well as with the listener.
Lastly, this is inspired by my own personal fear of being considered “crazy." Not necessarily being crazy, since I don’t even know what that would entail, but just being labeled as such. I have read about and seen the way people are treated after being diagnosed with certain mental illnesses, and it is one of the scariest situations I can imagine. At best, they are given antipsychotics with serious, and sometimes unknown, side effects, and at worst, they are hospitalized against their will. Once labeled as insane, there is very little someone can do to convince people that they are sane. People will dismiss the “crazy” on the grounds that they are insane, and will create an actual catch-22 (well, a catch-22 in reverse, but I bet 99/100 times that phrase is used in a less applicable scenario).
I suppose this song is really about my frustrations and fears with communication and the lack thereof. Communication and interaction is what connects all of us. Humans are clearly social animals - I don’t think anyone wants to be completely alone.
Since I know some of my views can appear radical and/or confusing, and I literally just made a comment about people having effective communication, I want to clarify some things. Although I have given a lot of thought to mental illness and psychiatry, my opinions are, of course, open to change in the face of new information and experiences. This "story" is more of a description of the thoughts and feelings I was originally trying to express in the song. I do not think the labeling of someone as “insane” is necessarily unfounded, useless, or harmful. I also believe that nearly everyone dealing with “mental illness” has good intentions. I am simply worried that good intentions do not always lead to good outcomes.
I came across the following quote when looking up the phrase "nothing to say," but it applies to this song, as well:
"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." - Robert Frost