The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
All day staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something
Hold on
Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown
And I don't know why
But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be, me
I'm talking to myself in public
Dodging glances on the train
And I know, I know they've all been talking 'bout me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me
Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow I've lost my mind
But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
I've been talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah, they're taking me away
Yeah, I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
Hey, how I used to be
How I used to be
Well, I'm just a little unwell
How I used to be
How I used to be
I'm just a little unwell
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something
Hold on
Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown
And I don't know why
But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be, me
I'm talking to myself in public
Dodging glances on the train
And I know, I know they've all been talking 'bout me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me
Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow I've lost my mind
But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
I've been talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah, they're taking me away
Yeah, I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
Hey, how I used to be
How I used to be
Well, I'm just a little unwell
How I used to be
How I used to be
I'm just a little unwell
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This is a person struggling with a mental illness. When he stares at the ceiling all day, he is describing depression. He wants to let you know that just because he is sick doesn't mean he is crazy. Have you seen the video? He's not crazy but his surroundings are. It is like the way the world looks to him at the moment. But, he knows that it won't always look that way. If you just stay awhile you will see him when he is well. To me, it is a very hopeful song. He is trying to break down misconceptions about what is "crazy". This is not the only song he has about mental illness. I also like "Mad Season".
No jus 4 every1's info of what this song is about is about being on dope not weed or ne of that jus ice,crank,or any other form of meth. I mean he is paranoid, seeing shadows, can't sleep at night, bein so paranoid in public havin 2 dodge glances from every1, talking to himself. I'm sorry but there is no mental illness here its dope.
The assumption that this is about drugs is preposterous. It is so clearly about a mental illness, most likely depression. You clearly have no idea what it is like to have such an affliction because if you did, you would see through the words to the obvious metaphors about feeling like you're crazy or unwell. The line "I'm feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown and I don't know why" also explains this perfectly. People suffering from depression or other afflictions don't know why they feel the way they do; often times they have no "reason" to feel down all the time. And "I know right now you can't tell" also describes how many suffer silently and keep it to themselves, which eats through them until it is unbearable and people start to notice a change. "Soon enough you're gonna think of me and how I used to be" show when this finally happens and the people around you wonder what happened and remember how "stable" you used to be. <br /> I'm definitely not trying to start a super lame cyber-fight, I just get really upset when people are ignorant of things like this and try to chalk things up to drugs or a sad, but managable, event (like a lost or unrequited love) because it furthers the stigma that biological mental health disorders have. Which is a terrible thing because it keeps people from seeking help, because they might be afraid of being labeled as crazy or wimpy or overdramatic. End rant.
kesey<br /> <br /> Thank you... I agree (and appreciate your much needed validation)<br />
Dope IS weed genius.
you can take this song in many ways as it relates to many issues. And I must state that drug addiction does lead to mental illness. and dope is not weed. it was back in the day but they now refer heroine as "dope."
Yeah this song has significant relavance to me. but this does focus on a depressive episode that causes all kinds of strife.<br /> <br /> but yeah. fyi im bi-polar, the paranoia is there, anxiety and the pain. but the gettin better to me means about mood shifts. i know im more fun when im manic and he's hoping for people not to just brush him off.
Just to be clear... Dope is not weed. Dope is meth.
The word dope was used to describe marajuana long before meth was even around.
HOLY COW I just realized this makes sense!!! <br />
@insect1123 I love your interpretation, this one of many "my songs" and relatively accurately depicts bi-polar disorder
@insect1123 <br /> I always thought it was about a man who is horribly constipated, and finds relief by writing a song about it, using code words, like unwell, and impaired for constipation. "All day staring at the ceiling..." he's sitting on the toilet all day cuz he cant $ hit. "Right now ya cant tell" means you cant tell if someone is constipated just by looking at them. "But stay a while maybe then you'll see a different side of me." He means he'll feel different after taking a humongous $hit, then he's gonna show you his $ hitter. "...talking to myself in public" he's mumbling out loud how badly he has to $ hit, and people are starring at him, probably cuz $ hit smell is eminating from his business end. It's a very sad song because he eventually $ hits his pants in public. "I've been talking in my sleep", is code for $ hitting his pants. "Pretty soon they're goona get me", the care-takers charged with changing his poopy clothing. "Yeah they're taking me away", the orderlies from the convalescent home are gonna strap him to a wheel chair anf take him back to the sanitorium. That's my take on it, anyways folks...for what it's worth.
definately about mental illness.living in your mind the point where nothing appears real.
This has been my favorite song since I was in 5th grade, I am now a senior in highschool and I still find meaning and strength in the lyrics of this song and it is still one of my favorites. To me this song is being sung from the point of view of a male character who is surrounded by people who don’t understand him, and people that he does not understand. He tries to make connections with people but no one sticks around long enough to get close because they are put off by his personality or physical looks. I relate to this because in middle school, when this song was most important to me, I was not understood as a person. People made fun of me because I had not hit a growth spurt yet and I was overweight, my personality was different and I was not afraid to hide who I was, so people stayed away from me and I had no friends. To me the character in this song is saying something that I understood.
“But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell I know right now you can't tell But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see A different side of me”
In this verse of the chorus the singer is saying that he might seem odd, but if you stick around and attempt to understand him you might actually like him and realise that he is not odd or crazy. He is owning up to the fact that he is different, and he makes no attempt to hide it just because it weirds people out. He also sings about how people's reactions and opinions about you can shape your opinion about yourself.
“I'm talking to myself in public Dodging glances on the train And I know, I know they've all been talking about me I can hear them whisper And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me”
In this verse he is expressing how he hears people's opinions about him so much that starts to believe what they are saying. This is meaningful to me because I went through that, hearing this song helped me understand that I was not the only one with these opinions about myself. In the video of this song everything around him is odd and disfigured which shows that everyone was just as odd to him as he was to them. He is explaining that no one is crazy, we are all just a little unwell, a little off. If someone stuck around us long enough to form a connection with them we realise that their are odd parts about ourselves that match the odd parts about them.
rob thomas said that this song described his paranoia. this song is awesome, i love it.
I know this may not be the actual meaning, but this is how I relate to it...my husband was in Iraq for 8 months at the beginning of the war. I talked to him 7 or 8 times and recieved maybe 10 letters in those 8 months. I felt like I was losing it. I couldn't concentrate, smile, sleep, eat, etc. I was miserable, I didn't know if I would ever see him again. I felt crazy, unwell. Even though I wasn't medically crazy, I felt it . And No one really knew what I felt they weren't me..."I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell I know right now you can't tell But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see A different side of me "
@MeShell I hope your man made it back safe and sound. God bless you and your family.
@MeShell I hope your man made it back safe and sound. God bless you and your family.
To me, the song is just talking about feeling like you're losing control. I've just gotten out of 3 year relationship, and its how I feel. People talking about you, thinking you don't know, and trying to convince you that you're perfectly fine, you trying to convince yourself, and knowing that you're not. And you're trying to tell people that you're NOT fine, but its ok, because you don't have to be perfect all the time.
this song seems to be about bipolar...the highs and lows.
Rob has said in concerts about this song:
"There are 2 kinds of people in the world. The people who are fvcked up and don't know it, and the people who are fvcked up and are well aware of it. This song is about being well aware of it."
frist time i herd this it made me think it was about schizophrenia, and if u know anyoen with it u'l understand y, there not crazy, jus a lil unwell, depsite ppl lookin at them etc, and paranoia is part of it all, a great tune!
I have OCD, Paranoia, and Depression, so this song means a great deal to me. its about feeling like your crazy and fucked up because everyone around you is judging you badly.
Me Too, No OCD but Bipolar, and the other two.That is exactly what this song is about, people looking, judging and feeling scared.