Matchbox Twenty – Unwell

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  General Comment:It's a song about not feeling 100%...and sometimes just feeling absolutely sh*tty. I'm sorry to all of those who felt my pain that came out as anger...intense anger. I'm sorry for forgetting that some of us have more or larger crosses to bear. And I'm sorry that someone who knows how to be compassionate can totally lose control while forgetting what it means to be Christian. We're all unwell in one way or another, and especially in dealing with stressful or painful situations. I'm sorry for hurting those I love and I'm sorry for sometimes forgetting who I am; what I look like; and how I am perceived by others who don't share my same warts. I should know my place; it's not there and it's not being a raving witch either. I'm sorry for behaving unwell. I am gross and ugly, but more than just in the physical way. Good song. Very creative.

  Flagged 6GUNSALLYon December 26, 2012   Link

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    ur not ugly ur perfect god made you and me andeverybody else in his image life would be boring if we all loooked the same and your right were all unwell in one way or another trust me i know everytime i make a desision i feel like in hurting somebody i care about

    Flag ezmryderon February 11, 2013  
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  My Opinion:I dont understand why some of you are being so negative to others, if they have a mental illness (as i do) and they can relate to this song whats the big deal. He said that he wrote this song so people with mental illnesses wouldnt feel alone, i suffer from borderline personality disorder and this song spoke to me a lot, i understand it sounds more like Schizophrenia but there are parts of this song that speak to me and my illness. i feel alone and my friends and family dont understand they just think im crazy they dont understand that im sick. so please stop trying to be like nope this is about Schizophrenia and only Schizophrenia . thats not why he wrote this song

  Flag towle17on December 26, 2012   Link

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    Genuine/sincere apology from the heart. Not the time (or holiday) to push. I am spent today...absolutely emotionally wiped out. I can only imagine the other.

    Flag 6GUNSALLYon December 26, 2012  
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  Song Meaning:In a live QandA session Rob Thomas did on reddit.com (AKA an AMA (ask me anything)), when asked if there was something he was struggling with when he wrote Unwell, he stated "I suffer from panic attacks in a business where that sucks".
  
  So there ya have it.
  
  Source: reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/zzueg/im_the_lead_singer_of_matchbox_twenty_with_an/

  Flag BananaArmson September 16, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:In a live Q

  Flag BananaArmson September 16, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:I definitely agree the song far more fits a schizophrenic than anything else. Though the emotion of the song at least I can somewhat relate to with High Functioning Autism (or Asperger's depending on which you prefer). But I'm sure pretty much anyone with a notable mental illness/disorder could relate to the song at least to an extent.

  Flag TWL21on September 13, 2012   Link

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  Memory:if yup

  Flag koala5412on August 31, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:Anyone who thinks this song is about anything other than schizophrenia is a fool. As a schizophrenic myself, I can easily relate to everything the lyrics are saying, and the video does a pretty good job of proving it's schizophrenia, as well.

  Flag Mattman44on July 03, 2012   Link

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    I have to disagree. Anything who thinks this song can be only "about" one thing is a fool. Lyrics are often non-specific enough that they can relate to many specific situations. It is true that perhaps the writer had a situation of mental illness in mind when he wrote it; it is also possible that he had a myriad of stories/themes in his head from which he wrote these lyrics.
    I relate this song to simply feeling depressed and socially anxious. A wish that others wouldn't be in such a rush..that they'd stay and get to know me, or simply laugh off my awkwardness or nervousness and welcome me into feeling better/more comfortable. A wish they wouldn't be so quick to judge and exclude, but a knowledge that they simply don't care enough about our relationship to make an effort, and would rather brush it off.

    Flag sapphroditeon May 02, 2013  
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  General Comment:I used to think this song said, "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unaware, I know right now you can't tell, but stay a while and maybe then you'll see a difference out of me..." After hearing it multiple times, I see I was wrong. Both ways make sense though and convey the same meaning, I guess.

  Flag driftingdreameron May 19, 2012   Link

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    Here is a metaphorical breakdown of the mental "breakdown:"
    
    "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"
    
    * A ceiling could mean a boundary that is above you that you can't quite reach, so staring at it is more like seeing a goal that you could never really reach. Walls also are restrictions, but are closer than the ceiling and shadows could represent how alone, you are able to explore without ever breeching the walls or soaring to reach a goal that isn't reasonable. Sleep is a comodity that is precious and rare for crazy folks, I guess, and tomorrow always comes too soon when you do not get enough. Also, considering modern times, a wall could mean something like the internet or facebook where you make supposed "friends" with "shadows" aka strangers.
    
    "Hold on
    Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown
    And I don't know why"
    
    * Obviously, whatever he encounters within his limited world he has trouble making sense of it and feels as though he is on the edge of loosing his 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...me"
    
    * He was exceptionally unprepared for what he finds which renders him unwell. Mentally unprepared to really grasp it and is unable to make sense of it. Again, his mental faculties are impaired as he struggles to make sense of it and although "right now you don't care" he is asking, "just stay a while and maybe then you'll see a different[ce] out (side) of me" meaning he has hope or faith in that he will eventually solve the problem. This could mean so many different things to different people (the problem, that is), but I think he literally is trying to make sense of what he has recently stumbled upon. He doesn't feel himself and is ready to get back to being himself.
    
    "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
    Out of all the hours thinking
    Somehow I've lost my mind"
    
    * Here, there is a different tone and if he wrote the song himself, we have to remember he is in the lime-light and maybe never realized that people are really apart of what he is doing. Maybe he writes/plays music but never considered that it would affect others and he probably never intended for it to...just he alone confined to his inner-room where others have never entered before. Suddenly, he realizes that he was never really alone...where he made friends with shadows, they were not ever real to him and certainly never knew that he was noticed and liked it that way. Talking to himself in public could mean that what he wrote, or felt, or discovered was for him and no one else, yet he then realizes that he was not truly alone. The most significant part, for me, is when he sings, "I can hear them whispher and it makes me think there Must be something wrong...with me." This means that his innner world is Exposed before the world, or particularly, someone Else and he feels Extremely vulnerable and frightened. Out of all the hours he spent alone...thinking...he didn't really think/Expect to be heard. Realizing that his thoughts were heard, he feels as though he is loosing his mind!
    
    "I've been talking in my sleep
    Pretty soon they'll come to get me
    Yeah, they're taking me away"
    
    * Considering he probably doesn't sleep and saying that he's been talking in his sleep is contradictory. Maybe he means that he is allowed to voyage and create when he should be sleeping and now that it has been revealed that his inner-most thoughts were heard (the deepest and closest part) he either feels that pretty soon he will completely snap and loose it, or, that whoever the someone is who hears him is coming to take him away. Dunno.
    
    "Yeah, 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"
    
    * He is, perhaps, having difficulty coming to terms with what he is now...exposed...and who he was before...just being himself...Basically, he feels that everything so personal and true to himself is being revealed...another was listening all along and he can't quite wrap his mind around it and so, feels "unwell" or unprepared to cope with what exactly that means to him, personally.
    
    Or, the song could just mean that when you are constantly striving to find meaning in ambiguity, if it spills into the world of the living, a catastrophe could result...menatlly, that is. Finding meaning in the obsolete is tantalizing! However, applying the same process to people feels like fate which can be more than confusing...you feel like you are loosing your mind!!

    Flag driftingdreameron May 20, 2012  
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  My Interpretation:This really seems to me like my life is right now. I'm in the process of being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
  
  So, I get these random pains, right? These mild to severe, but constant pains, that cause me to be isolated on occasion, and stay out of school a lot. And I'm absolutely sick of it, because life is sucking majorly, and nothing ever changes. And my sleep is being seriously affected by stress and just not caring anymore. Even though I hurt today, I could be better tomorrow, but I need to get rest, and I'm just not.
  
  And I'm so SICK of it, sick of doctors, and appointments, and referrals. It's all building up, and I just want to fall apart and cry for hours sometimes.
  
  And this isn't all in my head, I'm not crazy. I've just got a little problem. Unfortunately, my friends and fellow classmates aren't exactly seeing that anymore. They're just seeing that I'm missing a lot of school and getting away with it. And, maybe if they paid attention, they'd see that I've got some actually issues going on here. But, they don't really care anyway. And I just want to go back to how things were before.
  
  And I'm getting paranoid. I'm terrified that people are talking about me behind my back - and what's worse is that I know they have, because people have TOLD me. And I just start wondering if maybe it is all in my head, because while this condition is considered real by the majority of doctors, it's also laughed at by plenty of others. And maybe I am just crazy.
  
  But then I remember that, no, it's real. It's not just in my head.
  
  But I still want things do go back to normal.

  Flag justagirlwithakeyboardon May 17, 2012   Link

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    that sounds really terrible but remember that God loves u and i will b praying for you and if u wanna tlk its blesseddivinegardener@gmail.com plz email me i looked up this song and i created a accoutn so i cld reply to this and u migth never c this but if u do i hope it encourages u.

    Flag heyitslizon October 27, 2012  
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  General Comment:This is exactly how I feel, i struggle with depression and its hard for me to be happy. I'm happy for a while but know that I'm going to get sad again. This song really hits home kinda how it feels to struggle with mental illness

  Flag Lchanteloison May 02, 2012   Link

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    same for me my parents dont understand and it feels like im a dissapointment to them and everytime i make a decision i end up hurting people some days are better than others the depression comes and goes i guess ...

    Flag ezmryderon February 14, 2013  

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