Lyrics for Unwell as interpreted by ruben

Unwell Lyrics
All day
Staring at the ceiling making
Friends with shadows on my wall
All night
I'm hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good
For something

Hold on
I'm feeling like I'm headed for a
Breakdown
I don't know why

(chorus)
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

See me
Talking to myself in public
And dodging glances on the train
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

(chorus)

Talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
They'll be taking me away

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  • 110 Comments
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melm4402
03-29-2005

Rated 0 
Its most definatley a Bipolar song, and I think Rob Thomas is bipolar not just because of this song in particular but almost ALL of his songs.

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melm4402
03-29-2005

Rated 0 
This is definatley a bipolar song. I think Rob Thomas is bipolar because most of his songs are rellated to the disease.

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music2me
03-30-2005

Rated 0 
it might also be about schizophrenia. you know, the really bad mental illness where u hear voices and talk 2 urself and hallucinate and all that
"I'm hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep "

"See me
Talking to myself in public "

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geebeejewell
04-01-2005

Rated 0 
yeah i;m with everybody that said the depression. I've got depression adn its causing HUGE problems in my relationship with my boyf. thats how it feels to me.I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell...and if he hangs around, he will see another side of me....when i'm on medication to help it.

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controversialchick
04-09-2005

Rated 0 
Schizoprenia, I agree. I love this song and I heard it on the radio a long time ago and couldn't find it anywhere. This song is my favorite mtachbox twenty song for sure. It's depression and mental...issues.

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perintastic
04-11-2005

Rated 0 
i do believe rob thomas was talking about how when he's out, he gets paranoid because people look at him and he's not sure if they're like, "hey, that's rob thomas!" or "oh man, it's that lamer from matchbox twenty" and he took that as the basis for the song and went from there.



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happily_sullen
04-17-2005

Rated 0 
its about people thinking you are completely effed up and you saying that you aren't, but because of what everyone is saying you drive yourself insane to actually become screwed up

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march hare
06-01-2005

Rated 0 
This song came out right after I was diagnosed with a mental disorder, and it made me feel like I wasn't alone. I love it!

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WingedWombat
06-02-2005

Rated 0 
It may not be the direct meaning Rob Thomas intended with the song, but, as march here's post said, this song has tremendous meaning for those of us who actually have mental disorders such as depression or schizophrenia, for those of us who actually spend hours staring at the ceiling, hearing voices and being paranoid.

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joeyness
08-02-2005

Rated 0 
I'm feeling like I'm headed for a
Breakdown

Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow
I've lost my mind


Rob Thomas is paranoid, hearing voices, talking to himself in public and he is aware something is wrong with him and he lost his mind

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hunnybee4u
08-10-2005

Rated 0 
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!

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Gabigs
08-20-2005

Rated 0 
I think this song is definitely about depression, any kind of it (medical or phsicological), I don't see Rob talking about a breakup or something like that, but he is singing it to someone he cares for.

I heard this song when I was in a very particular down moment in my life (like I am feeling nowadays again), and it does describe perfectly the way you feel inside. You know you're down, you can hear people talking about you, their words being so hurting. And when I am so down inside, I look away, I hide my glance, feeling so shy, believing that anyone can see what a crap I've become "dodging glances on the train..."
The way I see this song (back then and now again), is like me saying these words to a fomer friend-lover of mine...we had lost touch, and so I used to think "i know right now you can't tell...I know, right now you don't care"...but I always thought that he would remember me eventually, and see what he missed "but soon enough you're gonna think of me and how I used to be". I am aware now I am a mess...but just remember who I was to you.
But I also see a grasp of hope there, saying that "now I'm all screwed up, I am aware of it, but I know that someday , I don't know when, I will be fine...I will be myself again."

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ChubbyPrincess
09-10-2005

Rated 0 
I absolutely don't think this song is meant to be about splitting up with someone. In my eyes, it's about how you feel miserable every now and then and what others think about being depressed. It's like every sign of weakness and of feeling unwell you show is taken as something negative and as something crazy or insane by people surrounding you as many of them can't deal with it while they're busy pretending they're fine themselves so they can't deal with other people's problems and don't want to so they just think of those ones as being crazy. This song wants to tell that just because you don't feel well don't mean you're unnormal or worth less than a "normal" person, even though this might be what you feel. It says that it's just a phase that you have sometimes. And I think the song is quite hopeful and encouraging you to feel better about yourself and not let others bring you down.

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ibolynn
09-28-2005

Rated 0 
I love this song. I, myself, have depression, and I work with others that have mental illnesses as well. When listening to this song, as well as watching the video, it's obvious that Rob is talking about not just mental illnesses, but any kind of illnesses, and the stigmas and labels that are attached to someone. It's easy to look at someone and say, 'Oh, s/he's depressed, s/he must be a crazy person'. Or even 's/he's blind, they're handicapped!' Instead of seeing someone for who they are, people tend to see people by their symptoms or conditions. And as a note to zacster, paranoia is a type of mental illness. :}

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Hereticman
10-13-2005

Rated +1 
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.

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rock567
03-05-2006

Rated 0 
Amazing Song, so much better acoustic.. much more meaningful

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omegaRED
03-11-2006

Rated 0 
We`re all fucked up. Yet, often we make it look like we`re strong, and act like the bad things that happen to us don`t affect us so strongly, yet it shows, we put on faces, and we ask ourselves if people can tell there`s something wrong with us... And we avoid their gaze, hoping they won`t notice... And after that phase of "i`m crap" passes, you know... You`re not perfect, you`re fucked up, just like everybody else, but that`s ok. It`s not crazy... It`s just a bit... "Unwell" :) And i`m ok with it ;)

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rock567
03-13-2006

Rated 0 
I'm feeling unwell right now :(:(:( i'm so depressed

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tileman_01
05-05-2006

Rated 0 
This song might be about either schizophrenia or Alzheimers Disease, because in both diseases the victims hear voices and imagine scenes that arent't real. But the victim (the narrator) wants people to know that although he has a mental illness, he doesn't want to be seen just for that, he doens't want to be reffered to as "that guy with that disease." I LOVE this song, it's so beautiful and meaningful

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RockRapListen
06-09-2006

Rated 0 
This song, to me at least, is kind of depressing...

Like, the guy has some problems, maybe schizophrenia(sp) or something, but because of it people talk about him, reject him. He's trying to tell them that he's not insane, he's not crazy.

Makes me sad. But it's a great song.

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Coyoteman
06-24-2006

Rated 0 
I really don't know the TRUE meaning of this song, but I like the chorus part because I could say it to a person, and it would be true. I am a little crazy at times and I do have different sides of myself.

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flaminmofo
07-11-2006

Rated 0 
basically yea. no one's perfect. and they're not always one way. just stay awhile and maybe then u'll c a different side of me

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ink_on_fabric
07-31-2006

Rated 0 
Heh. I was scrolling through the comments trying to see when someone would FINALLY bring up schizophrenia. Because bingo. That's it.

At first, I thought it could be either about schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease. However, people with Alzheimer's disease rarely know they have it. The thing with schizophrenia is that they DO know they have the disease (because they take prescribed pills for it). Also, they rarely want to admit it. (As the man in the song is trying to get across. He doesn't want to admit that he does, in fact, have a problem.)

Now, as a person said before, every person can interpret the song differently. We are human after all. We have separate thoughts. But I for a fact know this song is about schizophrenia because it runs in my family. (Yep. I'm a prime candidate for it. I'm only 15 and my therapist & doctor are already seeing signs.) Just like the video, one with a mental illness can see things that aren't really there. Or that other people can't see, rather. (Hallucinations) Hearing voices in your head, even having conversations with those voices, is also extremely common. Believing that everyone around you is talking about you is a sign of Paranoid Schizophrenia, the most common. (However, most forms of schizophrenia branch from Paranoid schizo.)

Eh. So to finish off. To me, it's a personal song which I can completely understand. Mental illness is scary. The man in the song is obviously afraid and frustrated. Whether or not you have a mental illness, everyone feels afraid, alone, and frustrated sometimes. (As someone said earlier, this could be after a breakup.)

Fin.

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SwimAndy013
09-23-2006

Rated 0 
I don't think he's really talking about being schizophrenic or any real mental disorder. I think it's about a relationship and he still likes the girl, but they broke up. And he's just being depressed over her, and he's just saying he's not crazy, just a little unwell. Also he's telling the girl she's eventually going to think of him and how they used to be when they were together.

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aronoele
10-03-2006

Rated 0 
For me, this song is about someone who is aware of who he is, but the others just don't seem to notice. They are so superficial that they don"t take the time and energy to come to know someone/something. The line 'But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see a different side of me' perfectly describes how I feel about some people, and that's why I love this song.

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