Get Well

From Ariel herself, as interviewed by New Release Tuesday:

"The song...was basically a wakeup call for me when I realized that a lot of my friends from high school, the only thing we had in common anymore was that we all hated life at one point and we would get together, as youth often do, and talk about how crappy everything was and how much we wanted to get out of the town we were in and all that stuff and I realized that I had nothing in common with these people except for that negativity.

So, it’s kind of me saying, “Let’s grow up.” I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. It’s not necessarily a popular view at a teenager’s age to want to be happy and there are definitely a lot of pity parties going on and it’s kind of wanting to move beyond that."

http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/article.php?article_id=765

Firstly, I'm surprised to be the first to comment.

I really like this song and the band as whole. They're pop-rock mixed with a bit of hip-hop and much grunge. Very contemporary and pleasant to the ear as well.

Up to this point "Get Well" is my most favorite Icon for Hire song. I'm nearly sure it's about times when you wish you didn't fake or lie earlier. It's about posers, mainly in gangs and stuff. The line that reveals the meaning is "And being lonely's only fun in a group, it sorta loses it's charm when it's true". Sometimes people lie just to be noticed and most of the time they do it so much that it's unclear whether they lie or speak the truth when they're really in need of help.

This band, Ariel (the lead singer) and their debut ("Scripted", released in August) are all brilliant. I do hope they get the recognition they deserve.

I reckon it's more like "hurts like hell". That makes more sense than "hurts like help" and is the usual idiom for lots of pain of various kinds.

Ariel is hot, just putting that out there.

This song is about feeling lonely and negative all the time and needing to get help but your friends all think it's fun and games to pretend like they are unhappy to get attention. She realizes that they don't have to live that way anymore-they don't have to be negative and unhappy, they can live their lives upbeat and happy but they have to get help and some of them in her group need to stop pretending to be unhappy for the attention because one day they will wake up and find that their lies become the truth.

"We throw tantrums like parties We're not happy 'til everyone knows we're sick And that's just how we like it We've hurt bad enough, right, we've earned it"

They have pity parties, and they aren't satisfied until they get the attention they want by constantly trying to make people feel sorry for them. They think it's alright to do so since they really have been in so much emotional pain.

"Don't tell the others but it's all getting old I mean, how many more times must our stories be told? And being lonely's only fun in a group It sorta loses it's charm when it's true"

I imagine her talking to some other person from her group that agrees with her. She is saying that all this negative talk and lies is getting really old, she doesn't want to live this way anymore. She wants to know how many times people are going to try to get pity from others. She realizes that she really IS lonely, she isn't just saying so for attention anymore, and it doesn't seem so great anymore now that it is the truth.

"I meant it when I said "I wanna get well, I wanna get well" Are the rest of you so content? Then stay where you are, but it hurts like help And I'm sure it's fun at first Test your pulse and check your vitals If it's only a game, you lost me I quit it with the suicidal recital"

This is her talking to the group. She is saying that she is fed up with everything, she really is going to get help (like therapy), and she is asking them if they are okay with living this life that way and if they are to stay in that position but she is leaving the group to live a happier life. She's saying if it was only to get a cry for attention she lost the "game" because she has found all of those lies to be the truth (she is alone, negative and unhappy...she has become her lies for attention)

"So now you know all my secrets I want out, I know I don't need this Can you find me friends that don't rank me on what I've been through? The more our battle scars, the more attention it gets you"

Now the group knows the truth, that she doesn't want to be there anymore. She wants out of the group

So I kinda think this song it not only a cry out for help, but also a comment on society today. When it says 'we're not happy until everybody knows we're sick', it could mean the sheer number of teenagers these days who perhaps self harm or act in a certain way for attention. It seems like the say with 'how many more times must our stories be told' because many young people who are in these awful situations tend to tell as many people as possible about what they are going through, just for the attention. When it speaks about 'I want to get well' I think it means that they want to change how they are, start living a normal and happy life. Then it reflects on the other people who are like they were ('are the rest of you so content'), and compares their better life to the frankly shitty cycle of hurting for attention, getting unwanted attention, and therefore hurting more. It implies that there is a better alternative for everyone, and that people who are stuck like this can, after all they have been through, 'get well'.