House

I think beepboopbop hit it on the head about it being about trying to move on from a bad experience. I’m not sure about the mental illness angle, though, unless you’re talking about PTSD. I get a very strong vibe of someone recovering from PTSD. I picture someone who grew up in a household or maybe had a relationship where he experienced some kind of trauma— maybe physical or verbal abuse— and it plagued him for a long time after, gave him flashbacks and nightmares where he was still in it; and now years later he’s in a much better place mentally, but maybe his parents have died and left the house to him, and while it can’t hurt him anymore, he doesn’t want anything to do with it anymore. He had it cleared out, took whatever he wanted to keep, sold or scrapped everything else, and put the house up for sale. And he’s done with it. He’s already dealt with the trauma, the bad memories, he’s gotten therapy, faced his demons, and he just wants to move on.

Now, I'm really not positive, but I'm inclined to think that the house he's speaking of is a metaphor for his mind. Especially the line "I've had the nightmares, I've seen some counselors" makes me think that. I also don't know that Ben Folds has or ever has had any mental health problems, but that's definitely what I think of every time I hear this song. Having recently read "The Goldfinch," in which the main character has PTSD, these lyrics sound to me like those of a person with PTSD, or another anxiety disorder. The person used to be afraid of their thoughts, but now they're not nervous anymore. Instead, they just avoid themselves, and don't think about it.

A beautiful song. Ben Folds can't be beat.

So I am also not positive but I get the vibe that maybe he and his partner, spouse or girlfriend have separated and the house is now up for sale. All the furniture is gone, some moved to her place and some to his. He has seen the counselors about his nightmares over the separation. I am no longer nervous about being alone and in fact I don't want to go back- for all I care blow the house up, bring the ceiling to the ground.

In terms of what Ben Folds meant for the song, I think its about moving on from a bad past experience, the house is just a metaphor for the past.

For me personally when I first heard the song it reminded me of moving on from a nearly deadly suicide attempt I had. "I'm never going back in that house again" meaning I will never get that close to that experience again. Seeing counsellors and nightmares are part of recovering from something like that.

"t's just like waking up In that second and a half The bliss of not remembering Before it all comes flooding back" For me that means, when I wake up in the morning I don't have to remember what I am going through and the trauma I have been through for just a few moments.

"So what do I do as all these voices come and go Could anyone live inside my head and never know" I am schizophrenic so that piece reminds me of myself very much so.

"I'm not sorry For what I'm feeling" I am not sorry for being sick, and feeling this way because I know it not my fault.