// Up there a mountain rises
// Down here an ocean dives
// A stranger with a head full of lead
// Photographs me
Someone with a bipolar disorder is brought to an asylum. "Up there, a mountain rises" is the manic phase that was prevalent when he was outside - he was "up", almost "high" and optimistic. "Down here, an ocean dives": Now he is in the depressive phase. Down, dark and deep like an ocean.
He gets photographed when he gets into the asylum, by some stranger, probably someone heavily pierced ( "a head full of lead" ), so the protagonist might think "who is the normal person here? This stranger with the head full of lead??"
// Steel bars and a doctor's note
// Don't give up
// They can plead and beg but don't let them fix your head
He is locked behind bars in an asylum. But the doctors might not just force him into medication without consent. Many people with a bipolar disorder deny taking medication because it does not just take away the dangerous depression but also supresses the manic "high" phase -- so the medication would be a "cure" for optimism too ( hence the song title ).
// Outside a path to knowledge
// Inside a waste of cells
// A serpent with a mobile phone
// Sweet talks me
Again while outside the protagonist was in his manic phase. He felt optimistic, as if he could rule the world. He had all the knowledge ( at least he felt as if he had ). Now he is locked in and could not do anything and even feels down. He is just a waste of cells here. A doctor/psychologist ( or at least someone of the staff since he has a mobile phone and thus contact with the outside world ) tries to talk him into taking the medicine. But the protagonist sees him as a serpent, as a liar who only wants to give him the "cure for optimism".
// Up there a mountain rises // Down here an ocean dives // A stranger with a head full of lead // Photographs me
Someone with a bipolar disorder is brought to an asylum. "Up there, a mountain rises" is the manic phase that was prevalent when he was outside - he was "up", almost "high" and optimistic. "Down here, an ocean dives": Now he is in the depressive phase. Down, dark and deep like an ocean. He gets photographed when he gets into the asylum, by some stranger, probably someone heavily pierced ( "a head full of lead" ), so the protagonist might think "who is the normal person here? This stranger with the head full of lead??"
// Steel bars and a doctor's note // Don't give up // They can plead and beg but don't let them fix your head
He is locked behind bars in an asylum. But the doctors might not just force him into medication without consent. Many people with a bipolar disorder deny taking medication because it does not just take away the dangerous depression but also supresses the manic "high" phase -- so the medication would be a "cure" for optimism too ( hence the song title ).
// Outside a path to knowledge // Inside a waste of cells // A serpent with a mobile phone // Sweet talks me
Again while outside the protagonist was in his manic phase. He felt optimistic, as if he could rule the world. He had all the knowledge ( at least he felt as if he had ). Now he is locked in and could not do anything and even feels down. He is just a waste of cells here. A doctor/psychologist ( or at least someone of the staff since he has a mobile phone and thus contact with the outside world ) tries to talk him into taking the medicine. But the protagonist sees him as a serpent, as a liar who only wants to give him the "cure for optimism".