To me, this song shouts "bipolar disorder." I have a bipolar mom, and I myself am a very sensitive individual who's susceptible to similar disorders. Bipolar disorder is one's tendency to swing between melancholic (depressive) and manic (hyperactive) ends of the emotional spectrum. It depends of the severity of the disorder, but what most people don't realize is that the shift is not always acute; people can remain on either end of the spectrum for days, weeks, months, or years.
I shouldn't imply that Andrew has bipolar disorder because I don't know him, but his lyrics lead me to believe that at the very least, he's a very sensitive person. In "Alien Days," he sings,
"Today, find infinite ways it could be plenty worse,
how it's a blessing but it's also a curse."
To me, he's stating that he's fortunate to have the kind of mind he does, but at the same time, there's an added layer of difficulty for him. Kay Jamison, a psychologist with bipolar disorder, wrote a pretty influential book on the disease called, "Touched With Fire." She makes a very strong case for a link between the manic state of mind and heightened creativity. I think it's possible that Andrew is an example of this. And in An Orphan of Fortune, I think every line can be used to make this case.
"It can't stop now
The signs keep changing on me
Like a shimmering bell
Long waves enveloping me
And my plastic mind,
so chewed and shrieking all the time
feels it whirling by
Morning, afternoon then night,
and I can't get down"
Andrew has been in a manic state of mind for a while now, but his emotions are shifting for the nth time and he just doesn't know what to believe. These long waves and states of emotion have been consuming him for as long as he can remember, and every day they spin his mind around and grind it down. He wants to be even keeled, settled and balanced, but he can't get down.
"If I don't feel right
polishing off the sand,
Lay by me
and we'll erode
as gently as we can,
Into twilight"
Medication can help smooth him out, but it doesn't feel right to lull and dull his emotions. It's not right to cover up our sorrowful hope; we would be hiding ourselves from reality. We must accept the fact that our society and our world are decaying and degrading, and we must feel with it and for it.
To me, this song shouts "bipolar disorder." I have a bipolar mom, and I myself am a very sensitive individual who's susceptible to similar disorders. Bipolar disorder is one's tendency to swing between melancholic (depressive) and manic (hyperactive) ends of the emotional spectrum. It depends of the severity of the disorder, but what most people don't realize is that the shift is not always acute; people can remain on either end of the spectrum for days, weeks, months, or years.
I shouldn't imply that Andrew has bipolar disorder because I don't know him, but his lyrics lead me to believe that at the very least, he's a very sensitive person. In "Alien Days," he sings,
"Today, find infinite ways it could be plenty worse, how it's a blessing but it's also a curse."
To me, he's stating that he's fortunate to have the kind of mind he does, but at the same time, there's an added layer of difficulty for him. Kay Jamison, a psychologist with bipolar disorder, wrote a pretty influential book on the disease called, "Touched With Fire." She makes a very strong case for a link between the manic state of mind and heightened creativity. I think it's possible that Andrew is an example of this. And in An Orphan of Fortune, I think every line can be used to make this case.
"It can't stop now The signs keep changing on me Like a shimmering bell Long waves enveloping me And my plastic mind, so chewed and shrieking all the time feels it whirling by Morning, afternoon then night, and I can't get down"
Andrew has been in a manic state of mind for a while now, but his emotions are shifting for the nth time and he just doesn't know what to believe. These long waves and states of emotion have been consuming him for as long as he can remember, and every day they spin his mind around and grind it down. He wants to be even keeled, settled and balanced, but he can't get down.
"If I don't feel right polishing off the sand, Lay by me and we'll erode as gently as we can, Into twilight"
Medication can help smooth him out, but it doesn't feel right to lull and dull his emotions. It's not right to cover up our sorrowful hope; we would be hiding ourselves from reality. We must accept the fact that our society and our world are decaying and degrading, and we must feel with it and for it.