Music Therapy: Adam Lambert “Mad World”
April 14, 2009
I’m not always happy… not even close. Like most, I have a darker side.
I recently wrote a post called Depression: The Long Dark Road, in which I shared with you that I used to suffer from depression. In reality, I will always suffer from depression, but now I have learned to live with it, to work around it, to be happy in spite of it, and not to give in to it.Â
David Cain, from Raptitude, recently wrote a brilliant article about How To Keep Bad Moods From Taking You Over, in which he says, “Remind yourself that your perspective is currently limited, and that your faculties of wisdom are currently impaired or dormant.”
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This is something I had to learn the hard way.
I used to believe my depressed brain when it told me that everything in my life was terrible. Now, when my brain says these things, I treat it like the crazy person standing on the street corner, shouting meaningless, incoherent things that have nothing to do with real life.
And yet… I can’t block it out entirely. I still hear the words, even if I don’t believe them.
Recently I found a great song I had never heard before, which pretty much sums up what that gloomy brain says to me on those dark days. If you suffer from depression, these words will be familiar to you. If you know someone who does, this will give you an idea of what they feel on a fairly regular basis.
The song is Mad World, by Tears for Fears. I found a beautiful version performed by Adam Lambert and included the lyrics below for you to read while you listen to the song.
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All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tommorow, no tommorow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very
Mad world… mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very
Mad world… mad world
Mad world… mad world
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Lisis, this is one of my all time favourite songs ever! The original Tears For Fears version was one of the songs that got me interested in music. Thanks for this version which I’d not heard before. And … have you seen Donnie Darko? The song and the movie were made for each other.
Ian | Quantum Learning’s latest post… I also have a dream
Hey, thanks for the shout-out, Lisis.
I had no idea it was a Tears fo Fears song. The first I’d heard of it was the Gary Jules version, in the movie Donnie Darko:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR91Rj1ZN1M
David Cain’s latest post… 9 Thoughts Worthy of Immortality
Hey, guys! Sounds like I need to check out this Donnie Darko, which I’d never heard of. We’re just swapping all kinds of new info today!
This is beautiful…and so true. I, too, suffer from depression, and I can vouch for your words when you say this is what it feels like. I almost allowed my depression to beat me after my divorce, and I spent some time in “Brief Intensive Therapy” as a result. It was there that I learned to listen to the voices, without believing them, as you describe in your post. When I get depressed, the thing that helps me most is telling myself (over and over again) that the pain is temporary, that it will pass soon, and I just have to ride it out until it does. I have to forcibly remind myself that it passes…it always passes, and when it does, I’ll feel better about myself. And I’ll feel stronger for next time, because I’ll know that I beat it before.
Since the time of my divorce, I’ve only been depressed a few times (as opposed to just being sad), but each time that it happens, and I beat it, then I know I’m stronger for my next battle.
Thank you for sharing this.
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Hi Lisis,
I am at work so I cannot play the You Tube video (that is frowned upon) but the lyrics are quite powerful. Reminds me of “It’s A Wild World” which always makes me cry. Depression is one of those things we all have dealt with but no one talks about. Good for you for being so open and knowing how to overcome it! You go, girl!
Nadia – Happy Lotus’s latest post… The Happiness Project: My Interview with Gretchen Rubin
It’s funny (or kinda sad), but I think everyone deals with depression on some level: either they suffer from it, or they know someone who does. I’m not sure which is tougher, being depressed, or knowing that someone you love is depressed and there is not much you can do to help?
In any case, we would all like to be able to be happy all the time, but I just don’t think it works that way. Like everything else in nature, we have cycles… times of energy and vitality, and times for rest and contemplation. Happiness, to me, means finding the right balance between the two.
That’s a great song and I love that version of it. Thanks for posting it so we could view it. And I agree that, on some level, everyone deals with depression — some far worse than others. I don’t think we can be happy all the time (at least I can’t!) but I am doing my best to turn toward the sun and away from the shadows of sadness.
Positively Present’s latest post… capturing the calm of catharsis
It’s so strong of you to be so open about your battle with depression.
With an outlook and an attitude like this, you’ll be fine… I’m sure of it.
Marc and Angel Hack Life’s latest post… How To Live Life
@ Positively Present: That’s all we can do, right?… our best.
@ Marc and Angel: Well if you’re sure of it, then I’m sure of it too!
It’s nice to see your smiling faces over here. Your gravatar always cheers me up!
Put Donnie Darko, Director’s Cut at the top of your NetFlix queue. I can’t believe you’ve never seen it. We’ll watch it together. (I’ve seen the original but not the Director’s Cut.) Also, the whole TFF album, The Hurting, is really good. Check out the songs “The Hurting” and “Pale Shelter.”
Alison | Quest for Balance’s latest post… Music Therapy: Adam Lambert “Mad Worldâ€
@ Ali: You’re getting awful bossy in your “old age”… I think I’m going to have to retract my invitation for you to come out here this week.
But I put it at the top of my Netflix list anyway. Just because you’re bossy, doesn’t mean you’re not right.
I was just listening to the Gary Jules version of this song yesterday. I was aware there was an older version, but I never would have guessed it was by Tears for Fear.
I really like the song.
While it does focus on the dark side of things, it also expresses some unpleasant truths about the general state of the world: how we are too often running in circles, going nowhere, looking right through each other, and passing on the madness to the younger generation.
I’ve certainly been guilty of this at different times in my life. Like the song says: I find it kind of funny – I find it kind of sad.
Thanks for sharing this, Lisis.
Yes, i loved that song too, and especially Adam’s performance (although of course i recently admitted to being in love with Adam Lambert, on the 7 facts post that YOU tagged me for!!)…I have recently been re-reading some Carlos Castaneda, not sure if you ever read his books or not, but his ‘teacher’ Don Juan talks about melancholy and depressive feelings as sometimes the ego’s reaction to touching the void on the underside of existence…as a profound reaction to realizing the immensity of the universe and the smallness of it’s (the ego’s) perspective…so for him, a certain level of melancholy is part of the spiritual process, and an opportunity to embrace truth and humility on a deeper level…of course I realize this is much different than clinical depression, but I still think it offers an interesting perspective for the spiritually inclined…
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Hi, Lisa! I love Carlos Castaneda and had forgotten this whole angle on melancholy and depressive feelings. Thank you for reminding me. I don’t think there is such a great difference between clinical and spiritual depression… “clinical” is probably just the newer (more profitable) term for it.
These moods are definitely part of the spiritual process, and we have them to thank for so many of the artistic masterpieces throughout the ages. Where would art be without melancholy contemplation and the desperate desire to express the inexpressible? “There has to be something better… something more…” and when we strive, we grow. Thank you, so much, for your comment today.
@ Michael… you are welcome. I’m gonna leave it at that, ’cause you know me too well already. =-)
Lisis,
I’ve been depressed before so I think I understand your experience. I think it’s healthier not to block out the negative voices. It’s better to realize that they are just temporary thoughts that will pass like all other thoughts.
I find that the kinds of thoughts you describe sometimes arise when I meditate and I just observe them until they dissolve. This training helps me manage the thoughts when I’m not meditating.
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