Calm
Kate Wetherhead Lyrics

So I am on the 6th train heading uptown to my lit. Professors office It's like light years off of campus Don't ask me why I'm sandwiched in-between this guy who's literally drooling And this European hipster who, well lets be honest, smells.
The singer is on her way to visit her professor and is unhappy with her current living and travelling conditions. She is stuck between two unpleasant people and is frustrated by the distance between her current location and the professor's office.

Wood Allen, heard Gershwen in the air when he thought Manhattan Well I'm not so impressed, I hear like Philip lasted best I spend all my time just trying to get Calm But it's not working
The singer is not as impressed by Manhattan as others are. She is frustrated by the fact that she is struggling to calm down and spends most of her time trying to find peace.

Cause like my lit professor told me I'm like flunking out of grad. School I was not aware that flunking out of grad. School was a thing But I've been spending all my saving paying rent and eating pizza Not to mention that this morning I found my dog like Died I don't remember the Muppets getting hives When they took Manhattan But my own diagnosis says I'm creeping toward psychosis Cause I cannot find a place to get Calm It's really hard
The singer is struggling with several issues such as flunking out of grad school, the death of her dog, and the onset of mental health issues. She is having trouble finding peace, and is expressing frustration and desperation.

You know I tried to take up yoga But you'll be surprised how many folks don't think deodorant is Zen I even saw a life coach who told me I should breathe Just breathe But every time I took in a breathe I visualize that life coach's death She's having brunch at cafй Pierre And she's choking And choking And choking Till finally she's calm
The artist has tried various methods to find calm, including yoga and seeing a life coach. However, she has grown tired of these methods and has even imagined her life coach's death. She is still searching for a way to achieve peace.

I'm sorry Anyway, my lit. Professor told me that my thesis on Virginia Woolf Is dangerously close to winding up an incomplete I tell him what I'm working from is not so much a thesis It's the fact that she went crazy And that seems so apropo My professor just tosses back his head And a dry Manhattan I'm wondering which will him quicker The big apple or the liquor When suddenly I panic And I tell myself I must get someplace Calm
The artist's professor tells her that her thesis is incomplete and needs work. She explains that she is using Virginia Woolf's experience with mental illness as a basis for her work, and her professor shows no interest. She is still searching for a way to calm herself.

I up and run toward Penn station like I swear my head was ready to blow And I hop a train to Jersey Just as fast as any person can go Then 90 minutes out I get off at some prudential hamlet I've never heard of There's a real state office right on the block I can afford a two bedroom I go into shock I think, what the heck I write a check Cause there's sunlight, and closets, and laundry But mostly it's calm Calm Calm Calm Calm Really calm Strangely calm Like time square at five A. M. Calm Like totally freak me out calm Like I'm gonna slowly go crazy and throw myself over the balcony calm
The singer runs to Penn station and takes a train to Jersey in desperation. After finding a state office, she finds a calm space to rent a two-bedroom apartment. She is surprised and relieved by the calm of the new space.

Damn it So I tear up my deposit And I head back to Penn station Of course the subway's broken So I walk four miles home And like 14 hours later I get back to my apartment With my crazy spastic roommates And a room, well, of my own I've got this black and white poster on my wall That says "my Manhattan" And I give it the finger But I let my gaze linger And I notice how the buildings line up perfectly in rows And how the city has been planned And how the city planning shows And suddenly I'm stuck with this bizarre old inspiration To like find a real solution and fix my model desolation I sit on my bed And I realize I'm finally Calm
The singer, frustrated with her new rental, tears up her deposit and goes back to Penn station, only to find out that the subway is broken. She walks four miles and eventually returns to her apartment. She has a moment of realization as she looks at a poster on her wall in which she notices the alignment of the buildings and the city's planning, which inspires her to find a way to fix her problems. She finally feels calm, albeit in an unexpected way.