The song is a protest against society's obsession with the pharmaceutical industry, which has become the new way to "attain never-ending, everlasting, abundant life" according to Foreman. Often misconstrued as an anti-drug song, it is rather a harsh commentary on the culture's need to live forever, using drugs as a means to that end.
On September 1st, 2009, Switchfoot announced that they were hiding copies of the new single around the world. The first copy was hidden in Moonlight Beach under a palm tree. The band asked fans that if they were to find a copy to make a copy of the disk, and hide that copy somewhere. The single has since spread from coast to coast and overseas since.
Mess of Me
Switchfoot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am my own disease
There ain´t no drug that they could sell
Ah there ain´t no drugs to make me well
There ain't no drugs
It's not enough
There ain´t no drugs
[Chorus]
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
We lock our souls in cages
We hide inside our shells
It´s hard to feed to the ones you love
Oh when you can´t forgive yourself
Yeah forgive yourself!
There ain´t no drugs
There ain´t no drugs
There ain´t no drugs
The sickness is myself
[Chorus]
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
There ain´t no drug
There ain´t no drug
There ain´t no drug
No drugs to make me well
There ain´t no drug
It´s not enough
We´re breaking up
The sickness is myself
The sickness is myself
[Chorus]
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive
The lyrics of "Mess of Me" by Switchfoot are a raw and vulnerable reflection on the turmoil of struggling with one's own inner demons. The opening lines, "I am my own affliction, I am my own disease," suggest a sense of self-destructiveness that is almost impossible to escape. The singer seems to feel trapped in their own skin, with no hope of finding a cure for their own self-inflicted wounds.
The repeated refrain of "there ain't no drug" further emphasizes this sense of hopelessness. The singer is admitting that no amount of external substances or distractions can fix what is wrong inside them. The sickness is intrinsic and can only be addressed by facing it head-on.
The second half of the song introduces the theme of forgiveness, specifically self-forgiveness. The lines "We lock our souls in cages, we hide inside our shells, it's hard to free to the ones you love, when you can't forgive yourself" suggest that the singer is aware of the pain they may be causing others by being unable to let go of their own mistakes. However, before they can even begin to address the hurt they may have caused others, they must first find it within themselves to forgive their own imperfections.
Overall, "Mess of Me" is a powerful and honest exploration of the difficulties of introspection and self-improvement. The singer acknowledges the depth of their own struggles, but does not give up hope that they can still find a way to reverse the damage they have done and move forward into a healthier, happier life.
Line by Line Meaning
I am my own affliction
I am the cause of my own suffering
I am my own disease
I am the one who is sick and needs healing
There ain't no drug that they could sell
There is no medication that can cure my internal problems
Ah there ain't no drugs to make me well
There are no drugs that can heal me completely
There ain't no drug
Medication can't fix everything
It's not enough
Simply taking a pill is not enough to cure me
The sickness is myself
I am the source of the problem
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I ruined myself, now I want to be myself again
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I want to live my life to the fullest
I wanna reverse this tragedy
I want to undo the damage I have caused to myself
We lock our souls in cages
We keep ourselves trapped in our own negative thinking
We hide inside our shells
We often isolate ourselves from others and from the world
It's hard to free to the ones you love
It can be difficult to open up to those we care about
Oh when you can't forgive yourself
When we can't forgive ourselves, it's hard to move forward
I'm breaking up
The negative and destructive parts of myself are starting to break away
The sickness is myself
I am the root of my own problems
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sonia morales
Mess Of Me
Switchfoot
I am my own affliction
I am my own disease
There ain't no drug that they could sell
Ah, there ain't no drugs to make me well
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
The sickness is myself
I've made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
We lock our souls in cages
We hide inside our shells
It's hard to free to the ones you love
Oh when you can't forgive yourself
Yeah forgive yourself!
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
The sickness is myself
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me
I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
No drugs to make me well
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
We're breaking up
The sickness is myself
The sickness is myself
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me
I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
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Composición: Jon Foreman / Tim Foreman ·
JJ.e Efahs
Dear Switchfoot,
My name is Jonathan Shafe and I am fifteen years old. I discovered your music just recently and fell in love with it. For the first time I heard interesting original melodies and honest lyrics from a Christian perspective--something I had been searching for, for a long time. For awhile now I have been interested in the music industry but have been unable to find any helpful information concerning it. My parents are missionaries in West Africa and I can appreciate so much what you sing about, from my own experiences and life. Music has an effect on people in way that I will never be able to completely understand. I know this is a lot to ask, but could you answer the following questions?
1. How long has your occupation been that of a musical artist?
2. What other occupations have you worked in previously?
3.Do you primarily work with people, things, or ideas?
4. What do you like most about your job?
5. How did you get started as a musical artist?
6. What personal qualities do you feel are needed to succeed as an artist?
7. What type of training is needed for this occupation today?
8. What changes in your job (music-industry-wise) have you seen occur?
9. What are the most frequently recurring problems on your job?
10. Do you have any long-term career goals?
11. Does your job require primarily independent activity or is there a lot of teamwork?
12. Who evaluates your performance and how does that actually take place?
13. Can experience be substituted for formal education credentials?
14. What would you say are the rewards of your position?
15. What hours do you usually work as an artist? Do you find you have free time or is there always a deadline and no flexibility?
16. What types of opportunities for growth and advancement are there as an artist?
17. What would you say is your least favorite thing about being a musical artist?
18. What advise would you give to a person who feels like a career as an artist is what God made them to do, but doesn't know how they should pursue it?
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this questions very much and just know that it means a lot to me. Keep seeking God and don't ever give up! Know that it's worth the pain and the struggle you touch more lives than you could ever imagine.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
james williams
..great song.. under rated band
Brew Bear Brewer
+james williams exactly. i think the main reason for switchfoot's under rated-ness is because many of their songs deliver hard, solid truth, and this world can't accept/handle it.
james williams
..to save a life movie! ..
Gacha Q-Comber!!
I know. This is my favorite band in the entire world
Smiles :)
Way too underrated
Janka Jagielska
Lost in
Arthur Kurbedzis
The track that always makes my heart beat a bit faster.
Tyler Todd
This song always used to play on the radio and my dad and I used to always sing along to it just like all around me by flyleaf and fireflies from owl city, ah, the memories
Tajee
Same bro
Sonia morales
Mess Of Me
Switchfoot
I am my own affliction
I am my own disease
There ain't no drug that they could sell
Ah, there ain't no drugs to make me well
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
The sickness is myself
I've made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
We lock our souls in cages
We hide inside our shells
It's hard to free to the ones you love
Oh when you can't forgive yourself
Yeah forgive yourself!
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
The sickness is myself
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me
I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
No drugs to make me well
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
We're breaking up
The sickness is myself
The sickness is myself
I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I've made a mess of me
I wanna reverse this tragedy
I've made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
Enviar la traducción
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Composición: Jon Foreman / Tim Foreman ·