What does Unwell mean?

Matchbox 20: Unwell Meaning

Album cover for Unwell album cover

Song Released: 2003


Unwell Lyrics

All day
Staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night
Hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something
Hold on
I'm feeling like I'm headed for a
Breakdown
I...

  1. bonjovifan1994
    click a star to vote
    Jun 18th 2010 !⃝

    A VERY well written song! I've been reading about different interpretations, and if its about a disease or condition or just being lonely, I think its a good song about life and how people always judge certain people, and never get to know them.

  2. taybay39
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    Jun 8th 2010 !⃝

    I don't know if others would agree, but at one point in time I listened to it (I'd heard it a million times. Love MB20) and realized I was feeling the same way. You're just going through the motions of life. Nothing feels important. You're in your own world and you feel as if no one understands. You feel like everything the people around you do is directed towards you, like people whispering. It takes you to the point where you believe that you've lost you're mind and you just want the world to know that you're not crazy and you will come out of it. That's what I think of the song. It's amazing. I love it.

  3. anonymous
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    May 25th 2010 !⃝

    I definitely think it's about a mental condition, most probably bipolar disorder. "Stay around and maybe then you'll see a different side of me" fits that, people who swing from mania to depression and back again. In severe episodes, patients can suffer delusions and become paranoid,and also have sleep problems, all of which are referenced in the song. BTW, my son is diagnosed Bipolar. It's a devastating and misunderstood condition.

  4. anonymous
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    Apr 24th 2010 !⃝

    This song saved me, I suffered from post natal depression which led to serious depression for years. I was functioning, being a mum, being a wife but was never happy. I heard this song when I bought the new (at the time) albulm and cried, then smiled.

    It's so optimistic, it made me feel normal - 'i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell' - and as corny as it sounds, it put everything into a voice for me.

    I love Rob Thomas and the song helped me see that everyone got scared, everyone got confused and there really was hope.

    'but soon enough you're gonna think of me and how i used to be' that was perfect for me to sing to my husband - please stick around i'll be the woman you used to know again.

    I love it and I hope you do too!

  5. mutterman
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    Dec 10th 2009 !⃝

    "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell"
    - Get to know me, find out that although I have issues, I'm a normal human being.
    "Soon enough, you're going to think of me, and how I used to be"
    - You know me. so stop judging me by my recent actions, judge me on my past

  6. anonymous
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    Apr 8th 2008 !⃝

    Hey I actually read somewhere that this, like 3am, was a reference to his mother's cancer. I wish I remembered where it was so I could cite it, but it seems that her symptoms made her a little "unwell".

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  7. anonymous
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    Dec 27th 2007 !⃝

    This song is about falling in love for the first time.... He's scared to fall!
    and everyone thinks he's crazy but he isn't and he lost his mind over a girl. He's crazy over a girl!

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  8. anonymous
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    Dec 16th 2007 !⃝

    I'd say more like insomnia. Chronic fatigue syndrome you're always tired and sleeping.. So my interpretation would be him having insomnia,. In a daze..I don't thing Rob Thomas has CFS I think he has insomnia..

  9. anonymous
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    Oct 24th 2007 !⃝

    It's about having chronic fatigue syndrome. The lead singer has cfs. for those of you who have it or know someone who does have it, it's an extraordinarily debilitating disease which people don't understand. you spend all day in bed and the people that you don't talk to are shallow and misunderstanding. It can get so bad that you can't walk or need a cane to walk around. Seeing some young person with a cane draws a lot of attention from people. people try to encourage you to keep pushing on when you just want to give up. when you have cfs, you are never awake and never asleep. you live in a no-mans land which is confusing for everyone and makes you feel like you are crazy.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 23rd 2007 !⃝

    This song is either about paranoia or drugs.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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