Melanie Martinez - Recess Meaning

Recess Lyrics

I was too young to see the truth
In my grandma's lap, I'm drowning in her perfume
Too naive to even care
'Bout the words she whispered while she brushed out my hair
People gonna say
If you need a break, someone'll take your place
People...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Sep 6th 2020 !⃝

   In my opinion this song is basically about taking a break if you feel the need to. Melanie is an artist and people are pushing her everyday to creating new songs and they don't care about her mental health. The first verse is a childhood memory. Crybaby is a little girl and doesn't quite understand what her grandma is trying to tell her. "People gonna say, if you need a break someone will take your place."-people will forget about you and find somebody else in your place if you'll want to stop and take some time for yourself. "People gonna try to tell you that your fine with dollars in their eyes"-people only care about themselves and tell you that you are fine because you give them what they want if you are "fine". The second verse and the bridge may be Melanie's experience. She achieved a lot and became successful but doesn't feel right. She feels like her time is gone and remembers her grandma's words "don't let them f*ck you honey...". She decides to take a break, a "recess" in order to improve her metal health even though the show-biznes and some people aren't happy with this, she knows that self-care is more important than making money and becoming a successful toy of the show-biznes.
   It's just my interpretation, sorry if I got something wrong.
2. anonymous

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   Jan 12th 2023 !⃝

   I think the song recess is about how sometimes we need a break. It could also mean people may replace you with someone new and you should just forget about them, and you shouldn’t feel hurt because they were not good people. :)
3. anonymous

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   Sep 2nd 2022 !⃝

   I think Recess is about two things, taking a break if you need to and depression or something similar. The first part is a childhood memory (like others have said) with her grandma when she was little.
   The pre-chorus is about how people won’t let others take a break even if they need to. Others will take their place if they stop. ‘People gonna say, “If you need a break, someone will take your place.”’
   The chorus is her saying don’t let others do that to you, don’t let them hurt you. If you’re exhausted, just take a break. ‘Don’t let them f**k you honey’ ‘Don’t let them hurt you, baby, just say recess I’m tired.’
   
   I think the second part can kind of relate to depression or some other mental illness that is causing her to stress. ‘I should be happy, but I can’t get out my bed. Stressing ‘bout the voices screaming inside my head’.
   I don’t know how to explain the bridge, but this is my interpretation! Thank you for reading it all, forgive me if some bits are wrong.
4. anonymous

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   Apr 6th 2021 !⃝

   This song (in my opinion) is Melanie reflecting on her grandma's advice.
   "I was too young to see the truth, in my grandma's lap I'm drowning in her perfume, too naïve to even care, bout the words she whispered while she brushed out my hair" From these lines, it's easy to infer that Melanie didn't see the dangers of the music industry and how it can wear her down, she didn't care about what her grandma was saying, but now she's reflecting on her younger self receiving this advice.
   
   "People gonna say if you need a break, someone will take your place, people gonna try and tell you that your fine with dollars in their eyes" People always want money, especially superficial people. Melanie talks about people using her talent for money ("The teachers don't care about me, fuck how I feel as long as I make money"-Detention). It gets to the point where Melanie is completely exhausted but people are saying that she's fine just so they can get their money.
   
   "Don't let them fuck you, honey no oh, don't let them try too (ooh ooh ooh ooh) don't let them hurt you baby just say, recess, I'm tired"
   Here, her grandma is saying "Hey, they're gonna use you for money to the point where your exhausted and your brain hurts, when this happens, just take a break and let yourself recharge.
   
   "Sitting in my room, looking at all I've done, everything I've wanted has come through fruition, I should be happy, but I can't get out my bed, Stressing bout the voices screaming inside my head" Melanie obviously has come very far, with millions of fans, her own team, and her amazing albums and eps. You would expect her to be happy, but she can't even leave her bed because of how worn out she is. The voices in her head are telling her "Your fans are counting on you, your boss is counting on you, get over yourself."
   
   "Where is my time? Gone in my mind? Gone I can't find Euphoria, when I get upset, I think in my head, I do as she says" This is her returning to her grandma's advice. I also think that in this lyric she's sort of letting us infer that her grandma has passed "Where has my time gone in my mind"
   
5. anonymous

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   Jan 22nd 2021 !⃝

   I feel like it's about how she thought Leo cared about her, but then he gave that announcement and right after the song comes on. I think she is remembering her grandmother's words. She sees that Leo and most people in K-12 did not care for her and instead just wanted the money. Sorry if it's bad, this was my first time.
6. anonymous

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   Nov 6th 2020 !⃝

   Okay so what I think about the Song "Recess" It do have a deep meaning in my head it because when it says "People gonna say
   If you need a break someone'll take your place" it kind of gets me. I would think it means Take a break if you have to. Don't let them be in your life if they don't know you at all in my saying. I would say it as a really deep meaning.
7. anonymous

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   Sep 10th 2020 !⃝

   My interpretation is talking about toxic people/friends. For example, "People gonna say, if you need a break someone will take your place." That line may be referring to friends, where they find another friend and replace you, but I feel like the other interpretation is better. :)