Lyrics: "Mess of Me" by Switchfoot

This is a fantastic song that I first heard in the trailer for the (also fantastic) movie To Save a Life. It's a song by Switchfoot, from their CD "Hello Hurricane." Buy the song and CD here.

I love this song because it emphasizes personal responsibility for your problems (from the start--the first line is "I am my own affliction."). In our culture, we too often see the blame for our problems placed on others. Statements like "They forced me to," "I had no choice," and "You made me this way" are all too common. Switchfoot reminds us that we make our own choices and are responsible for finding solutions to our own problems and dealing with the consequences of our behavior.

In addition, the singer takes responsibility for his problems. He's brave enough to face his problems and say "I did this."

The other reason I love this song is because the speaker resolves to recover their life. They don't take a victim mentality of "I can't help it" or "I can't control myself," and they don't decide to accept their altered state in words like "This is who I am" or "I can't change who I've become." Instead, the singer decides to push to solve the problems he created and to live a better life for himself.

LYRICS:

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
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
The sickness is myself-

I made a mess of me
I wanna get back the rest of me
I made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I made a mess of me
I wanna the get back rest of me
I made a mess of me
I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
The rest of my life alive

We lock our souls in cages
We hide inside our shells
It's hard to free the ones you love
Oh when you can't forgive yourself
Yeah forgive yourself

There ain't no drug
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 life alive
The rest of my life alive

There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
There ain't no drug
No drug to make me well
There ain't no drug
It's not enough
I'm 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 life alive
The rest of my life alive