Sanity

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1989
First release
No Control (album)
Songwriter
Brett Gurewitz

Lyrics

Sanity

There's a watch in my pocket and its hands are broken. The face is blank but the gears are turning. Confusion is a fundamental state of mind. It doesn't really matter what I'm figuring out, I'm guaranteed to wind up in a state of doubt. And sanity is a full-time job In a world that is always changing, And sanity is a state of mind That you believe in, sanity. There's a shadow on the wall where the paint is peeling. My body's moving forward but my mind is reeling. Depression is a fundamental state of being. It doesn't really matter how my day has turned out, I always end up living in this world of doubt. And sanity is a full-time job In a world that is always changing, And sanity will make you strong If you believe in sanity. And sanity is a full-time job In a world that is always changing, And sanity is a state of mind That you believe in, sanity.

Versions & recordings

Grouped by recording

6

First released on Crossing All Over! · 1993

Appears on

Hazard RadiationBootleg · 2004View 1 version →Live in Denver 2003Bootleg · 2003View 3 versions →Holy SmokeBootleg · 1995View 3 versions →Flat Earth SocietyBootleg · 1995View 1 version →

Song statistics

Archive coverage at a glance

111release versions
#21

21st most featured song

331documented shows
#28

28th most played song

Live through the years

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Song Interpretations

What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.

4

legacy memberJun 25, 2019
I have always thought this song to be about how keeping 'sane' is truly a full-time job. As in, it takes a lot to hold yourself together all day if you suffer from anxiety and always doubting your life and choices it's exhausting. It is a full-time job in your head. Maybe this is a personal interpretation but works for me.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

Perhaps in a song such as this, Brett has found a way to incorporate many meanings which we might not think to do. Personally, when I think of the 'shadow on the wall' I can't help but think of the old 'cave' analogy, in which the shadow is an imperfect projection of reality. If you would buy my contention that schizophrenia is an often recurring theme in this album, it would make sense. Schizophrenics tend to see…

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Perhaps in a song such as this, Brett has found a way to incorporate many meanings which we might not think to do. Personally, when I think of the 'shadow on the wall' I can't help but think of the old 'cave' analogy, in which the shadow is an imperfect projection of reality. If you would buy my contention that schizophrenia is an often recurring theme in this album, it would make sense. Schizophrenics tend to see their own minds as the 'absolute' and thus shrink back away from a 'chaotic scary' world. This, I think, is what the narrator is trying to communicate. And it coincides with one of the two above interpretations: Schizophrenics often see themselves as the only truly sane individual in that with which they are familiar.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

My take on 'Sanity' is that it is literally about the state of being sane and the challenge of maintaining this state in a world gone mad. The watch with the broken hands but turning gears shows the frustration of being rendered useless and ineffectual by society despite the fact that there is still an interior function and consciousness. It also seems that because of this, the gears have begun to grind away like a…

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My take on 'Sanity' is that it is literally about the state of being sane and the challenge of maintaining this state in a world gone mad. The watch with the broken hands but turning gears shows the frustration of being rendered useless and ineffectual by society despite the fact that there is still an interior function and consciousness. It also seems that because of this, the gears have begun to grind away like a disturbed mind. The shadow on the wall evokes an image of someone trying to hide surface imperfections with cheap disguise - like perhaps putting a picture over a hole in the wall. Covering up damage with a false facade, like a madman trying to appear normal to the outside world.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

I think this song is about how information is always being manipulated and changed. The" watch" would be the media. So "it's face is blank, but it's gears are turning," might state that it's not broken, it's still working, only it doesn't tell you anything. "Sanity is a full time job" stands for staying totally informed about everything, with the correct information, is quite hard, and requires a lot of time to fig…

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I think this song is about how information is always being manipulated and changed. The" watch" would be the media. So "it's face is blank, but it's gears are turning," might state that it's not broken, it's still working, only it doesn't tell you anything.

"Sanity is a full time job" stands for staying totally informed about everything, with the correct information, is quite hard, and requires a lot of time to figure what's real and what's sensationalism.

"The shadow on the wall where the paint is peeling" is when some information which was covered up surfaces, they try to put a shadow on it so nobody can see it.