Wise Up by Aimee Mann

photo published in The Independent

We all have bad habits. People smoke too much, drink too much, get too moody all the time or don't want to let go of people, even though they are long gone. Most of us are aware of our bad habits, but it is so hard to stop them. Often it is a vicious circle and suddenly all your life is related to this one problem you have got. It determines who you are. Aimee Mann gives a solution to that problem, singing: "It's not going to stop, so just . . . give up."

"Wise Up" by Aimee Mann is best known through the American drama film "Magnolia". The film connects stories of nine different people that all have a problem, either a drug addiction, guilt or the inability to forgive.

The song plays an essential role in this movie, as the characters start to sing it, when they realize that their problems are not going to stop - until they wise up.



To be honest, I am not into Aimee Mann's music at all. I do not like her broken lines, she sings as if she is about to fall asleep, the lyrics are too straightforward and her voice annoys me. "Wise Up" still sounds like Aimee is speaking in a clipped manner, the text is as simplistic as "Knocking on heaven's door" and song consists of one piano pattern. However, the piano is a musical device, Aimee Mann does not use in other songs. Most of her songs are dominated by a guitar. But in "Wise Up" Aimee Mann is just accompanied by a piano, which I prefer to her guitar sound, because it is more emotional.

The reason why I like this song is because I love the lyrics. They might be straightforward, but so true. Since I am suffering from depression for more than six years now, I know how hard it is to give up.

Being depressed becomes something you get used to. It's like lying in bed and not wanting to get up and start the day. I feel more comfortable with my self-pity.

The second verse goes like this:

You think
One drink
Will shrink you 'til you're underground
and living down
but it's not going to stop
'til you wise up

This is an allusion to Alice in Wonderland. She was on this adventure, discovering a new world. What she found out was that grass is not greener on the other side. I felt like Alice in Wonderland when I came to England. But, of course, it did not take me long to realize that I can't run away from my problems. So I had to wise up, give up running away, give up my self-pity and change the way I think and the way I was.

Giving up, letting go, forgiving - no one says that this is easy. You don't do it once. No, you have to do it over and over again. Aimee Mann's "Wise Up" gives me the power to give up every day. Because she is right.