What does Mad Hatter mean?

Melanie Martinez: Mad Hatter Meaning

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Album cover for Mad Hatter album cover
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Mad Hatter Lyrics

My friends don't walk they run.
Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun.
Poppin', poppin' balloons with guns.
Gettin' high off helium.
We paint white roses red.
Each shade from a different person's head.
This dream, dream is a killer,...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Mar 30th 2018 !⃝

    I have a mental illness as well, so I understand the feeling of being a crazy person, and being very different from society. The normal people scare her because they cannot relate and they are trying to make her be someone else. There are many Alice in Wonderland references, that make sense as everyone there is crazy and makes her feel better. I do have depression/anxiety so this song is my favorite and is personally relatable. Thx 4 reading

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Mar 18th 2017 !⃝

    It's about Crybaby finally finding her clique,people who are just like her. She came from a broken home surrounded by madness so she kinda accepted her own craziness and embraced her crazy side.
    She finds normal people scary and that's a metafore for non-conformism and not fitting in with what's considered normal. Melanie herself actually is kinda "on the crazy side" so she decided to put it into lyrics...and nailed it :)

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    May 9th 2018 !⃝

    I just think it's about crybaby wanting to be not alone while her teddy bear friends like her the way she is crazy fun and phyco so she is mad as hatter and loves it

  4. anonymous
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    Today, 01:05 !⃝

    i think the song can be about alot of different things. the first lines stick out to me alot, yes they were shown before you click to write your interpretation but thats not the reason here. thinking about it, the song is portaying being mentaly unstable and unhinged, hence why the line"we paint white roses red, each shade from a different persons head" sticks out to me.

  5. anonymous
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    Oct 8th !⃝

    I think it’s more about being neurodivergent than mental illness. When she says “the normals make me afraid” she’s talking about neurotypicals not accepting her. She also talks about neurotypicals thinking she is crazy for the way she is. The “crazy people” she is referring to are just other neurodivergent people. “My brain is scattered” could be just neurodivergent traits like adhd or autism for instance.

  6. anonymous
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    Apr 23rd 2023 !⃝

    Everyone here is saying it’s about mental illness but I personally think it’s about being neurodivergent, if you think about it, it makes sense. She talks about how “normals” try to make “crazies” act normal. It’s obvious if you listen.

  7. anonymous
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    Apr 13th 2023 !⃝

    This song is about mental illness and how accepting yourself as crazy just drives you insane, in my opinion.

  8. anonymous
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    Jan 30th 2023 !⃝

    This song shows Melanie/crybaby and her mental illness, and how she and other people see her as a crazy person. She feels safer with other "crazies" because she can relate to them. She is scared of the normal people because they attempt to change her and make her fit into the "sane" category, as she says "all the best people are crazy".

  9. anonymous
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    Dec 12th 2022 !⃝

    Mad Hatter is a confusing song that you need to hear many times to understand. If you don't know, one of Melanie's songs (crybaby) introduced the character crybaby, so here "crybaby" has finally found her friends who are just as "crazy" as she is and "The normals, they make me afraid The crazies, they make me feel sane" It explains that normal people perceive her as "crazy," but the "Crazies" make her feel sane because they perceive her craziness as normal there, whereas the "normies" dislike her craziness. In conclusion I believe Melanie has always been judged for being different than others, which I believe is a sign that she has some kind of mental illness like depression, ADHD, or something else, so now that she has found her friends, she feels great and is accepting of her "craziness" and letting it take over.

  10. aiza
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    Nov 21st 2022 !⃝

    "so what if i'm crazy? the best people are" in my opinion, means that meeting people(normals) is unsettling to mentally ill individuals. some may find "crazies" rather fun to be around, we can be interesting. these "normals" don't get it, they just can't relate. "the crazies, they make me feel sane." represents mentally ill people associating with other mentally ill people. martinez likes the group of "crazies" to stick together because we connect and we're understood by each other. us,"crazies" fear the normals because they're individuals in which we do not understand, and vice versa.

  11. anonymous
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    May 29th 2022 !⃝

    I absolutely looove, this song so much! I can very much relate to Melanie/ Crybaby. (And even the mad hatter) I used to have lots of fake friends who had taken advantage of me while I thought they actually cared about me. Not to long ago I found someone who actually cared about me as a friend and is just as phsyco as me! :) I've discovered that people called me crazy at school for having thoughts of imaginary things that seems absolutely absurd and impossible to accomplish. (They were wrong) ;) in conclusion I feel like people who are "crazy" in general know how to have more fun than "normals" do. My favorite parts of the song are:
    "The normals they make me afraid, the crazies they make me feel sane."
    "You think I'm phsyco you think I'm gone tell the physiatrist something is wrong!"
    "So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are." I especially love the beats of the song and the ending part. I can really relate to crybabys life and I just wanted to say thank you Melanie Martinez this song actually changed my life and taugh me that it's ok to be yourself, After all, So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are!

  12. anonymous
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    Mar 20th 2022 !⃝

    This song is most likely about someone that is insane that may be in a psych ward that feels like an outsider to the nurses or 'normals' and feels like they fit in with the other people in the ward.

  13. anonymous
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    Mar 4th 2021 !⃝

    Hey! So this is my interpretation. Mad Hatter is the continuation of Crybaby losing herself. After the events of Tag, You're It and Milk and Cookies, from what I've taken in, she doesn't feel like herself and is going insane.

    Ok, that's the summary of the plot, now for the explanation of what the song is about


    Mad Hatter is about society (like the entire album).
    It's basically saying that society, will call you crazy if you a different, and you accepting that because it's what you been known as. I know that's confusing sorry

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 5th 2020 !⃝

    In my mind I think I'm crazy but I am still a good friend. In this song, Melanie Martinez is trying to say that she has mental issues too so you don't have to think your the only one out there and that its perfectly logical to be scared of it. I think it is saying to be proud of who you are and cherish it because your a one in a kind and that's what true friends love about you.I also have thoughts I shouldn't and I hear voices and see things but I now I'm ok and won't hurt anyone. I might have issues but doesn't mean I care, you need to be you whether you keep it or share it. Don't be ashamed of who you are. Peace :) !

  15. anonymous
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    Oct 3rd 2020 !⃝

    It’s basically about how Crybaby is different from the others. In the music vid, all of Crybaby’s friends from K-12 appear round her bed. They touch her or something (I forgot) and she has a dream about some kind of big furry teletubbies that would help and save her no matter what. Also, they were a bit crazy. (All the ‘crazy’ stuff in the music video represents how Crybaby and her friends-to-be are different from the others, they have special powers and they can see the world how it really is, this is shown in Drama Club from K-12
    It’s the last song in Melanie’s first album, and it’s about Crybaby realising she’s different, and in the music vid, it’s probably the night before Crybaby’s first day of school.

    Have a nice day/night!

  16. anonymous
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    Jul 23rd 2020 !⃝

    I think that Melanie is trying to express her and friends she’s had, some just like her(crazy in the best way ever) and normal people(in a sense kinda like Barbie dolls) I had a friend named Carly once and she was “perfect” but then I realized she was actually a bully in a costume. Then I met my bestie Claire, she is just like me! Crazy in the best way possible. We have sometimes been made fun of for being ourselves and expressing what we like and I think this song encourages to be unique! Because like I always say “the only sense of true perfection is being your true self”

  17. anonymous
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    Jul 19th 2020 !⃝

    I think that normal people scare her because they tease her and that is what scares her then she says 'The crazies, they make me feel sane.' because they understand her so they make her feel normal (in her own way of course).

  18. anonymous
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    May 15th 2020 !⃝

    Short simple answer: She is insane and finally found people like her. Hopefully this was a bit helpful even tho it was short.

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