Nurses Office by Melanie Martinez

Context

Nurse’s Office by Melanie Martinez is a pop song that was released in 2019. The song is about a fictional character’s, Cry Baby, experience of being bullied at school. Through the use of metaphors in the lyrics, the key themes of bullying and social anxiety are represented. These themes are very relevant to all people but especially to those in school.

Bullying

In the song, Nurse’s Office, the psychological theme if bullying is constantly repeated. Throughout the song we hear Cry Baby’s cries for help as she gets constantly teased and harassed. Her peers even go as far to cut her hair off. However it is clear the teachers do not care, “Teacher, can I sit right there? This bitch behind me is cutting my hair/ “No just sit your ass down at the chalkboard, you stare”/ I faked up a seizure and left then and there.” This line shows the severities of Cry Baby’s bullying yet the teacher ignores it. Cry Baby cannot handle the constant bullying and feels forced to fake a medical emergency to leave.

Unfortunately this situation is still very common in schools as many kids get bullied everyday. Although teachers are trained to keep an eye out and prevent bullying, some teachers choose to ignore and allow the harmful teasing to continue. In Cry Baby’s case she feels so overwhelmed from these attacks from her peers that seeks to be alone where she is safe. This leads to her faking medical emergencies so she can escape to the nurse’s office where she can escape the pressure from the outside world. This happens in our society, where kids will fake being sick to get out of class or to get out of a whole day of school. This is devastating as school is supposed to be a safe place to learn. Luckily there has been many platforms created to prevent and help people who are being bullied.

Social Anxiety

Throughout the song, the psychological idea of social anxiety is hinted at by Cry Baby’s clear discomfort in social situations. Although Cry Baby literally cannot feel comfortable in class due to bullying, this harassment may have lead her to develop social anxiety. In Nurse’s Office, Cry Baby just wants to go home, no matter what class she may have and no matter who she may have in the class. She does not want to face her anxious feelings in social situations and rather be home. At home she would not feel judged to conform to societal norms and feel emotionally stressed for possible social interactions.

Unfortunately social anxiety has become more common and is often diagnosed in people who have had childhood trauma such as bullying. Feeling constantly on edge with fear in situations where you may be scrutinised by others becomes so overwhelming you rather be by yourself. Social anxiety can really affect a person as it changes how their perspective on relationships, outside situations and their identity. It can be detrimental to someone’s health as it can prevent them from doing things they love and seeing people they love. If you have a feeling you may be struggling with social anxiety reach out to a professional.

(@MelanieMartinez)

I found this song to be very heartbreaking as no one should have to feel on edge and judged at somewhere they should feel safe. Nurse’s Office is even more distressing knowing that many kids go through this on a daily occurrence. It is tragic that people think they have to fake a medical emergency just to feel safe and not be scrutinised. I think this song is very accurate to how people may feel going though school and I think if you can deeply relate this song you should reach out for help.

How did you interpret this song?