Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds (2006)
This song can be used to supplement the study of Rosenhan’s On Being Sane in Insane Places study. The lyrics below demonstrate the tie-in, and I use this after we cover the study, and the kids make the obvious connections. If you are familiar with the study, the connection between the study and the opening verse will be evident. (If you are not, click the link above for a 3 minute video on the study.)
Excerpt
There’s nothing to do here, some just whine and complain, in bed at the hospital
Coming and going, asleep and awake, in bed at the hospital
Tell me the story of how you ended up here, I’ve heard it all in the hospital
Nurses are fussin’ , doctors on tour somewhere in India
I got one friend laying across from me
I did not choose him, he did not choose me
We’ve got no chance of recovery
Sharing hospital joy and misery, joy and misery, joy and misery
There is a pretty random set of lyrics that appear in the middle of the song with no definite connection to anything, and I ask the students about them. Some have suggested that it is the patient’s delusional, incoherent thinking, perhaps suggesting schizophrenia. If I am missing some deeper meaning, please let me know! The lyrics are:
Vietnam, fishing trips, Italian opera
Vietnam, fishing trips, Italian opera
