“I’m Fine”…. But Are We?
Song & Discussion Resources to address grief, disappointment, and COVID-19 related emotions
How many times a day do we get asked the question, “How are you?” to which a frequent reply is “I’m fine, how are you?” (This may just be a Midwest, USA conversation, but I digress). The question is though – are we really fine? I’ve found during this season of COVID-19 that it’s been easy to push away any feelings of grief, disappointment, or reaction to change in the name of persevering. Or, on the flip side, I’ve noticed it’s difficult to identify the words you want to speak or feelings you need to express during a time that quite frankly no one has experienced before.
The American Music Therapy Association recently hosted a songwriting competition based on COVID-19. I was inspired by the idea above, that maybe we aren’t as “fine” as we say we are. I wanted to create a song that provides opportunities to discuss complicated emotions and the other complexities of this year. The song also does not mention COVID-19 by name, so it has the flexibility to be applied to other hardships that people may face now or in the future. What I came up with is called “I’m Fine (But That’s a Lie)”- a tragic song about heartache and grief.
I’ve created several resources for music therapists to use at their discretion, including: a recorded version of this song, a lead sheet in two keys, a discussion guide, and a lyric video (shown above). Just enter your email below & you will be taken to a new page to download the resources.
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Please remember to be considerate of your audience and their emotional/mental wellbeing prior to introducing this song.
Music provides an incredible opportunity to foster expression & healing, but can also unearth trauma or cause harm.
Credits: I had help from several wonderful friends, so I want to make sure they get credited. Thank you to Lucas Norton for spending a whole evening with me recording this song. He’s the produced/engineer of the track you’re receiving. Thank you also to Alaina Kemerly of Whimsical Life Visuals for turning what I envisioned in my head for the lyric video into a reality. This is the first song I’ve written on my own to put out into the world & I’m grateful to have a supportive community to help make it happen.
