Pills, Potions, Maladies & Cures

The album draws inspiration from Lavigne’s battle with Lyme disease, with her describing the album as an “emotional journey

Lavigne posted a lengthy letter to her fans on her website detailing her struggle with Lyme disease in the past few years and how she overcame it. This also included a release date for “Head Above Water”. She wrote in the letter about the song “I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going underwater and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe. Praying to God for Him to help me just keep my head above the water. To help me see through the stormy weather.”

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the Borrelia bacterium which is spread by ticks in the genus Ixodes. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans, that appears at the site of the tick bite about a week after it occurred. The rash is typically neither itchy nor painful. Approximately 70–80% of infected people develop a rash. Early diagnosis can be difficult. Other early symptoms may include fever, headache, and tiredness. If untreated, symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains, severe headaches with neck stiffness, or heart palpitations, among others. Months to years later, repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur. Occasionally, people develop shooting pains or tingling in their arms and legs Despite appropriate treatment, about 10 to 20% of people develop joint pains, memory problems, and tiredness for at least six months.

The magnetic fields made chronic illnesses a prime subject of their songs and covered as many as 50 diseases. The lyrics hint towards these diseases and how they can incapacitate a person for so many years, making them long for freedom and control. These diseases are no joke and anyone who is suffering must be treated with utmost care and delicacy because we can never know how much they are suffering.

The handsome Robert Palmer with these exquisite “look-alike” women in this iconic video takes me straight back to the 80s.

Turns out that “Bad case of loving you” was written and originally recorded by Moon Martin in 1978. Robert made it famous the following year. Who knew.

Broken heart syndrome is a condition with symptoms that may feel like a heart attack, like chest pain, and shortness of breath, but it’s caused by going through an emotionally stressful event and triggered by very stressful situations, like the death of someone you love.

Tonight’s song is by one of my favourite artists, and states that ‘nothing aches like a broken heart’.