Milt’s Mindful Moment #8

Part 1 of 2 (I’ll finish this one up after the holidays! Give you some time to gnaw on it.)

It was 2006.
A groove, CeeLo’s voice and a tune that’s rooted in a spaghetti western song called “Last Man Standing” by the Reverberi brothers (who also received credit) took the world by storm. It was Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”. I used that tune A LOT to introduce form, as well as how the chorus evolves to create interest. The lyrics of the tune were the result of a discussion between Danger Mouse and CeeLo Green, who make up Gnarls Barkley, about what it’s like to be a musician. Within those lyrics lies a meditation on identity, self-doubt, and emotional unraveling, themes that mirror what countless music educators quietly experience.

Listen closely, and “Crazy” becomes a mirror reflecting the mental and emotional landscape of many of us.

“I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind…”

Those opening lines strike at the heart of the music teaching profession. So many of us can recall when the joy of teaching music gave way to exhaustion — when the purpose that once fueled us began to blur under policy shifts, budget cuts, administration demands, parents, paperwork, testing mandates, covid, changing student demographics, emotional fatigue and more. The repetition of “I remember” feels like a desperate grasp at something we lost: passion, clarity, or even sanity.

“And when you’re out there, without care / Yeah, I was out of touch…”

The paradox of teaching music is that you must care deeply, yet caring too much, too constantly, can push you “out of touch” with yourself. We absorb not just our students’ needs but their anxieties, their families’ expectations, and society’s ever-changing demands. In giving so much, we often lose the space to care for ourselves. The result is emotional depletion disguised as dedication. A “Crazy” form of “compassion fatigue” as the Red Cross calls it. Then comes the chorus…

“Does that make me crazy?”

…a refrain that hits uncomfortably close to home. In a profession that values self-sacrifice, those who set boundaries or challenge the system can be labeled as difficult, emotional, or, indeed, “crazy.” But perhaps, as the song implies, the real insanity lies in a system that asks us to give endlessly without replenishment.

Ponder and we’ll finish this one after the holidays! Here’s to some terrific concerts and great family time!