This song is the first song on Rex Orange County’s new album The Alexander Technique.
Article Excerpt
Alexander – Rex Orange County
I’ve had back pain for most of my life
And the most I ever did was see the doc
And the doc told me that my back was alright
He had initials in his shirt, he had a nice expensive watch
I thought he knew what he was doing or at least what was right
He made me fill a piece of paper out with different questions all about
My health, wellbeing and the state of my life
I told the truth, I’m only lying to myself if I should lie
So, I answered everything and did my best to keep it real in bеtween the lines
I gave it back to him, hе took his time and read the paper over once or twice
He looked at me as if to say, “I need to tell you something”
“And don’t prepare for me to tell you something nice”
He wanted to know just much I tend to drink and smoke
I told him, how it was and then he gave me this advice
He said, “Ease up on stress, you don’t help yourself much”
“It’s too intense for you to take, you’ll only tense up”
“And you see you have these issues and you struggle to relax”
“So, you come see me, the doctor, to get something for your back”
“But this piece of paper tells me that there’s more that you should address”
“I see some anger in you, plus addiction, plus the rest”
“I feel like we should speak about this ‘fore it comes first”
“And I know a lot of people who can help for what it’s worth”
I said, “I don’t know if you don’t understand, man, my back just fucking hurts”
Do I need physiotherapy? Or is it something worse?
He paused and then he asked me what I thought we should do
I said, “If I knew that then you wouldn’t be here, man, I’m asking you”
He handed me to someone who gave me a blood test
Who handed me to someone else who took my payment and took all of my fucking patience
I should add, at this point, the doctor had already left
And I resented that man, I never went back to him again
But you know, in a weird way, I feel like maybe he was right
I may be using my back pain to distract from the pain of life
Feel it all externally, when really it’s just inside
Procrastinating confrontation every single time
So, thank you, Mr. Doctor man, I’m now being sincere
I guess I just didn’t wanna hear what I didn’t wanna hear, okay
Relevance
This song is a very recent release from the artist Rex Orange County, and it is the first song on his new album “The Alexander Technique”. This song is interesting to me because it is delivered in a unique way, its story telling is very direct about an experience in visiting the doctors office. The person speaking goes to the doctors complaining of back pain. After some questioning, the doctor says this pain derives from other aspects of his life that he can work on fixing. The patient gets annoyed that there was not a direct answer and gets tests done. He says that he ran out of patience and had lost trust in his doctor and will not return.
This song highlights an important aspect of the patient to doctor relationship. It is hard to receive news that is not what you want to hear or different from what your expected. Being able to trust your doctor, and know that they have your best interest in mind is key for a good relationship.
Sources
Rex Orange County. (2024). Alexander [Song]. The Alexander Technique. RCA Records.
Rex Orange County. (2024, July 18). Alexander. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSde-gGK9NY
