Healthy in Paranoid Times - Music and Lyrics

Music and Lyrics

The raw and unpolished sound of Healthy in Paranoid Times is attributed to the previous album Bob Rock produced, Metallica's 2003 album St. Anger which was recorded just before Healthy. According to Raine, Bob said that a polished record full of overdubs like Gravity was not where his head was at the time and the band agreed. "What Bob Rock did with Metallica on the 'St. Anger' record was just record everything - no Pro Tools, no overdubbing, no fixing stuff, and then pick the best pieces and put them together," says Maida. "We're trying to take that approach, where it's that raw."

In a June 2003 interview, Maida explained that lyrically, his words on the album would follow the music and would be very much a product of the times. "I think it's going to be a little more raw, a little bit more in your face, not a lot of relationship stuff," he says, noting that fans would get a preview of a couple of the tracks, "Wipe That Smile Off Your Face" and "Walking In Circles", on the current tour. "My head, with what's going on in the world and being able to reflect on all the (stuff) that I've done in the last few years in terms of going to Iraq, working very closely with War Child, I'm in that mode. I'm not angry, but kind of frustrated." After observing the plight in Sudan and Darfur, Maida returned with a different outlook on his lyrics and became more outspoken. “There were some that were way too over the top and preachy,” he admits, “and I had to pull a lot of stuff back. This isn’t a solo record for me, this is Our Lady Peace, so I have three people that I contend with in terms of how far I can go with saying things.” Bassist Coutts added "A lot of things he was talking about lyrically were things that we discussed as a band in spending all that time together. I also think that becoming a father also let him deal with issues that he hadn't dealt with before. Although there are some of the darkest lyrics ever on this record, I think there are also some very positive ones as well." The content of the album's lyrics have led it to be classified as a politically charged album, which the band hasn't denied.

The title of the album is derived from a lyric from the bridge of the song "Don't Stop". Taggart described the rationale behind choosing that title. "'Don’t Stop' was one of the last songs we recorded, and that one kinda summed up all the stuff we had gone through. Raine had just gotten back from Sudan, he was trying to compress all the things he’d experienced. The shock was going there and then coming back here and realizing they have happiness and hope with no material possessions, they live in mud huts. But they have what we want emotionally, you know."

The track "Where Are You" went through many changes and arrangements after being written including an entirely different chorus. The song was known as "The Best Day of Your Life" and "Where Are You (Best Day)" on advance copies of Healthy. "Apology" also morphed throughout recording. "The song 'Apology' for example was from the first demo sessions. We tried that song a year later completely differently ... way more up-tempo and it just didn't feel right. It didn't serve the song and what Raine was saying and how he was singing dictated how we were playing. I love all the songs on the record, but that was a very magical, musical moment because it was so organic the way that happened."