Mad As a Hatter, by Larkin Poe

One of my favorite songs of late is named Mad As A Hatter, by Larkin Poe. The song is about their grandfather, who has schizophrenia, and their grandmother, who has dementia.

All my life I have known someone who has schizophrenia, and I have also known quite a few people now who have had dementia and Alzheimers, so it’s a touching song in multiple ways. YouTube has this terrific live performance of “Mad as a Hatter”.

Here are some of the lyrics from Mad As a Hatter:

If you must then just please wait and let me have some time
(Let me have some time)
Please don’t come for me
Mind over matter (it don’t matter) when you’re as mad as a hatter

The song ends with these repeated lyrics:

Off with her head, off with her head...
Paint the roses, paint the roses...