"Mad Hatter" is a song by Melanie Martinez featured as the thirteenth track on her debut album, Cry Baby. It is the final track on the standard version of the album.
The music video was released on September 23rd, 2017, completing the visuals for the album.
Background[]
On July 19th, 2014, Melanie posted a tweet with emojis referencing some songs intended to appear in the album, with "🐰🎈" possibly referencing this song.[1] Later, Melanie posted lyrics of the song on her Twitter.[2]
At the end of July 2015, Melanie's father, Jose Martinez, posted a 13-second snippet of the song. Melanie posted another snippet of the song on her Instagram on August 11th, 2015.
Theme[]
In an interview with ARTISTDirect, Melanie said that "Mad Hatter" is about being okay with who you are. In this song, Cry Baby is fully accepting herself and doesn't care what other people think of her. The song includes many references to and takes a lot of inspiration from the 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
The song is the closing chapter of the story because Cry Baby embraces the chaos inside of her, refusing to hide it regardless of what the world thinks, representing her character development throughout the album.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
My friends don't walk, they run
Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun
Poppin', poppin' balloons with guns
Getting high off helium
We paint white roses red
Each shade from a different persons' head
This dream, dream is a killer
Getting drunk with a blue caterpillar
[Pre-chorus]
I'm peeling the skin off my face
'Cause I really hate being safe
The normals, they make me afraid
The crazies, they make me feel sane
[Chorus]
I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad
The craziest friend that you've ever had
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong
Over the bend, entirely bonkers
You like me best when I'm off my rocker
Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed
So what if I'm crazy? The best people are
All the best people are crazy
All the best people are
[Verse 2]
Where is my prescription?
Doctor, doctor, please, listen
My brain is scattered
You can be Alice, I'll be the Mad Hatter
[Pre-chorus]
I'm peeling the skin off my face
'Cause I really hate being safe
The normals, they make me afraid
The crazies, they make me feel sane
[Chorus]
I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad
The craziest friend that you've ever had
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong
Over the bend, entirely bonkers
You like me best when I'm off my rocker
Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed
So what if I'm crazy? The best people are
[Bridge]
You think I'm crazy, you think I'm gone
So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are
And I think you're crazy too, I know you're gone
It's probably the reason that we get along
[Chorus]
I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad
The craziest friend that you've ever had
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong
Over the bend, entirely bonkers
You like me best when I'm off my rocker
Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed
So what if I'm crazy? The best people are
All the best people are crazy
All the best people are
All the best people are crazy
All the best people are
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | Cry Baby | August 14th, 2015 | Frequency, Aalias | 2014 | 3:21 |
| Instrumental | Unreleased | - | Frequency, Aalias | - | 3:21 |
Gallery[]
Music video[]
The music video, like the previous ones, is directed and conceived by Melanie. However, for this video, Melanie hired an animator to work on the extensive CGI effects featured in it, hence making for a high budget. The video starts with Cry Baby in her bedroom, smoking. When she places her cigarette, she sees a mysterious bottle of liquid, labeled "drink". She drinks it and falls onto the bed. She sees the Cashier and Nurse by her bed who both have mysterious black eyes as she falls asleep. The music starts as a life-sized doll cranks up a Jack-in-the-box, from which Cry Baby pops out of. Four life-sized Rushton Dolls then drop in, saving her. These toys, according to Melanie, represent her true friends. As the dream continues, we see more situations where Cry Baby faces a threat, like a family planning to eat her, and a man and woman (possibly her parents) blocking her path. In all of these situations, Cry Baby is saved by the toys. The dream sequence ends with Cry Baby eating a donut with suspiciously gruesome insides while the toys are sitting by her. As the video ends, Cry Baby wakes up in her bed with black eyes, pale skin, and two hands by her side, and it is assumed that these hands belong to the Cashier and Nurse.
Cast[]
- Cry Baby: Melanie Martinez
- Cashier: Emma Harvey
- Nurse: Lainey O'Sullivan
- Bunny Doctor: tba
- Doll: Larissa Jewel
Trivia[]
- The lines, "Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed/So what if I'm crazy? The best people are" were based on a quote from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that reads, "You're mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are".
- This song was possiby made in the same session as "Band Aid".
- Mad Hatter faced technical difficulties at many concerts during the Dollhouse Tour Part 2.
- There were other versions of this song before it was released; one of them had Melanie starting the song by counting "1, 2, 3". The "1, 2, 3" was mostly whispered by her, but sometimes Melanie would shout a bit at this part. Both of these early versions had a different instrumental than what the studio version currently has now.
- Melanie sometimes performed this version during the Cry Baby Tour.
- Another version had Melanie do a portion of the first verse, she then said, "Wha, wha, wha" and then restarted the song. This, however, was a mistake, as Melanie began singing early.
- On May 3rd, 2017, Melanie announced that she finally had an animator meeting for the music video of this song.
- The day the music video came out, it was #17 on YouTube's trending list.
- The music video has the most time put into it out of any music video Melanie has created.
- The bottle labeled "drink" at the beginning of the music video is a reference to the "Drink Me Potion" from Alice In Wonderland.
- The song playing in Cry Baby's room in the beginning of the music video is an overly-edited version of Baby Won't You Come Home by Bessie Smith.
- Melanie stated that the stuffed animals in the music video represent the few genuine friends in her life and how they constantly support her.
- The stuffed animals are vintage toys called Rushton 'rubber face' dolls.
- The blue bear and yellow duckling are tattoos on Melanie's upper left arm.
- The doughnut in the music video was created by @mo._creatures on Instagram.
- Melanie styled the outfits for the music video.
- "Mad Hatter" was certified gold by the RIAA on July 12th, 2017.
- It was then later certified platinum on February 28th, 2020.
- In a meet and greet with fans via Zoom, Melanie said that the Mad Hatter music video was currently her favorite music video she has directed.
- The song's music video was the last released from the album.
- The story and illustration for this song appears on the 25th page of the Cry Baby storybook, reading:
Mad Hatter's digital booklet page
"Cry baby sat and disagreed
Imperfect, insane, and emotional was she
But she feels safe, going to sleep
And there's no one else that she'd rather be"
