Fire Drill is the alt-popstar Melanie Martinez’s most forgotten single. Released on June 26th, 2020 with 990,000,000 plus streams on Spotify alone, Martinez does not get enough credit for the deep and meaningful lyrics of Fire Drill. The song follows Martinez’s childhood experience with bullying and explores reasons one may feel inclined to bully another person. The background instrumentals have an angelic tone, with the main instrument being a harp, played by Martinez herself. 

First, the song’s name, Fire Drill, what does it mean? A fire drill in modern American schools is a common occurrence that most kids and teens have experienced. Students pull the alarm for attention all the time. This is what the song’s name stems from, kids and teens wanting attention but getting it in the wrong way; torturing innocent people as a way to get attention from adults and peers. Just like bullying, pulling the fire alarm when there is no fire is selfish.

“You must not know my heart, but I know it isn’t your fault/ You live in a world in your clutch, you don’t get out very much/ Living in the fake world, full of facades and chaotic behavior/ You pull the lever for fun, yell, “Fire!”, then you just run”-Melanie Martinez

These lyrics describe what a bully’s mentality may be like, or what the reason may be for their actions. “Living in the fake world, full of facades and chaotic behavior”. They may feel as if what they are doing is normal, that perhaps the way they were raised has led them to believe that anyone who does not fit their ideal needs to be changed. 

Another possible reason for bullying is a term called “projection”. In psychology terms, projection is a defense mechanism of alterity concerning “inside” content that is mistaken to be coming from the “outside”. In other words, if one person sees something in another, such as mannerisms, physical features, etc., in themselves that they do not like, they may instinctually try to hurt another person for having that quality. 

“I am not the government/ I am not the f*d up men/ I am not a part of anything that is hateful/ Love is seeping out my pores, I don’t hold anger anymore/ Even for people who hurt and betray me (Okay)” -Melanie Martinez

Martinez sings in an affirming way about her forgiveness towards the bullies. The parenthesis are their words, still giving her hate even after she is forgiven them. She offers love to everyone no matter what they have done or said to her. These lyrics continue to show that she is more emotionally and mentally mature than those who continue to hurt others based on surface-level qualities.

To get a separate opinion on my claims, and the overall concept of bullying, Gaby Martinez gave her input on the topic.

“Nothing, literally nothing,” Gaby Martinez, a senior at North High School, said when asked what advice she was given to try and help her situation. Often when one seeks help from an adult they only receive supportive words and no actual help with their situation. Gaby also mentioned that her parents suggested physical violence as a way of retaliation, but Gaby knew, even at a younger age, that violence was not the answer. She spoke further, saying that teachers and staff would tell the bullies to stop, however in most cases this tends to make a situation worse; it seems to subconsciously say to the bully that the victim is too weak to face them head-on. 

“How did you actually end up dealing with it?” Gaby says a similar message to Melanie Martinez in this song, Gaby simply stopped caring about what bullies thought and stopped giving them attention. This is a very difficult task and takes a lot of emotional maturity and intelligence to do. Feeling hurt by the words or actions of others and making the conscious decision to be the bigger person is the best way to deal with bullies and immature people. In Gaby Martinez’s  observations, the bullies were hypocrites, making fun of her but then doing the same exact things elsewhere. This all comes back to projection, being so insecure about oneself, that one takes it out on others. 

This song’s message is very powerful. Melanie Martinez dealt with bullying when she was a child, as stated in the first few lines of the song. Whether it was the way she dressed, the gap between her front teeth, or that she was just different, she was picked on. But she still overcame the senseless hate, made a beautiful song out of her struggle, and established a unique image for her brand.