If you went on your Tiktok For You Page for more than 2 minutes the past few weeks, you likely chanced upon two friends singing an original song about being a fish. This seemingly-amateur and incredibly wholesome 50 second song called ‘The Fish Song’ has since garnered over 12 million plays since it was posted mid-April.
Photo of Olivia Barton (Left) and Corook (Right)
Photo via @hicorook on TikTok
The smiley singing duo Corook and Olivia are not showing off particularly exceptional singing styles, production value or stellar lyricism. No, what draws audiences to this video is how pure the artists are, and how the nursery-rhyme-esque lyrics are largely poignant and relatable.
Whether you’ve been a target of unkind words and comparisons or just feeling like you don’t match up, The Fish Song heals in many ways:
Looking at yourself from a distance
“If I were a fish and you caught me, you’d say “Look at that fish shimmering in the sun. Such a rare one! Can’t believe that I caught one.”
The lyrics of the original video follow the general gist of looking different to societal standards of beauty. The fish song demonstrates how viewing oneself as a fish rather than as a human being somehow makes it easier to appreciate one’s own appearance. Taking on a third person perspective can actually help to give us a n0n-biases view of a negative situation
Photo of Corook reacting to Texas Girls’ Choir singing The Fish Song
Photo via @hicorook on TikTok
You are not alone or the only victim
“Heaviest in the sea; you’d win first prize if you caught me… Why’s everybody on the internet so mean? Why’s everybody so afraid of what they’ve never seen?”
Everyone is subject to a degree of online scrutiny these days. Corook and Olivia sing about how ‘mean’ online users are needlessly uneasy about any body type, personality, fashion sense, or other trait that they are unfamiliar with.
The song resonates with those of use who have been victims in similar manner. Knowing that there is someone out there who shares the same experience, helps to ease the pain.
Photo of Olivia and Corook reacting to musician Chloe Moriondo singing The Fish Song
Photo via @hicorook on TikTok
Freedom from the opinion of others
“Just let them be mean. We’re as free as can be to be the you-est of you and the me-est of me.”
While we cannot control what other people say, we can control what it does to us.
We all have certain schemas or way of interpreting what we see, hear and read on social media. Often, when a person, situation or incident fits into our schema of things, it affirms that our preconcieved ideas are correct. What’s why fear of certain things can reinforce our prejudices and stereotypes.
So what a person says is really a reflection of the thoughts that is in their heads. It reflects the limited or wrong ideas they have about someone else and may not have much truths about the said person.
So a person who gives nasty comments shows how nasty that person is. That totally free us from their comments
Here’s more on how to be free from nasty comments:
How to have a better, non-biased perspective
How to respond on Social Media and keep boundaries
What can we do if we are being labelled?
