What Is This Feeling? (Sing-Along)

Song Meaning

The lyrics immediately drop listeners into a scene of collective student sentiment, where a group expresses intense, almost theatrical sympathy for "Dear Galinda." This quickly pivots to an exaggerated, shared disdain for an unnamed "she." The dominant emotion is a potent, escalating revulsion, framed as support for Galinda's perceived suffering. The central tension lies in the performative nature of this collective emotion. While the students claim not to "show a bias," their language quickly reveals a deep-seated, almost gleeful animosity. Phrases like "she's a terror, she's a tartar" and the invented "disgusticified" suggest a group bonding over shared, hyperbolic dislike, elevating Galinda to a "martyr." The most striking craft element is the relentless, almost ritualistic repetition of "Loathing." Starting with "Unadulterated loathing" and building into a chant-like sequence, this repetition transforms a feeling into a collective, almost tribal declaration. It amplifies the intensity, making the shared animosity feel both absurdly over-the-top and viscerally real. These lyrics effectively capture the potent, sometimes juvenile, power of groupthink and shared animosity. The specific targets of their disdain—"her face, her voice, her clothing"—highlight the petty, all-encompassing nature of their dislike. By making "every little trait, however small" a trigger, the lyrics paint a vivid picture of how collective scorn can magnify even minor perceived flaws into monstrous grievances, making their "flesh begin to crawl."