“If I Were a Fish” is a recent hit song that went viral on TikTok, written and sung by Corinne Savage (known as Corook) and their partner Olivia Barton. The song’s seemingly simple, almost silly quality and catchy melody, coupled with its profound message, made it resonate with millions of people worldwide. 

Corook wrote this song because they were having an emotionally hard day and were “feeling insecure and out of place”. This shows that music has the power to help us express ourselves and improve our emotional wellbeing. Even further, this shows that musical or artistic expression that helps our own mental health has the power to help others find joy and healing too.

The lyrics of the TikTok version of the song begin with:

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 you caught one

This song touches on so many important aspects of mental health. Research is clear that self-love, self-acceptance, and self-compassion are integral components of having good mental health. Our sense of self plays a significant role in our emotional wellbeing. Having the ability to see ourselves from other people’s positive perspectives and see the inherent value within each of us can be very helpful.

The song continues:

If I were a fish and you caught me
You’d say “Look at that fish”
Heaviest in the sea
You’d win first prize
If you caught me

Body image concerns are also a huge component of mental health. These lyrics are such a powerful ode to self-love and seeing see our body in a positive light.

Later, they sing:

Why’s everybody on the internet so mean?
Why’s everybody so afraid of what they’ve never seen?
If I was scrolling through and I saw me
Flopping around and singing my song
I’d say “Damn, they’re cute” and sing along

The song touches on the mental health impacts of cyberbullying when they sing, “Why’s everybody on the internet so mean?” Research shows that cyberbullying has significant impacts on mental health and it can be traumatic for many people.

The singers also touch on the importance of accepting those who are different from yourself when they sing, “Why’s everybody so afraid of what they’ve never seen?” Corook identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, and is in a romantic relationship with Barton. Many people who are non-binary or LGBT experience increased mental health distress because of harmful comments. These lyrics highlight that being unfamiliar with others’ differences can result in people feeling fear and being mean. If we help people understand each other and increase awareness of all the ways that people present, the increased awareness and representation could potentially help reduce hurtful comments.

Check out this viral self-love anthem on TikTok or the extended version released on Spotify. You can follow Corook’s music on Spotify here and Olivia Barton’s music on Spotify here.