Mandala
‘Mandala’ is the euphoric high that the senior hallucinates, for as the lyrics state, it’s misunderstood. It is common for Dementia patients to hallucinate individuals, among other things. In ‘Mandala’, the senior is being sung to by his hallucinations. They are louder than the senior, whose voice is heard in the backup vocals, because they are in control.
A chord sequence that shows up in specific songs is introduced on the turnaround of the progression:
| B♭7 | A♭ | B♭ | E♭ ||
You and I,
misunderstood feels so good. When we feel so good, misunderstood.
You and I don’t see why
You and I fly by.
As the song gets more intense, the hallucinated ‘high’ escalates and becomes psychedelic when the synthesizer enters. The echoing guitar underneath the synth solo harmonizes with itself in repeated patterns, akin to the duplicating designs that are seen on mandalas.