The Good Doctor

"The Good Doctor" is a song by British progressive metal band Haken. It was the first single and is the second song from the band's fifth album, Vector.

Basis

NOTE: It's recommended that you know the basis of the album before you read this.

The song sets the stage of the album and introduces us to the two main characters of the album: Dr. E. C. Tobias Rex, the 'Good Doctor', and Patient 21, the silent inmate mentioned in the song. The song follows the first experiments performed on the patient, with Dr. Rex attempting Electroconvulsive Therapy to try and bring him 'back to society.'

Production

Little is known about the production of "The Good Doctor".

Lyrics

"The Good Doctor" lyrics [Click here]
"Calling Dr. Rex to Cell Block 2", the nurses cry
20 inmates scream in their beds but one
One is silent

An unusual cases
This one deluded, psychotic, then catatonic
The Good Doctor looks him up and down and smiles
It's time for a game

Electricity is the prescription he needs
Bring him back to society
Electricity is the cure that he really needs
Bring an empire to its knees

Inside his mind, sparks fly
Vague memories of a caved and broken life
Inside his mind, sparks fly
Vague memories of a caved and broken life

Electricity is the prescription he needs
Bring him back to society
Electricity is the cure that he really needs
Bring an empire to its knees

Make sure his arms are bound
And all his pills go down
Make all his secrets drown
Render his mind unsound

Inside his mind, sparks fly
Vague memories of a caved and broken life
Inside his mind, sparks fly
Vague memories of a caved and broken life

Electricity is the prescription he needs
Bring him back to society
Electricity is the cure that he really needs
Bring an empire to its knees

Personnel

Haken
  • Ross Jennings - vocals
  • Richard Henshall - guitars
  • Charlie Griffiths - guitars
  • Diego Tejeida - keyboards, sound design
  • Conner Green - bass
  • Raymond Hearne - drums

Quotes from the Band

"Charlie penciled this idea about setting the album in the 1950s, in a psychiatric ward, we looked into the sinister experiments that were used on people to understand the human mind. That was really the starting point for the album, and 'The Good Doctor' sets that scene perfectly."

-Richard Henshall

Trivia

  • During a 2019 live performance in London, Ross Jennings replaced the final chorus of the song with that of the song "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears.
  • According to Vector's lyric book, "The Good Doctor" takes place on 26 October 1958, exactly 60 years prior to the album's release.
  • At 3:56, "The Good Doctor" is the shortest Haken single, and was succeded by the band's longest single, "Puzzle Box".

Links
"The Good Doctor"
Single by Haken
Released 31 August 2018
Album Vector
Genre Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock
Length 3:56
Live Plays 81 (#16 [tied])
Vector
"Clear" << "The Good Doctor" >> "Puzzle Box"
Haken Singles Chronology
"The Endless Knot"
(2016)		 << "The Good Doctor"
(2018)		 >> "Puzzle Box"
(2018)


"The Good Doctor" music video

"The Good Doctor looks him up and down and smiles. It's time for a game"

The Good Doctor, from Vector