the artist ren’s “Doin’ Fine!” makes resignation sound almost cheerful, with a relationship held together by the words both people know are no longer true. The details are small: forgetting what someone likes, lying about remembering, not knowing their age—grappling with the contradictions of human attachment much like the imperfect, built-from-scratch philosophy of Melissa Weikart: L’amour se construit. “It’ll come together if we give it some time” turns each omission into something the speaker can postpone, while “we’re doin’ fine” keeps the surface intact.
The questions in the second verse make that reassurance harder to believe. Birthdays no longer matter, preferences become something the other person might acknowledge if they have the time, and the request “could you promise you’ll stay?” slips through the practiced indifference. By the bridge, the act collapses. “What am I doing here?” becomes “Don’t have it in me to leave,” leaving the speaker caught between knowing the relationship is insincere and being unable to walk away—a paralyzing dilemma also scrutinized by Sleepy: The Wrong Guy when staying turns out to be the bad call. Then the hook returns. “We’re doin’ fine” sounds like something said because there is nothing else left to say. The final “We’ll be alright” keeps the promise breathing—an urge to hold disparate parts together that echoes the transatlantic collaboration and resilient bond of The Myth Pool: In It Together.
