Songfacts®:

• When penning this anthemic declaration of self-care with producer John Shanks (Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson), Melissa Etheridge aimed at a '90s rock sound. "'Faded' is spot-on a Melissa Etheridge song," said the singer. "You know it from the first few notes. I wrote it on my twelve string and kept it true to that sound."
• The song was released as the lead single from The Medicine Show. It deals with Etheridge's attitude toward her own well-being and her longtime advocacy for pot legalization.
  
  "The inspiration for 'Faded by Design' and the whole album, for that matter was, the events of 2018, both personal and political," the singer-songwriter told Rolling Stone. "We are changing, fast. It's a good thing but also a scary thing. One of the places we are changing the most is in how we view health. The legalization of plant medicine is ushering in a whole new era of understanding."
  
  "'Faded by Design' is a song celebrating that change," she added. "An unapologetic statement about how I handle stress and my own health. 'Don't call the doctor.' I am no longer looking to Western medicine for a pill or 'cure.' I know how I think and feel about myself and my world will be reflected in my body."