We're Broken People

Hi! We're going to interpret Twenty One Pilots songs on this blog! If you have any input or questions please submit something or send us an ask! Our current song is STRESSED OUT, so submit what the lyrics and song mean to you and we'll post it...

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Stressed Out Interpretation

To me Stressed Out is about how as we grow older we become more and more aware of how we lack certain qualities and aren’t as good as other people, making us more insecure and anxious about ourselves, then remembering a past in which we didn’t care about popularity or appearance or being unique, ‘when nothing really mattered’, where we’d have fun with those we loved and were allowed to be ignorant, but then being reminded of our responsibilities and of the real world where we need to make money and need work so so hard that it stresses us out.   As someone who suffers from both anxiety and depression 'My name’s Blurryface and I care what you think’ is kind of reassuring, reminding me that no matter what silly or stupid things I’m thinking there’s always someone who cares about them and that I’m not alone. The contrast between Blurryface and the first verse signifies that even through all the negative thinking or negative things in your life there is always someone listening to what you’re thinking.   Blurryface is only fictional, but that just shows how strong and meaningful song lyrics can be.

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Anonymous

When I first heard Stressed Out it was like it had been written about me. I listened to it on repeat for months because it was so good to hear a song that “understood me”, (and also because it’s catchy as hell).

To me Stressed Out is about feeling like you’re never good enough. (Especially the “My name’s Blurryface and I care what you think.” bit.) I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for about 6 years, and Blurryface overpowering Tyler in parts of the song is a pretty accurate representation of what it feels like to not be in control of your thoughts, and to have them be overrun with negativity and fear and stress. Basically it’s exactly what it sounds like, lol. (I love how it can sound like all of that, and talk about anxiety and stuff, and still be so catchy and kewl that it’s on the radio 90% of the time.)

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Stressed Out is such a weird song at the moment because of all the attention its gained….it’s kind of weird that even my grandma knows the song! But out of all the songs to get big I’m definitely really really happy it was stressed out because to me it very closely represents twenty one pilots.

Stressed Out is a nostalgic song that makes me think of my childhood and much simpler times. I really like the use of blurryface in this one because its like polar opposites, together. On one hand you have tyler talking about the good times he had in childhood and in the next verse you have Blurryface looming over the song and bringing it back down to reality.  I love that this song addresses important things like anxiety while still being a great jam. I love how it has that nostalgic ache that makes me wish for my childhood back. I love that its a fun, good, important song.

As someone who has struggled with anxiety throughout my teens, i can really relate to this song. “My Names blurryface and I care what you think” I really love that lyric because growing up, it was always cooler to say “I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, I’m going to live my life however I want and just not care” when the reality is that I care very much, everyone cares a lot, i think. I live my life in constant fear that everyone looks down on me. Every time i go outside i’m constantly wondering what people are thinking of me (even though I’m pretty sure everyone is just thinking about themselves and what everyone else thinks of them, its a vicious cycle) No matter how much I tell myself I don’t care, or that I’m better than that, stronger than that…there’s always my fears and insecurities (my blurryface) creeping in and telling me otherwise. 

In conclusion, I’m just very Stressed Out.

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Anonymous

stressed out to me is about the world and you changing as you grow up, the world changing you. people are not the same than they used to be. parents lie to us a lot when we’re kids, and we notice that when we’re older. as you get older, your responsibilities grow and so does the stress, obviously. everything kinda messes with your head and memories of your childhood might help with that, but they can also make things worse - you just wanna be young again.

so overall i think its pretty much what it sounds like..

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hello twenty one pilots fans

we’re a blog that does song interps for twenty one pilots songs basically we pick a song of the week (even though it normally lasts a lot longer) and yall send in interpretations about the song and we post them!! We just finished lane boy which you can find here! You can see the songs we’ve done and the interpretations weve gotten here our next song is STRESSED OUT!!  Please send in your interpretations here, follow us if you haven’t, and reblog to spread the word!

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Addict with a Pen

For me, I interpret Addict with a Pen differently than most people do. I just recently had a bad break up but I still love her more than anything in the world. This song perfectly described what I’m going through right now. “Hello, we haven’t talked in quite some time.” It’s been almost a month since she’s even spoken to me. “I know I haven’t been the best of sons.” I did something that really upset her and caused her to not want to talk to me anymore. “Hello, I’ve been traveling in the desert of my mind.” I’ve been feeling so alone. All I have left are just my thoughts. “and I haven’t found a drop of life. I haven’t found a drop of you. I haven’t found a drop of water.” She was my life. She was the one thing keeping me going. My reason to live. “I try desperately to run through the sand as I hold the water in the palm of my hand.” I’m forced to live my life without her, but I still hold onto our memories and hopes of one day seeing her again. “It’s all that I have and it’s all that I need” All I have left of her is just memories and hope. “and the waves of the water mean nothing to me” Being with her wasn’t easy at all and this break up definitely isn’t easy either but I still wouldn’t have changed a thing that happened between us. “but I try my best and all that I can too hold tightly on to what’s left in my hand” Despite everything I’ve gone through I won’t allow myself to forget her or the time we spent together. “but no matter how tightly I will strain the sand will slow me down and the water will drain.” Unfortunately as time goes by though my memories do become clouded. Little by little I start to get used to living without her. “I’m just being dramatic” I have been very dramatic since she left. At least that’s what people say. They don’t understand why I can’t just let go and move on with my life. “In fact I’m only at it again as an addict with a pen who’s addicted to the wind.” I have so many letters for her that I will never send. Whenever life gets difficult and I miss her I just write her a letter but I never send it. It’s my only way to really feel like I’m talking to her still. “as it blows me back and forth. Mindless, spineless, and pretend.” So much has changed but I still desperately cling to the thought of being with her again, even when I really shouldn’t. “Of course I’ll be here again. See you tomorrow.” I truly do believe I’ll see her again one day. “But it’s the end of today” But I know for now what we had is over. “End of my way as walking denial” I used to deny that she stopped loving me and kept telling myself that it was just a phase. I know now that’s not the case.. She doesn’t love me anymore and she’s not coming back anytime soon. “My trial was filed as a crazy suicidal head case.” I’ve been incredibly suicidal but everyone just brushes it off and says I’m overreacting. “You specialize in dying.” She is also suicidal and has been most of her life. “You hear me screaming Father.” I’m so desperate for her to come back that I’ve been praying to God to bring her back into my life. “I’m lying here just crying.” I’ve been so depressed and broken. “So wash me with your water.” She is the water and I just want her back in my life again.

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I think Lane Boy is about how top stands out. 

In the music industry it is thought that one band must have one genre, one thing they are known for. Because top does so many different things like music styles the music industry tells them to try to stay in one genre or “lane.” But because Tyler and Josh are Tyler and Josh, they go where they want to and play what they want to. 

Lane Boy also talks about how life is sucked out of music usually. You can listen to a song and you find no true meaning or connection for the people who played it, you can tell they just wanted money. But Tyler writes to save himself, Josh plays to save himself, and because of that we listen to save ourselves. The music industry sometimes makes him think that his music needs to be just there because it sounds cool instead of have a true emotional connection. 

When he says “Forget sanity, forget salary, forget vanity, my morality” he’s saying forget about the money, the popularity, and remember your connection to the music. 

Without any of top’s music, most of the clique wouldn’t be here, and Tyler and Josh may not be here either. Lane Boy is like a letter to the music industry explaining all of those s and truth behind what music is really about. That is what Lane Boy means, plus a lot more. 

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I feel like in Lane Boy they really express the frustration of being put in the very particular position of being a popular band. I think they feel a lot of pressure to fill out a role, but in this song Tyler lays out how this role is actually really restricting towards free expression and creativity, which is what they're /really/ all about. It's a tricky situation because the expectations of the role they're taking are superficial so they'll have to break out of it to stay true to themselves.

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Revised Look At Taxi Cab

So while going through some Twenty One Pilots song meanings I stumbled across a comment on Taxi Cab which said:

“I believe this song is about a suicide attempt and the personal relationship with someone who was helping them through tough times”

This got me thinking and now I have a totally flipped perspective of Taxi Cab that I wanted to share. I’ll go through all the lyrics and give and interpretation from this point of view.

“I wanna fall inside your ghost and fill up every hole inside my mind, and I want everyone to know that I am half a soul divided” Before telling his story, Tyler wants to establish what this person means to him. He loved this person so much he wants to become them. He also wants to show that since they saved him, he believes that they hold a piece of his soul

“Sometimes we will die and sometimes we will fly away. Either way you’re by my side until my dying day” Tyler no longer wants to kill himself. He has finally accepted that, yes, he will die at one point, it’s inevitable, but he is willing to wait for that day with this person.

“And if I’m not there and I’m far away, I said, ‘Don’t be afraid’, I said ‘Don’t be afraid’, we’re going home” Tyler might not always be physically there with this person but he wants them to know that he’ll be coming back for them *insert 1D reference*

“I wanna strip myself of death. A deathless piece of breath I’ve made for you” Tyler wants no part of his former ways and thoughts to come back. Even if it was the only thing that gave him character.

“A mortal, rotting piece of song will help you carry on but this you heard” This person loves music and probably uses it just like Tyler does but because this is a very sad song Tyler doesn’t want them to hear it

[Chorus]

(Favourite bit)

“Okay…” Tyler has made his love for this person clear *sick tøp reference* and is now ready to tell his story

“So the hearse ran out of gas” So Tyler’s body is the hearse while the person in it is his spirit, dead (and if Tyler continued that way so would his body). The hearse running out for gas may represent Tyler no longer wanting to carry on with how his life is going

“A passenger person grabbed a map and the driver inside it contrived a new route to save the past” This person came into Tyler’s life, saw where he was going and immediately wanted to save him

“He checked his watched and grabbed a cab, a beautifully pain Taxi Cab” The person realised that Tyler didn’t have much time left and his hearse was going too slow so they helped him get a cab instead. The contrast is that a hearse is meant to drive slowly so that those attending the funeral service can see the coffin but taxis are meant to get people to thier destination fast. The fact that the cab was plain meant that Tyler could start in a clean slate

“A cab, had it cleared out back and two men started to unpack” After this person gave Tyler the cab (and probably made clear his suicidal thoughts his family) both the person and his family helped him get his life back together

“Driving once again but now this time there were three men” Tyler is now on his new path and his friends have come to help him on his recovery

“And then I heard one of them say ‘I know the night will turn to grey, I know the stars will start to fade. We had to steal him from his fate do he could see another day’ ” The person is now talking to Tyler telling him that things may get worse before they get better. In the last sentence the person is thanking Tyler’s family and friends for helping him

“So I cracked open my box, someone must’ve picked the lock. A little light revealed the spot where my fingernail had fought” Tyler’s looking back to his suicidal days and realises that it wasn’t by his power that he’s veered off that course but it was because of this persons perseverance and belief in him. Tyler’s happy for this because he himself was trying to escape

“Then I pushed it open more, pushing up against the door, then I sat up off the floor and found the breath I was searching for” Tyler is now digging deeper and finding peace and acceptance in his past and is now content

“There were three men upfront. All I saw were backs of heads so I asked, ‘Am I alive or, well, am I dreaming, dead” Even though he’s at peace with his past, Tyler still has doubts (my reference game is on tøp(im too funny)) so he wants to confirm that they really are trying to save him

“Then one turned around and said ‘We’re driving towards the morning sun, where all your blood is washed away and all you did will be undone’ ” This is the person again, they’re telling Tyler that they are all for him and the night (a metaphor Tyler used to symbolise depression and/or suicide) is finally over and morning is here

So yeah, that’s my interpretation. I think it’s actually as cool as the religious one. I hope you enjoyed it and this possibly gave you a new insight into the song

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I think Lane Boy is about how fucked the music industry is and that everyone is labelled a certain genre they can't escape, but tøp wants to make different music that might not fit a certain label, but really has a huge meaining to people. Thanks |-/

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lane boy is about tyler’s constant battle with the mainstream music world and media. as the fanbase and awareness for the music grows, twenty one pilots is propelled more and more towards fame, which ruins so many people. grassroots fanbase and feel has always been an integral part of the band, and tyler seems very afraid to lose that freedom of being a small group. 

the song begins with “they say stay in your lane boy… but we go where we want to,” which shows one side of the music industry, which tries to put down the music and the band, probably for being too unusual and new

then tyler delves into the lyrics, “If it was our way/ We’d have a tempo/ change every other time change/ ‘Cause our minds change on what we think is good,” which is indicating that he wants to make music the way he feels, no matter how cohesive the song is. the “if it was our way” part shows that they’re almost starting to lose this battle, because there is a push for them to sound more mainstream, and so they have given into that. 

The “I wasn’t raised in the hood/ But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness/ If it wasn’t for this music, I don’t know how I would’ve fought this” part references to the fact that even though some people will label him or try to pin him down for his rapping, he wants to stress that it’s not about being “hood”, it’s about the music itself. the music is what saves him time and time again, which is a common theme that ties together the majority of twenty one pilots songs

The song then delves into one of the more explicit themes: mainstream music. 

“Regardless, all these songs I’m hearing are so heartless Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless Honest, there’s a few songs on this record that feel common I’m in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin’ In the industry it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency My creativity’s only free when I’m playin’ shows”

tyler admits that he doesn’t like the empty feel of pop songs, because when a song is too average-sounding or “flawless”, it doesn’t shake anything up. it doesn’t mean anything. 

this is also another testament to his fight with the main stream. the industry, and probably the higher-ups at the label, push the band to become more successful, which to them is synonymous for becoming mainstream. tyler is trying his best to not listen to this, but he admits that even some songs on blurryface sound too “common” for his tastes. this ends with the statement that when recording, he feels trapped. the only place he can be truly free is during shows. 

the chorus here ends with the question “will they be alive tomorrow?” which is tyler’s way of saying “these songs are popular now, but they’ll never last.”

in the next rap, tyler talks about how he understands that this statement was shocking, but he’s like “whatevs lol" 

“If you ask Zack He’s my brother, he likes when I rap fast But let’s back track, back to this Who would you live and die for on that list But the problem is, there’s another list that exists and no one really wants to think about this Forget sanity, forget salary, forget vanity, my morality If you get in between someone I love and me You’re gonna feel the heat of my cavalry”

This is a similar theme to ride: with nothing else, who would you live for? tyler is stripping away every other part of his life, and at his very core, there’s a list of people that we don’t like to talk about, but it’s the people you cherish most. the people closest to him love his songs and love his style, and if anyone, his label, the media, his producers, get in the way of who he loves, then he’ll take them down. this is about persisting through what so many people are saying, to stick with the few people he would live for.

the song ends with the idea that people in the mainstream think that it’s easy to make it into the music industry, but in reality, those people’s music won’t last

They say stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy But we go where we want to They think this thing is a highway, highway But will they be alive tomorrow?

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ATTENTION SKELETON CLIQUE!

we’re a blog that does song interps for twenty one pilots songs basically we pick a song of the week (even though it normally lasts a lot longer) and yall send in interpretations about the song and we post them!! We just finished car radio which you can find here! You can see the songs we’ve done and the interpretations weve gotten here our next song is LANE BOY!!  Please send in your interpretations here, follow us if you haven’t, and reblog to spread the word!

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im gonna change the song soon are there any requests?

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Car Radio

I think that car radio is about how he can’t escape his dark thoughts he’s trapped and he needs something to distract himself from them but someone’s stolen his car radio. “Sometimes quiet is violent” the silence is driving him crazy and causing him to think about things he usually wouldn’t, silence is seen as something peaceful but it’s the opposite for this man all he wants is noise so he doesn’t have to think but he learns that silence is good as it gives you time to think, to get your head straight and sort out your problems.

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Car Radio

The great thing about Car Radio, in my opinion, is that it started out as a song that is literally about Tyler’s car radio being stolen, but then turns into a study of what it feels like to be overwhelmed by your own thoughts. The first verse kind of sets the scene for the rest of the song: Tyler is alone and it is quiet, which is why he is able to focus on his breathing and his thoughts. ‘They fill with fire’ is the first indication that something is wrong, followed by the admission that his situation is ‘dire’. In the chorus we find out that this is a position he finds himself in regularly and he himself knows that he needs to find a way to avoid these situations (his plans of buying a new radio to counteract the silence). But for now he does not know how to fix this, or is unable to, which is why he continues to sit in the silence that leaves him exposed to his own thoughts. The first line of the second verse (‘Sometimes quiet is violent’) is probably one of the most quoted lines in the history of tøp songs, but for good reason. I think this one line manages to encompass a great deal of the meaning of this song: It refers to those moments, no matter if you’re sitting in your car or in a waiting room or lying in bed at night, when you have nothing to distract you from your thoughts. Outward, you may be sitting quietly, even peacefully, but inside your head, a violent war could very well be taking place between you and your own thoughts, your own head. It reminds me of those times when I feel like trying to follow a train of thought is like maneuvering a mine field. Because one thought comes to your head and it is something you do not want to think about at the moment, so you try to push the thought away, but that only gives way to another reminder of something painful you would rather avoid thinking about and then it is followed by another one and you just end up jumping back and forth between different trains of thought, all of which cause you to shrink back, so you are getting assaulted by all of these half-formed thoughts that you cannot even make sense of anymore. This is the violence that this song speaks of and I think that this state of mind is very well represented by the following verses. In the second verse, I believe that the pride and killing someone inside his dream refer to such trains of thought that he would rather not follow, although I am not sure what they mean exactly. In this verse it also becomes evident that Tyler is getting more and more desperate as he tries and fails to hide from his own thoughts, finally resulting in the idea to just end everything by pulling the steering wheel. This thought, however, is fleeting, as it is immediately followed by the chorus, in which Tyler reminds himself that there is something else he could do to change his situation (i.e. replacing his car radio), he just has not reached that point yet. The next part of the song (from ‘I ponder of something terrifying’ to ‘I liked it better when my car had sound’) is another example of some of those thoughts that trouble Tyler, only in this case, these thoughts focus less on himself and more on deeper, existential questions. This is important, because he begins to realize that he is not alone in his struggle, there are other people who feel the same things he feels (‘We’re all battling fear’). However, he interrupts his own thoughts again because he is feeling overwhelmed by them. The next verse could be considered the most important part of the song in my opinion. After trying, and failing, to escape his own thoughts several times throughout the song, Tyler finally comes to the realization that you cannot outrun your own mind, you cannot hide from your own thoughts, so the only way out is to actually face all these thoughts. We ‘need to try to think’, as he puts it, because ‘for us to think is to be alive’. So, while most of the song is about the difficulties of being exposed to your own thoughts and wanting to hide from them, the actual message of the song is that, even though it is hard, we need to face all of those thoughts head on if we want to escape them and find peace. What I also love is that the beginning of the song is repeated at the end, which shows that sometimes, you will find yourself right back where you started, because even when you have figured out what your problem is and what you need to do, that does not mean you will be fine from now on. Dealing with your inner demons is hard and takes time and usually more than one attempt at fighting them.  

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Migrane

So last night I saw them live for the first time. And unexpectedly (for me) they played Migrane. I think the fact that I didn’t know it will come made it so much better and I started crying. Because that song means everything to me. The first verse: “Sundays are my suicide days” for me Sundays are hard because it means I have to worry about Monday, and getting ready for school which is very hard for me to think of the night before. “Slight drizzle” depressing British weather. “Let it be said what the headache represents (…) by a ruthless examiner that is represented best by my depressing thought” these thought, these anxious and depressive thoughts are so hard for me to fight and is what really makes it hard to keep going. So the fact that he put it into words, that i’m not the only one fighting those things, that i’m not stupid with being at war with myself. Which is why seeing it live was so amazing. Because he was singing it for me, with me. And all those people around were singing it too. We are all fighting this, and at that moment we were fighting it together. And the fact that i’m not the only one who thinks that sometimes death seems better is amazing, and so healing. “I’m not as fine as I seem, pardon me for yelling and telling you green gardens are not what’s growing in my psyche” everyone thinks you’re happy, but you’re not. And it was magical to hear him sing it with me. There in the same room. And he made us say pardon and gardens and it was perfect. “Sometime to stay alive you’ve got to kill your mind” the fact that a huge room full of people is shouting it with me as loud as they can because tyler put his hands out to us was just magical. We’re in this together tonight. “And I say that we should take a day to break away from all the pain our brain has made, the game is not played alone” we need to take those short moments to be happy, even if they are fleeting. It’s a tiny break from the battle. And this concert is hopefully that break, this song was my break, because i wasn’t alone at all. “And we should take a moment and hold it and keep it frozen” this is this moment. Singing this. This is the moment I will hold on forever to know that “life has a hopeful undertone” even when everything feels shit there is something happy to look to. And it’s that moment, singing it with tyler: tyler singing it to me, telling me to keep hopeful, to stay alive for moments like these. To keep fighting those suicidal crazed lions and those tidal waves of emotions. Because it’s worth it for that moment. Just one single moment that will be gone in a second, but will keep you going for years. I was so happy I cried. It was a beautiful moment. With beautiful music and beautiful people. And now whenever I hear that I have no voice I remember screaming that song with tyler there with me and it makes me so happy to be alive. Because in that room we all fought and won over blurryface at that moment. And it means I can do it again.

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Car Radio

I feel like car radio means the mind or creative train of thought. The line “somebody stole my car radio” someone stole his creativity and happiness. His desires have been destroyed. then the line following it “and now I just sit in silence” means that Tyler, is just blank, lost in thought of reality. Sometimes the quiet is violent. Tyler being left with his own thoughts start to scare him. Depressing thoughts voices telling him to give up, he’s afraid. But then he goes to say that peace will win and will lose. He needs to have faith in himself to get out of the darkness in his mind. He won’t sleep it off cause it might cause him nightmares, so he stays awake battling thinking of better ways to fight off the demon that is his depression.