| Twenty One Pilots – Holding on to You Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This song is diversely complex and poetic. Within the song, the singer changes to who he is speaking to at least three times. The song obviously has an overarching message of battling depression and suicidal thoughts. However, as Twenty One Pilots is a Christian-influenced band (check Wikipedia and Jesus Freak Hideout for proof), God also takes a front seat, especially in the chorus. The first line shows the speaker speaking to himself as he states with determination that he's taking over his body that he has lost control of for a time ("I'm taking over my body, back in control, no more shotty. I bet a lot of me was lost, 't's uncrossed and 'i's undotted.") He states that he has been fighting the force against him to gain control of himself heavily. He then doubts himself, but then quickly regains determination to come back, as he is determined to kick his carnal desires/chains and regain control. ("I fought it a lot, and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got. Not any more....flesh out the door.") The "Swat!" transition is a tad unclear. It shows however, at the very least, a dramatic split-second changeover. This song is definitely "schizophrenic," as the singer muses and doubts a lot. After "Swat!", the singer begins to feel inferior again and realizes he isn't trustworthy as he begins to address God: "I must'a forgot, you can't trust me." He then proceeded to point out that he's open one moment to God, but then closed and hardened as soon as He shows his plan/wish/remedy. The singer then proceeds to realize he just needs to give over completely to God as he writes music ("And now that I write, and think about it, and the story unfolds, You should take my life....You should take my soul."). The music video for "Holding On To You" throws things a bit off here. As he then begins the chorus (in the music video), there is an emphasis on the demons/death surrounding him. However, without the video, the speaker is still clearly speaking to God. There is no indication of a speaker change (He lets God completely consume him: "You are surrounding all my surroundings. Sounding down the mountain range....of my left-side brain. You are surrounding all my surroundings. Twisting the kaleidoscope....behind both of my eyes") He then states he is "holding on to You (God)".....otherwise, according to the music video (if you follow it that far), he is holding on to death, which is very contradictory to the entire song and thus, unlikely. The singer then turns his speaking towards a generic unnamed individual (namely, the listener) as he begins a spiel on a moment frozen in time, of thought and brink of suicide ("Remember the moment......you think twice about your life....it probably happens at night, right?). He then gives a strong-armed solution against the suicidal thought in that moment: "Fight it, take the pain....ignite it. Tie a noose around your mind loose enough to breath fine and tie it, to a tree, tell it, 'you belong to me.' This ain't a noose, this is a leash, and I have news for you....you must obey me!" (The "tree" could possibly be the Cross, however there isn't enough evidence to confirm anything.) As the bridge begins to play, Joseph continues to repeat the phrase "entertain my faith." He is implore God to feed his trust in Him as he continues on. In the last section of the song, the singer turns his attention to the general public (everyone) as he questions how effective/meaningful song messages and lyrics are....almost as if to humble himself and inform the public to not look to music exclusively for the answer to life. He then points to the fact we were gifted with thought that has been given to us by God. He implores us to become introspective and check our hearts, as they are more powerful than any piece of music can be. Overall, a highly complex musical piece of poetic musing. In short, it is brilliantly made. |
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| Relient K – PTL Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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As is quite obvious, the song is about a one-night stand and the remorse he feels, not only for doing it, but also for not pursing the girl afterwards and throwing her aside almost as a fallback girl for a "rainy day" that he waited to long on even though he really did like her ("never thought it'd hurt so bad to see you with another...."). Whether Thiessen is painting a metaphorical or realistic personal experience is beyond our knowledge. On a deeper level however, it is one more piece in the two-album story that Matthew Thiessen and Relient K have been painting through their 2009 "Forget And Not Slow Down" and their 2013 "Collapsible Lung." As this is part of the second part of the story (which is much more dark and dwells on the dysfunctional side of romance), I highly encourage you to check out Stephen C. Shutters' in-depth look at the album as a whole so you get a firm grasp on the over-arching message of the release: http://stephenshutters.com/post/54525347408/collapsiblelungreview |
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| Relient K – (If You Want It) Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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As it is known fact, Shannon Murphy and Matt Thiessen broke us in December of 2008 after dating for approximately three years. The break-up sent Thiessen into solitude in the woods of Winchester, Tennessee (Track 7: "Therapy" paints a musical picture of his time there) where he composed the entire 2009 "Forget And Not Slow Down" album (save the song "Candlelight" which was co-written with lead guitarist Matt Hoopes upon his return from solitude). This song is simply the "crescendo" and finale of the entire album's arching message of "lost love" followed by slow healing/recovery through God and his aid. So, when you look at the song from Thiessen's very personal case, it makes a whole lot more sense (though it can be used generically as well). The first half of "This Is The End (If You Want It)" is musically thrashing and imitates a sense of general upset or possible anger. Most of the lines are repeated in the more soothing intimate second half, but I'd like to point out Thiessen's short scream of agony (at the end of the first half) which paints a personal picture of what he is going through in a way words can't do justice. As the second half goes underway, we see a more contemplative change in music and mood in which the singer seems to be calmer, but still in sorrow. The song could possibly be a final plea to Shannon Murphy to reconsider leaving him. Lines like "So think real slow....don't forget that yes is yes, and no is no...." and the few variations that follow indicate he is imploring her before he seals the door and leaves the situation forever. He then somewhat predicts that she'll take him "home"/back "like my family did, my Father (God) did, I know." In this however, he then warns her how quickly he can "go away" if rejected again. The repeated lyric about the singer's encounter with the devil could be a confession of Matt's being unfaithful, but it is too metaphorical to know for sure. However, one for-sure thing that can be drawn out it is that he "took the fire escape and made it out alive," and, though he continues to hurt from it, he has God's healing hand helping him recover. The last line shows the initial aftermath of crawling away from the ordeal wounded and bruised ("Blisters on my feet I crawl back home. Frozen from the sleet, burned sand, and stones.....") before turning to a subtly optimistic conclusion where he is "nourished back to life by Life alone." The last line echoes back to the metaphorical king lion that fell in the ninth track "Sahara," which I'll let you figure out. Overall, this song is a beyond beautiful piece of musically poetic, metaphorical musing. And though the ending isn't the most optimistic, we get a retrospective look back at the problem after some time has passed in the bonus ending track "Terminals," which follows this song. |
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