| Twenty One Pilots – Taxi Cab Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[dmmcd:27429] Thank you for this spot-on interpretation! | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Air Catcher Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[palmerpower36:27428] I think 'air catcher' simply represents a parachute. It's just the thing that keeps him "falling slowly". | |
| Bon Iver – Skinny Love Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[lyriclover81:25110] I really like your interpretation. Something you may find interesting though is why Vernon begs himself to be patient, fine, balanced, and kind. In the Bible, in Corinthians, love is defined: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud" It matches up nicely with the chorus, so maybe Vernon wishes he could feel a true love for another. |
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| Bon Iver – Skinny Love Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I have failed to see anyone accurately interpret the meaning of this song thus far. In "Skinny Love", Justin Vernon is exploring, quite possibly, the greatest pain one can experience: loving somebody who simply doesn't love you back. This isn't exactly rejection, it is deeper-rooted than that; it is loving another by the definition of what love is, while their love for you is "skinny". Let's look at the lyrics: ** Come on skinny love just last the year Pour a little salt we were never here My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer ** Vernon uses a constant repetition of "Come on", as if he is urging another to do something. We can only understand this concept if we recognize "Skinny Love" not as a description of the "love", but as another person. He is talking to the one he loves, calling her "Skinny Love". He is urging her to stay with him ("just last the year"), but immediately realizes that it is unhealthy to feel this way. He does this through "Pour a little salt", as salting the ground is a way to stop anything from growing; it destroys the earth. He is in a war with himself, because he loves her, but he knows he needs to stop the things they had from growing...forever. This is where the "my my my" comes in, as he is shocked with the way things have become and the way they are both reacting. "Veneer" is the outward coat of another, the way in which they make one feel. It is interesting how Vernon chooses to say that the "sink" contains blood and crushed veneer, as if he has physically washed away all the pain, cleaning himself. The crushed veneer is Vernon seeing his love for the way she is, and he has washed all of that away because he now recognizes the true motivation behind his partner's love, and knows that it is "skinny". It is a painful realization, and that is where the "blood" comes from. ** I tell my love to wreck it all Cut out all the ropes and let me fall My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my Right in the moment this order's tall ** Here, Vernon’s voice takes a shift from a sadness. He was looking back at the past (“staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer”), but now finds himself in the present. You can hear in the way he is singing that he goes from misery to bitterness in this second verse. Instead of talking to his partner, he now focuses on himself. This is something we all feel after a heartbreak, blaming oneself, and that leads to hollow bitterness that is hard to describe until you have experienced it. Vernon tells his love to wreck it all, unlike the earlier “skinny love”, this time Vernon is referring to the love within himself, and does so with anger. He is upset that the way he feels is unmatched by his partner, and this leads him to believe that he is wrong for feeling so deeply. He believes he can no longer rely on his love, wishing for it to be destroyed, and wishing that he too can love another shallowly, like his partner. He then remembers that it is only because of the moment he is in that he feels this way (“Right in the moment this order’s tall”). Let’s look at the first part of the chorus, the part that is repeated: ** And I told you to be patient And I told you to be fine And I told you to be balanced And I told you to be kind ** I have not seen anyone else make this connection, but I find it a bit odd how closely this part of the song matches up with the Bible’s definition of love in Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” Vernon is telling the one he loves that he wishes she felt this way, that she truly loved him. Again, in this part, Vernon is nearly shouting and sounds both bitter and miserable. He feels this way for his partner, he truly loves her, but she doesn’t love him, and he is practically begging for her to feel the way he does. This is further explored in the next part: ** And in the morning I’ll be with you But it will be a different kind And I’ll be holding all the tickets And you’ll be owning all the fines ** Although I may be wrong, I assume that them being together in the morning means that they are sleeping together. The “different kind” in the next line refers to the love described previously: the definition of true live. Vernon then goes on to state that he is holding the tickets, and she is owning the fines. The one writing the tickets is not in the wrong, it is the one who receives the tickets that committed a crime. Vernon is saying that the fact that they are together in the morning is complicated, as they both are feeling “different kinds” of love, Vernon, real love, his partner, most likely lust (or “skinny love”). He calls her out, telling her she is wrong to do what she is doing, and that he is innocent. ** Come on skinny love, what happened here? Suckle on the hope in light brassieres My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my Sullen load is full, so slow on the split ** Here, Vernon is in disbelief. He is angry because he can’t believe she doesn’t feel the same way. He further goes on to remember what he did, and that he found “hope” in something very physical (“light brassieres”). He asks what happened, and then answers his question, discovering that she never felt the same way he did, and it was something purely physical for her. Although she feels no love for him, Vernon still finds it hard to depart form her (“Sullen load is full, so slow on the split”). *refer to the repeated section talked about earlier* ** And now all your love is wasted? And then who the hell was I? And I’m breaking at the britches And at the end of all your lines ** I suspect that Vernon’s partner never told him her “love was wasted”, rather it is Vernon drawing the conclusion that if they separate, it is as if there was never anything between them. So, her leaving is Vernon translating it as her love being wasted, and asking her if that is what she wants. The question is rhetorical. After a heartbreak, we often seek to draw conclusion as to why things ended, and, in Vernon’s case, a one-sided love offers virtually no closure when it ends. People crave closure, and it is often hard to continue when none is given. Vernon assumes her love was wasted, asking who the hell he was if she felt nothing for him. He then goes on to state that he is “breaking at the britches”…what an odd thing to say. It is as if we are to assume he has become fat. This seems strange until one looks at the earlier metaphor of “skinny love”. Vernon is stating that his love is full, the opposite of skinny, that he is fat with real love for her. He ends it with a final look at her skinniness, or her “lines”. There is no mutual feeling between them, Vernon is full, and she is empty. ** Who will love you? Who will fight? Who will fall far behind? ** Vernon leave us with a series of rhetorical questions, implying that nobody will love her, nobody will fight for her love, and nobody will set themselves back in life for her. He is again saying she is wrong, that if she wants somebody to care for her, then she needs to care for another. Without that, she will wind up alone, for nobody will endure the pain she causes. Although the final note of this song is incorrect, as loving somebody asks for nothing in return, it does a great job of highlighting the pain one feels when their love is not returned. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – March to the Sea Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[AprylRayn6:22610] I was just logging in to write the same thing. Thank you for actually understanding the profoundness of one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Most people forget that Tyler Joseph is devoutly Christian, and his songs (especially the earlier ones), which people confuse as him struggling with his identity, are actually manifestations of his struggles with society, and what people expect of him, and his religion, what his Father expects of him. Almost all the earlier songs revolve around this very same idea, glowing eyes, ode to sleep, oh miss believer, a car a torch a death (Jesus's death), etc. are meant to show how or why Tyler has overcome what society expects and what God expects, and not to represent the twisted view so many people identify as a struggle with suicide. If you want to discuss any songs, I would be glad to, just email me. And thanks for actually understanding this song. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Glowing Eyes Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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The song as a whole represents the struggle he is facing when trying to be "who he is" vs who society wants him to be . *first stanza* We all are stranger creatures than when we all started out as kids Culture forbids We have romantic fantasies about what dying truly is Fall off the grid * This is basically saying that when we are born we are all different people, a toddler really doesn't care what other toddlers think of them. He then goes on to say that culture, aka society, forbids this difference, it longs for everyone to conform. *second stanza* We live for the night's decor It reveals what we dream of * The night is decorated by dreams, our subconscious thoughts, which is who we REALLY are, our subconscious cannot fake, our dreams reveal who we really are, and who we long to be. *chorus* I know there's someone at the door They called for help, of this I'm sure But do I want to say goodbye to all the glowing eyes I'm holding on to what I know And what I know, I must let go But I would rather play a song for the eyes to sing along * Glowing eyes represents society , or everyone around him, everyone is always watching. The person at the door is the real him, and he is faced with the decision to be the real him , who he longs to be, or say goodbye to the glowing eyes, friends and people. He knows he should let go of the glowing eyes and be the real him, but he would rather stay and sing along with them, conform to society. *next stanza* This room is far too dark for us to stay around Redemption's not that far and darkness is going down * The dark room is the fake him, and he can see that redemption, becoming who he really is isn't that far away, and when he reaches towards it the room seems to become lighter. *next stanza* We all know somebody who knows somebody who's doing great I know some people who know people who are flying straight But I'll kindly enter into rooms of depression While ceiling fans and idle hands will take my life again * The people who are doing great are the people who are being themselves , and when the song says "we all know somebody who knows somebody" it represents the rarity of these people who are being true to themselves. Then by saying "But I'll kindly enter in" it shows the willingness of this person to enter depressing rooms, but rooms where he accepted nonetheless. Curling fans and idle hands show that he is not really himself in these rooms, and the fake him takes the life of the real him. When the song says make then stop, it is representing a chorus of glowing eyes, society, singing along to a song that this man's fake self has written , and he wants more than anything for the eyes to stop singing and let him be who he wants to be. |
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