| Alice in Chains – Don't Follow Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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This is my favorite Alice in Chains song ❤ I swear I could fall asleep listening to most of it, except for the louder part, it's so chill. I can also really relate to the words of the speaker, being so lost and broken, but still telling their loved ones not to burden themselves worrying about him. The suicide interpretations were really interesting to read, however morbid. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Bandito Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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XD This is probably a stupid idea but this song reminds me of two characters from a video game I really like. I’m not telling you what it is, but maybe you can guess if you happen to know about this game. WARNING: This interpretation contains some dark and depressing themes. I don’t recommend you read it if you are sensitive to that sort of thing or are currently experiencing depression or any other “down in the dumps” feelings. Stay safe and stay alive. “I could take the high road/But I know that I'm going low” The first character (I’ll call him 1) wants to make good decisions to make the other character (2) happy, but it doesn’t matter if he does make good choices because he will always eventually be pushed in the wrong direction and ruin both their lives. The “bandito” part has no bearing on this meaning, however. I think it could just be naming the characters from the TOP lore, or maybe the word “bandito” does hold some meaning in this song besides that. Obviously I don’t know. “This is the sound we make/When in between two places” These two characters (2 especially) often find themselves in painful, broken, and lonely situations, desperate to get out and find peace. “Where we used to bleed/And where our blood needs to be” The first line could represent past mistakes and/or those horrible situations they find themselves in, and the second meaning the peace they are striving for but can never fully achieve. “In city, I feel my spirit is contained/Like neon inside the glass, they form my brain” 2 lives in a world where everything should go his way. He lives a simple life doing a job he cares about. He has no reason to be scared, sad, or angry about his situation. Until… “But I recently discovered it’s a heatless fire” During the story, 2 discovers the truth behind his world, and the ego and destructive tendencies of the people around him: how they sink their teeth into anything they dislike and tear it apart. He used to think people appreciated his work, but now they’ve done it to him, and he has lost that sense of importance and renown. “Like nicknames they give themselves to uninspire” These critics are also extremely unoriginal and think they’re cooler than they actually are, hence the uninspiring nicknames. They don’t try to do anything new or creative, they don’t care about it. 2, meanwhile, believes that if you don’t do anything original in life, your existence is meaningless, so the whole situation is leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. “Begin with bullet, now add fire to the proof” Insult is added to 2’s injury; as he discovers more and more of the truth behind the people around him and his own life, things only seem to get worse. “But I’m still not sure if fear’s a rival or a close relative to truth” After everything that’s happened, 2 is now wondering if there is still hope for a better future for him and 1, or if he should just accept that they live in a crapsack reality of eternal torture, loneliness, and regret and will never get what they want. It makes sense in context. “Either way it helps to hear these words bounce off of you/The softest echo could be enough for me to make it through” There is a part of the story where 2 is locked in a room with 1, but 1 is frozen in time and basically isn’t even there, leaving 2 alone by his own free will. Despite this, 2 still misses his friend, and is so desperate to be heard that he talks to 1 despite knowing he is practically talking to himself. Although, there are moments where 1 breaks out of the freeze and CAN listen to 2, despite not being able to verbally respond (1 is a Voiceless Player Character). 2 thinks that as long as he can still talk to 1, he just might be able to make it through this hell and start over. “Sahlo Folina” This phrase is Somali and translates to “easy and simple”, referencing how easy it could be for 2 to destroy everything he’s built. This is based on later lyrics. “I created this world/To feel some control” (based on lore from one ending of the game) 2 used to be completely alone, and desperately wanted a home and a friend, so he created the world we play in during the game. He even created 1 himself to make choices and go on adventures with. 2 didn’t choose to be all alone in the beginning, so he created everything so he could feel like he had some control over his existence, despite knowing deep down that EVERYTHING could easily be ripped away from him by his creators at any time. “Destroy it if I want” Again, 2 is pained by his existence and not really being able to control anything that happens to him; he toys with the idea of burning it all down, despite knowing he’d be alone again. However, his creators are the ones who allowed him to do all this in the first place, so in reality, everything is up to them. So 2 is just playing pretend here so he doesn’t have to think about that fact. There is a reprise of these lines, starting with “sahlo folina”, at the end of the song. If I ever made an AMV for this song about the video game, at this part, I would recreate an ending from the game where 2 decides to stop running around and making so many choices, and thinks it would be better for him and 1 to stop and just enjoy life as it is. When they do, 2 finally feels happy for the first time in his life, but the player ultimately decides to ruin it for him by forcing 1 to jump off a flight of stairs until he dies, resetting the story, as well as 2’s memories of what he’s learned. 2 begs 1 to stop, knowing if 1 dies, he’ll lose everything, but not knowing 1 isn’t doing this of his own accord. He eventually loses hope and lets him go, deciding there’s nothing he can do to stop him, and that 1 hates him so much he’s willing to die just to be rid of him and the world he’s created. Well, that’s it. I really like character-driven stories, which is probably what made this game so enjoyable for me. I should note that the story bits I described here are probably the darkest in the whole game, and that this game is mainly a meta comedy game with more funnies and happy moments than these darker parts. If you do know what game I’m talking about here, I hope you enjoyed hearing my take ;) But even if you don’t, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Thank you! |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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When I first heard this song, I interpreted it nonreligiously because I didn’t know what the song was supposed to be about. So here it is. My general interpretation of this song was of the speaker trying to reach out to a struggling friend who refuses to ask for help or talk about their feelings. I know it’s pretty different from the “religious version”, but I think it’s worth talking about. “I know/Where you stand/Silent/In the trees” The speaker has felt what their friend is feeling before, and is starting off with this to let them know that they are not alone and can confide in them. “And that’s/Where I am/Silent/In the trees” This one’s a bit harder to interpret logically, but it could mean that the speaker is feeling so worried for their friend, and beating themself up for not being able to help them, that they are starting to collapse into that same mental state. Outward silence. Inward chaos. “Why won’t you speak/Where I happen to be?” The speaker is right there, ready to support and comfort their friend at a moment’s notice. But THEY need to take the first step and open up to them for that to happen. The speaker is saying again that they have felt these kinds of feelings before and are a good person to talk to (at least initially). Also reflects some growing desperation. “Silent/In the trees/Standing cowardly” This could be self-deprecation on the speaker’s part as they remember feeling like a coward for not being able to open up to others before. So this is appealing to the friend’s own thoughts. “I can feel your breath” The speaker is RIGHT THERE, perhaps even standing right in front of or next to their friend. “I can feel my death” The speaker knows they only have so much time to help their friend, and that fact is driving their increasing panic. “I want to know you/I want to see” The speaker is reassuring their friend that they don’t care how deep and dark and terrifying their feelings are, they just want to know what’s going on so they can help. They’re getting lonely, and perhaps miss when their friend used to talk more and share more. “I want to say/Hello” The speaker just wants to talk and bridge the gap that has formed between them and their friend. Anyway, that’s pretty much it. The rest of the song and its build-up of energy reflects the growing desperation of the speaker. Perhaps the repeated “Hello”s at the end are the speaker finally communicating with their friend, but that’s only a more hopeful way to see it. Sorry to anyone who may feel upset that I didn’t interpret this religiously. I’m atheist, and I don’t know that much about religion anyway, so if I tried, it would probably be trash. Thanks for reading my take on this song; It’s one of my favorites by this band. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Next Semester Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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"Stand up straight now/Can't break down" This reminds me of being scared to ask for help in school even when I really needed it and feeling like I needed to pretend to be okay and that I was holding myself together, even if I was falling apart. "Graduate now" With the context of other lyrics, this sounds like a student who has reached the end of the year and feels like they should be happy, but they aren't; they have regrets about their choices during the year that probably led to bad grades, something they could have avoided if they'd put in more effort. "I don't wanna be here" There could be a million reasons for this. The speaker might be regretful, like above, or just anxious about the future, which is shown later. It's likely a mix of multiple feelings. "It's a taste test/Of what I hate less" What would they rather do? Stay at home where it's safe, but forever remember the choices they've made? Or go to the graduation and face those fears? This lyric also reminds me of being in school and trying to decide what homework to do first while being really overwhelmed. Not a good combo. "Can you die of anxiousness?" The speaker is SO anxious at this point that they feel like it's going to physically hurt or kill them. Also a question I may have asked as a student. "What's about to happen?" Anxiety (I think) can be defined as fear of POTENTIAL danger, even if you don't know what that danger is. Compare that to fear, which is usually more concrete and is always about one or more EXISTING things. "I remember/I remember certain things" So "canonically" (in terms of the speaker, not the actual artists), this song/story was written after the fact. "What I was wearing/The yellow dashes in the street" If the speaker is going to graduation, it's likely they're wearing something fancy, like a graduation gown. Special emphasis on the street? Well, the meaning comes next. "I prayed those lights would take me home" So the speaker is actually standing in the middle of the street, waiting to get hit by a car so they don't have to go to graduation. From my interpretation, they were probably walking to the school. "Then I heard, 'Hey kid, get out of the road!'" The pause between this line and the last one is SO well placed, and the effect is best when you're listening to the song for the first time and don't know how it's going to turn out. Not only do I feel a TON of relief hearing this line, but for some reason I interpreted some minor invalidation as the driver yelling this does not understand why the speaker is standing in the street. This makes the speaker (or me at least) feel like the feelings that brought them to this moment are silly and don't matter, which is probably making it worse. But still, relief!! "Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester" This line is the antithesis to the speaker's feelings from before. It's tinged with regret, but also provides hope. It's telling the speaker that they can't change their past mistakes and choices, no matter how much they want to, and the best, healthiest thing for them to do is not beat themself up about it, accept that it happened, and learn to move on and give themself a second change on the next go around. Really powerful and relatable to me. "Can't feel my legs/I might suffocate/There's a pressure in my chest" The speaker's anxiety is so strong now that it's becoming more and more physical, to the point where they might collapse or vomit or something. I've definitely felt like this before. In fact, the whole song up until the calmer ending feels frantic and jumpy, which actually reminds me of an older TOP song, "We Don't Believe What's On TV". The music style works really well with the lyrics to convey the message: I actually FEEL anxious while listening to it, but that's probably also due to the lyrics. “And then he slowed down/And rolled down his window/And he said “Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester” I’ve heard the driver being interpreted as God before, which makes sense to me. I’m atheist myself, so normally I would try to add a nonreligious interpretation, but given the fact that the driver just automatically knows what’s going on with the speaker, I can’t think of any other logical way to interpret this part. I guess the driver could just happen to be a friend or someone who’s BEEN through this kind of struggle before, but the probability of that just doesn’t support the claim. So, he’s God, telling the speaker these words. Kinda sweet. “It's a taste test/Of what I hate less” This part of the song is calmer and almost peaceful, conveying that the situation from before has been resolved, though the speaker’s feelings haven’t gone away. Pretty realistic, because one little reminder will not account for years of mental growth and (re)construction. “I don’t wanna be here/Start fresh with a new year” The words of the driver are now interlaced with the speaker’s own fears; they are remembering what he said to them. “Can’t change what you’ve done/Start fresh next semester” The speaker repeats the words of the driver to themself and resolves to live them. Okay, I know there’s a high chance the whole “student” thing was supposed to be an elaborate metaphor, but I’m sure this song probably resonated with a lot of younger TOP fans. This is all MY interpretation of the song, a mix of how it related to MY life and an interpretation of the STORY of the song. I wonder how this song relates to the lore…if it does. It might describe Clancy’s anxiety about the situation he’s been placed in and wondering if he’ll be able to reach his goal. Sorry, that’s really vague, but I don’t understand the lore perfectly well. Anyways, that’s it! Thanks for reading all this. |
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