| Twenty One Pilots – Ride Lyrics | 10 months ago |
| @[Moonbeam86:47458] Yes! Thanks for your comment and your discussion of what I said! You are right that it is a homophone and THAT's why it's a "thinly veiled" metaphor. I should have pointed that out. The phrase "in the sun" usually means staying within the warmth/light of the heavenly body we call the "Sun." But BECAUSE it's a homophone for "Son," it is also probably being used by songwriter Tyler Joseph as a metaphor for the Christian concept of staying "in Christ." It is one word also representing another word, and both of them sound the same! (I should have also pointed out that tøp has used this same wordplay in other songs, like Ode to Sleep's lyric, "the Sun's blood on my hands.") | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Ode to Sleep Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| @[Moonbeam86:43815] Thanks! | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Levitate Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[kathryn103:41847] I think the "heart/mind" thing refers to something that a lot of Christians do - they give their heart to Jesus, but struggle explaining it with their mind/rational reasoning. Our hearts are with God, but we\'re not able to rationalize what we\'re feeling and even question ourselves sometimes. We\'re still exploring this thing, leaning on God to help us through it all. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| @[KickingWing:32340] And running for his life means he's running away from God and toward the addiction to making music. That's why he asks God at the end if he can build his house (his body in heaven, which the Bible calls our "house"). | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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Most of the songs by Twenty One Pilots are about the intersection of their Christian faith with the ways of the world. There is a struggle in Tyler's lyrics to maintain his belief in God (a "higher" power) in a world as dark (and "low") as ours, with its worship of fame and its frequent descent into addiction and mental illness. Chlorine, in particular, reads like someone who has been far from God (where are you? - sorry I forgot you), but now he's coming back. And I think he's experiencing a type of Communion/cleansing. The imagery sounds like communion -- he's getting up from his seat, and he's getting into formation for holy communion. "I'll be back when it's all complete." HOWEVER, in this case, for Tyler, instead of the wine equating with the blood of Christ and cleansing him, it appears to be his music that provides the cleansing properties and the connection to God. Tyler admits that he sometimes wants to run away from it. Tyler despises God sometimes. Although he's in line for a cleansing, he falls out of formation. He plans his escape. He's running for his "life." He's running from God. It's a battle for Tyler's life. In his life as a musician, Tyler has been finding fulfillment in his "lead" (his writing), his "poisonous vibrations." But he realizes that God made the paper on which he's writing. He even made the music. He even made Tyler himself. No, Tyler cannot get away from God. And like everyone, letting God into his life is cleansing, but for Tyler, sometimes it's painful -- like sipping on straight chlorine. (It's cyclical, btw. That's the meaning of TøP's "day/night" symbolism in so many of their songs. The morning and the "sun" and the car represent a journey to God. In the morning, heading toward the East and the sun, Tyler is cleansed. But day heading into night represents him descending into darkness. Tyler goes far away. In the morning, he tries again. He comes back. He's cleansed. Etc., etc.) As Tyler was writing this, he felt like he'd been cleansed, and gotten dirty, and been cleansed, and gotten dirty, and been cleansed ... to the point that there was hardly anything left. Just pieces of him. Just the chemical. And he's hoping that when he goes to see his Father in Heaven, that he will have a place there, even though he's just "pieces" - just a "chemical." A few more things -- "Build my house" is a Christian phrase meaning our dwelling in heaven - sometimes, it's even called a mansion, although it's usually interpreted as meaning our new heavenly body. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, John 14:2,3 Tyler's voicing that he feels there might not be enough of him left to dwell there. "Tested" is a Christian term - it's temptation. ("Lane Boy" also speaks to this concept) Tyler is saying he's sorry that he forgot God, but he's been tempted like crazy. He thought he was invincible, but he wasn't. "Carnation" is a flower named for the "incarnation" of Christ, whose blood is red. (And Christ was a rebel.) In Christianity, the idea of allowing Christ into your heart is to allow him to grow within you as you die/decay to yourself. As a side note - in the music video for this song, I think the styrofoam cup that Tyler is carrying around is representative of the healing power of God. But Tyler DOESN'T drink it. Instead, Tyler just works with Josh to fill a pool with chlorine (the music they make) and let Ned swim around in it (and perhaps Ned is their fans?). Tyler apparently gets into the pool too. But neither of them actually DRINK. Getting into the pool and swimming helps, obviously, as Ned's horns begin to grow and he is cleansed. But it's cyclical. By nighttime, the pool is empty. And now they're going to have to start over. Ned and Tyler get some cleansing from the pool - the music - but they are fighting against the real gift of God -- the full cleansing of just DRINKING and believing. I think willingly drinking the cup is "blind belief." And Tyler knows it will take him onto a higher road (with the rest of the Banditos). But Tyler just can't yet. He's still going on a journey toward it, wrestling with God all the way. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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@[Keeson:27816] Hate to come back and reply yet again, but there was a song released recently on Youtube that Tyler wrote for "No Phun Intended." There's a line where the lyrics say: "Have you ever heard the trees singing their song?" This, combined with "Forest" and the trees mentioned in "Ode to Sleep" (and the "trees wave their arms") makes me really think that what I said above is true ^ that "Trees" is from the point of view of someone in the midst of people singing and raising their hands in worship. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Forest Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I don't know the whole meaning of the WHOLE song. But I DO KNOW the meaning of the "forest." It symbolizes a group of people raising their hands. "Chorus" is a common word for a worship song that repeats a lot (Tyler was a worship leader when he wrote this song and all the songs on his first few albums). When he says "down in the forest," he's talking about standing among people signing worship songs, with their "hands held higher." This is a symbol Tyler uses in his songs a lot. He uses the symbol of "trees" to mean people with their hands raised: - In "Going Down" ("Have you ever heard the trees singing their song"). - In Ode to Sleep ("the trees wave their arms") - In Trees ("silent in the trees, standing cowardly," which is someone who is NOT raising their arms nor singing, but is cowardly seeking a connection to God as everyone around them sings and reaches their arms up). And I think the "something better" he's talking about is God. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Nico and the Niners Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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The song, overall, is an allegory about escaping the DARK/DEATH/"DEMA"/DOWN and finding LIGHT/SUN/LIFE/GOD/UP. This song is FILLED with stuff, so I'm going to try to break down just ONE of the concepts right now: EAST IS UP! WHAT DOES "EAST IS UP" MEAN? This lyric refers to the rising sun being your way toward LIFE -- it means that when you are mentally in the "dark/night," head toward the "light/new day/life." If you've listened to twenty one pilots music, you know that they are REALLY big on the symbols of the morning and the sun being good, and the night and the dark being bad. They also use the SUN to be a thinly veiled reference to the SON of God, Jesus Christ. But in a more secular interpretation, it means "that which brings abundant LIFE." Some examples of what I'm talking about: Taxi Cab: "We're driving toward the morning sun, Where all your blood is washed away and all you did will be undone." Ride: "I just wanna stay in the sun where I find, Pieces of peace in sun's peace of mind" Hometown: "Where we're from, there's no sun" and "Be the one, be the one, To take me home and show me the sun" There are others -- Truce, Semi-Automatic, Ode to Sleep, Clear -- several more have "sun' references. There is also a cyclical meaning to the morning versus the evening. Tyler says in several songs that the sun "will rise again" in the morning and he will "try again," but at night he falls back into the dark: "It happens at night, right?" ... "Cause when the sun sets, it upsets what's left of my invested interest, Interested in putting my fingers to my head." (And this is also a biblical thing -- many references to a new day and a new start and a new morning in the Bible.) So EAST IS UP represents both these ideas. 1) When you are in the DARK/NIGHT (DEMA/DEATH) go EAST toward the SUN/SON/LIGHT to find LIFE. 2) But you might fall back into the dark (whether in your mind or falling away from God) so you will have to start again (morning/new day) -- just keep heading EAST, heading toward the new day. (Note: This is also represented in the videos for Heavy Dirty Soul, Jumpsuit and Nico and the Niners. In HDSoul, Tyler is being driven by a demon/blurryface/bishop AWAY from the rising sun -- the video makes that VERY clear at the beginning. In Jumpsuit, at the end of the video, Tyler has escaped the car and is now choosing to walk TOWARD the morning sun -- again, the video makes it obvious with the pink sky in front of him as the sun rises. And at the end of Nico and the Niners, Tyler and the Banditos are walking into a tunnel that features sunlight at the end of a dark tunnel.) The "UP" part just means "higher" -- not physically, but mentally. It means rising above the dark ... getting out of the path toward death ... rising up to a higher power, a higher meaning, a better, fuller life. The song is FILLED with references to "low" and "high." The low is bad. The high is good. Rising up allows you to "fly" (rise above) from the "fire" (which represents hell, death, the burning of what you were before and the journey you were on before). We first saw this twenty one pilots concept of "low" in their video for "Lane Boy." Tyler talks at the end about how worshipping things like success and fame keeps you "low." What he's saying is that fame and success are meaningless. Worshipping accomplishment will keep you LOW -- in the DARK/DEATH/DEMA. Now, in Nico and the Niners, he's saying the goal is to be HIGHER. I think it's a good goal :) I'll leave the reference to "bishops" to someone else, although I just want to point out that in the video for Nico, the bishops are worshipping human accomplishment (there are statues of humans reaching higher) and they are worshipping a false light (the neon is constructed in the shape of the Japanese kanji for bright/light). So the bishops are people who try to get you to worship fame and success (which does NOT provide true light), while the Banditos are people who worship something higher (true light, music, creation, sun/son -- there's a reason Josh wears a big cross on his chest in the video) |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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@[Keeson:27334] @[Keeson:27334] Hey - I thought of another theory related to the symbolic meaning of “trees.” I came upon the idea when I was listening to “Forest.” Ok so the lyrics in “Forest” say: “Down in the Forest we’ll sing a chorus, one that everybody knows Hands held higher, we’ll be on fire, singing songs that nobody wrote.” Here’s my thinking: 1) Chorus is another term for worship song. 2) Tyler spent many years as a worship leader for his church (New Albany Church/Five 14). 3) The “hands held higher, we’ll be on fire” seems like it refers to people reaching up as they sing a worship song (a chorus). 4) Following this line of thinking, all the arms raised up during worship would look like a forest. 5) So the “forest” in the song probably symbolizes a big group of people raising their arms in worship. Ok, so if Tyler’s “forest” is a group of people worshipping, I realized maybe “Trees” is referring to the same thing? As we said before, this song is a prayer someone is saying as they stand silently. However, I think the “trees” means the person is standing silently within a group of people in the midst of worship. The person is surrounded by “trees,” but he is not singing. He’s standing silently, cowardly not singing, but he wants to hear from God. His mind and soul are reaching out for God. And he feels God’s breath, and he feels his own death as God fills him — all in the midst of worship. It makes sense because why would standing silently in ACTUAL trees be cowardly? It wouldn’t. However, standing in the midst of people worshipping but being too shy to sing (or maybe even too shy to raise your hands) would be kind of cowardly. And this song was written during Tyler’s time as a worship leader. So yeah...this might be another symbolic meaning of “Trees.” |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Ride Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[dan1876588:21559] Well, when I mentioned afterlife, I was referring to the words before it: "going to a place of rest." My point was that "going" somewhere would be a more prevalent thought if you actually believe there's somewhere to go. Didn't mean suicidal thoughts are more prevalent if you believe in an afterlife. I agree with everything you said. The suicide/hell/punishment connection is widely believed (even though it's not biblical nor espoused by modern theologians). But I think there's also a connection between faith and meaning — that a belief in a higher power usually leads to purpose. It's certainly something twenty one pilots explores in their songs. I know that my own exploration of apologetics and theology has opened my eyes to the possibility of a much greater purpose, giving my life new meaning and purpose and combatting my own suicidal thoughts. I wear a leather cuff with the word "faith" on it over the place where I'm tempted to cut my wrist — a reminder that there just might be something bigger and more meaningful than me, and a reason I'm still here, and that faith in that "bigger" God will get me through each day. I think we each need to find meaning. (That, again, is a common theme in twenty one pilots songs.) I hope you're able to find meaning in your life as well. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Ode to Sleep Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| I have heard him say that more than once in video interviews, especially in the pre-Blurryface days, but I'm sorry I don't have the interviews handy. I just did a quick Google search and found a written quote on an interview with WOUB Digital where Josh said: "'Ode to Sleep' is the closest to us with its meaning; it's probably the most connected with us that any song could be." | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Heathens Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[AleimonThimble:19185] I was wondering about that too. I think that, if you can take the video as representing the true meaning of the song (and I assume you can - this band wouldn't do videos without really thinking it through), then the line appears to be directed at Tyler himself. You know, self-talk. At the end of the video, because Tyler dwelled among "heathens," he ended up back in bondage. He became "one of us," far from God. See...I think the whole song is Tyler talking to himself along with everyone else. He's telling himself "take it slow." But at the end, his fears of growing far from God are being voiced — his fear that he's not changing other people, but they're changing him instead. He's afraid that, while he thought he was getting other people/heathens out of bondage with his music (as represented in the video), he was really just getting sucked back into bondage himself. At least that's what the video portrays. So he "shouldn't have come" into this life of being surrounded by heathens, and now it looks like he's one of us. I don't know - it's a theory based mostly on the video. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[Keeson:19026] I agree with everything you said, but let me add just one little alternate theory to it. I think maybe he DOES feel God's presence at one point. I think when he says, "I can feel my death. I can feel your breath," he is actually communing with God. To explain: 1) "I can feel my death." In Christianity, we are called to "die" to ourselves and instead be filled with Christ. Galatians 2:20 describes it this way: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Jesus himself said, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it." Romans 6:8 says, "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." There are many, many more verses that reference laying aside your old life, and filling yourself instead with God. I believe that in "Trees," when Tyler is standing there alone in the silence, his arms outstretched, calling out to God, he can feel himself "dying to himself." That's why he says, "I can feel my death." 2) "I can feel your breath." God is often referred to in the Bible as "breath." Job 33:4 makes it clear: "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." I believe that in "Trees," when Tyler says "I can feel your breath," he is feeling the presence of God. And if you follow that line of reasoning, the "Hello"s that follow the death/breath line are just that — a "HELLO!" to God. :) I think it fits, because Tyler doesn't scream them like he's angry or desperate, particularly if you see him perform this in concert — he screams them as a celebration! Hello! Just an alternate theory on what that part of the song means! |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Heathens Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I used to think it was "never know," but if you watch Tyler's mouth at concerts, he says "loving." You can especially see it on their recent SNL appearance. And the video COULD be interpreted as being about loving the prisoners ("murderers" and "psychopaths"). In the video, Tyler and Josh's music frees the prisoners from their bondage. The two musicians aren't sure about the prisoners at first, but they accept them and eventually they all end up celebrating together. It goes along very well with the interpretations about accepting new members of the Clique or accepting new people coming to the church. (It's also noteworthy that in the video, the music/Josh is equated with "light" - a light that Tyler follows and as such is freed. And I think the ending of the video, when Tyler is locked up again, represents Tyler's fear that he'll no longer be in the light - that he'll be back in bondage or "gone.") |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Holding on to You Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[companioncube:15930] Your interpretation is spot on, except I think a couple lines mean something else. I think you're definitely right that it's about fighting depression. But the liner notes on the CD thank Jesus Christ, whom Tyler and Josh call their "lord and savior." I think the part of the song about "you should take my life, you should my soul" is directed toward God. And so is, I believe, "I'll be holding on to you." If you watch the video, at the end, Tyler points up when he says "you." Instead of relying on the power of his flesh, he's giving his life, his soul to God, because he cannot fight the depression alone. And he's suggesting to other people that they entertain the idea of doing the same thing. We were "gifted" with thought, and using that gift of thought, we can at least entertain Tyler's faith. He's not telling people to believe what he believes, but he's sharing about what he holds onto, sharing about his faith, and he's suggesting we get "introspective" and think for ourself about that message. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Heathens Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[Moonbeam86:15476] I should also add that I THINK the room of people is referring to a church - he's talking about a bunch of not-sure, busted up, confused people sitting together in a church sanctuary -- many of them "heathens" -- singing to the sky. We check our guns at the door of the church (smile at each other and be nice because God says to) but it doesn't mean we're healthy inside our brains (hand grenades). And it's within this church that we don't deal with outsiders very well, and we can tell the newcomers, etc., etc. And then what I said above also applies. But I do agree with others that it could also apply to Tyler and Josh's "clique" concept and the idea of people who come to a concert to see them. I know most people who first started listening to this band in Columbus, Ohio, were teenage Christians -- technically, we started the Clique and now people worldwide are joining us, which brings both concepts together, in a way. Christians and Clique united, all singing to the sky, looking for something more powerful than ourselves. Kind of cool, if you think about it. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Semi-Automatic Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| This concept of being "double-minded" or double-sided is from the Bible, especially the Book of James. So many of twenty one pilots' lyrics come straight out of the Bible. Double-minded means wanting to be one way (loving and serving God and trusting his will) but inevitably doing the opposite (doing something/being someone you don't like/being far from God or doubting his will). | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Message Man Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| I get frustrated on YouTube when a few people are sharing interpretations of the lyrics for a twenty one pilots song, or are sharing Bible verses that inspired the song's "message," or are even sharing a problem they've had, and then someone comes along and posts about how "cute" Josh is or how a certain time mark has a hot look on Tyler's face. Innocent fun, I suppose, and sure, we all notice how they look. But I think Tyler hopes it doesn't become the focus of your fandom. It's one of the reasons they wear masks. My interpretation of Message Man: Don't focus on the messenger. Focus on the message. Don't obsess over their cute smiles. Take what you heard them say and turn it into action in your own life. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Heathens Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| I've heard Tyler's pastor speak. This is his philosophy and the philosophy of most modern non-denominational churches these days. Those of us who are Christians should be part of the non-Christian world. We aren't great at accepting "heathens" into our midst, but we absolutely need to accept them AND LOVE THEM WHERE THEY ARE, HOW THEY ARE, WHO THEY ARE. Engage with the culture. Love them. Love people in trouble, people in prison, people in need. Don't preach. Just build relationships with them. Don't jump immediately into sharing your faith - take it slowly and get to know them first. You don't know how they may have been abused by so-called Christians in the past. And be sincere in your love for them - if you're just there trying to convert them, they'll smell your intentions. Wait for them to ask YOU about who you know (Jesus). By then, you will be a trusted friend and you can share the story of the love and grace you have received. And whether or not they convert doesn't matter - that's not your job - your job is to just share the love you have received with the rest of the world, share your faith if the opportunity arises, and let God do the rest. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Goner Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[natloves21p:15445] "The ghost of you is close to me" is about the Holy Ghost. And we all want to be known by Him. It's a beautiful prayer. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Goner Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[Austin21thesky:15444] Yeah, I think Tyler's obviously singing to God here, proven with "the ghost of you is close to me" - the Holy Ghost. And "I want to be known by you" is the whole point of Christianity, being known by God. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Fairly Local Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[ginnyboy:15443] YES Tyler is just sharing Biblical truth - a concept in Paul's letter to the Romans. What we don't want to do, we do. Paul "walked those streets." Tyler "walked those streets." We all walk them, together. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[jean106067:14216] All Christians sing that kind of stuff. The Psalms (in the Bible) are filled with songs where David (and other people) are crying out to God that way. There's even a guy in the New Testament who walks up and says to Jesus, "I believe. Help my unbelief." And Jesus helps him. If you look at Tyler Joseph's songs, he's often saying "I believe. Help my unbelief." Even the song "Doubt" is about that - Tyler is saying, "I can't live without you God; please don't leave me, even thought I sometimes have doubts." | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| To me, the song is about reaching out to God during quiet times alone. My favorite part is, "I want to see" -- a common plea from Christians. We want to see Him! I picture standing outside, my arms raised high, feeling the wind (His "breath") and feeling the Holy Spirit (the "death" God gives us - death to ourselves), and calling out to God. I want to say hello. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[FabulousFangirl:14215] I'm sorry - this wasn't supposed to be in reply to you - it was just supposed to be a general comment! I think your interpretation is a good one too. I think Tyler would like it, because I think he prefers that his fans each get a different meaning out of his songs. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Trees Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| To me, the song is about reaching out to God during quiet times alone. My favorite part is, "I want to see" -- a common plea from Christians. We want to see Him! I picture standing outside, my arms raised high, feeling the wind (His "breath") and feeling the Holy Spirit (the "death" God gives us - death to ourselves), and calling out to God. I want to say hello. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Ride Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Something I think people are missing - the idea of thinking "about the end way too much" and "it's fun to fantasize" - I think some people are missing what that means. That is suicidal thinking. I'm seeing a counselor now about this. When you think about death, you are fantasizing about leaving this stressful world and going somewhere with no worries, a place of rest. (This is particularly true if you believe in an afterlife.) And like I said earlier, in this song, ToP is saying that the way to stay alive is to let go of that need to control - particularly that need to control the end of your life - let go of it and give control to a higher power. Don't hurry toward death -- TAKE YOUR TIME. Let God do the controlling and just RIDE in the passenger seat. You're fallen. And you're continuing to fall. So just drop into God's arms, sit back, let God drive, and enjoy the ride. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Ride Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| This song plays with the images of light and dark (both in the first verse's lyrics and in the video) - this is a theme that runs through much of the Blurryface album & many of the band's videos. In Ride's first verse, Tyler sings of wanting to stay in the light of the sun. This has a double (even maybe triple) meaning -- staying in the light refers to staying away from dark/depressive/suicidal thoughts, but it also refers to staying in the light of God's love -- both of which are "hard sometimes" to do. (And since the band's members are Christians, "sun" is likely a thinly veiled metaphor for "Son," because a follower of Jesus seeks to "stay in the Son" and seeks "Son's peace of mind"). The second verse plays with biblical teachings regarding laying down your life for your brothers, loving your enemies, loving others more than yourself, etc. Regarding the chorus, I believe there are two key things to understand about this song: "Ride" refers to letting go of control of your life and letting someone else do the "driving." And "falling" refers to both the fall toward death and the biblical fall of man -- our fall away from God. I think the band is saying that letting go of control and turning it over to a higher power (basically, the first step on a 12-step program) allows an individual to trust and love and enjoy the "ride" of life. But it's "hard sometimes" to stay in that place, particularly when you "think too much." I believe Tyler sings "help me" both to God and to his friends and fans, because his music is where he's able to really let go and enjoy the "ride." (The video re-emphasizes this idea, as the band struggles to stay in the light but, once they are able to "polarize" and focus on a higher power - represented by sunglasses - they are able to stay in the light via their music.) | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Fall Away Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I think you've got the general meaning. But I would only say that I don't think it's about performance - you mention "lifestyle" a lot and "doing things." I think it's more about relationship with God and closeness to him. Falling away means being far from God. It's not necessarily about what you "do" - it's about who you are. And his "aim" for a "new name" represents being born again, but he admits his "name is lame," meaning that he has to constantly struggle to maintain his "new" life in relationship with God. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Ode to Sleep Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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OK, so I heard Tyler say in an interview that this song IS Twenty One Pilots. That it summarizes who they are. I thought… hmm… really? And after looking at they lyrics, I'm going to take a guess at why he said that... As anyone who knows their lyrics has figured out, Tyler has been tormented by negative thoughts and even thoughts of suicide. In Christian imagery, and several of their songs, these "evil thoughts" are represented by demons (whether you believe them to be true demons or just psychological attacks from a darkness within). And in Christian belief, demons attack those that they see as a threat. This song is basically saying - hey, maybe Tyler is being attacked because he is a threat - because he has the capacity/means to be an instrument of good (through his pen / the band's music). There's a purpose for him on this earth. And in the song, he's crying out to a higher power (God) saying, "Aaaah!! Why? I don't want this on my shoulders! I don't want this purpose! I don't want this pen! Tell the demons you have no plans for me! I don't want to do this! This isn't the freedom you promised!" And in the end, he tells God that he's "sorry." He realizes the plans that God has for him, to be a mouthpiece of hope - to encourage young people to think, and to survive, and to live. And that's why this song is so important to Twenty One Pilots. (And as others have said, the three denials (echoing the story of Peter) and the fourth denial about "not telling" whom he's singing toward (God/higher power) is something with which he struggles. He doesn't want to sing and write songs and perform for money and fame ("whore") - he wants to fulfill his purpose.) That's my interpretation. Not sure I got it right, but if I'm even close (and I think I am), then it's just another reason to love this band. |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Car Radio Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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http://kroq.cbslocal.com/twenty-one-pilots-discuss-their-rising-popularity-and-grassroots-approach-to-music/ "Joseph said that while he was going to college to major in Communications (or in his words, a fancy way of saying undecided), he pulled his “horribly beat up car to the place” where he’s “supposed to learn for thousands of dollars” and because he was late, didn’t lock the door. As one might suspect, when Joseph left class his car was gutted with his CD Player, GPS, and car radio stolen. “And because I’m super emo and all about looking for inspiration, I wrote a song about that moment.” Joseph said that sans car radio, he had more time to be introspective. “That song kind of just documents where you let your mind go when you don’t have a distraction to keep it in its box.” |
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| Twenty One Pilots – Addict With a Pen Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Several of Twenty One Pilots' songs have lyrics that COULD be interpreted as being Christian in nature, but this one is pretty obvious. It's a prayer. He's talking to God, the Father, at the end of another day. And the water is the "living water" of Christ. There's a lot of clever imagery in this song. For those of us Christians who are struggling to stay in relationship with Christ, it's very relatable. | |
| Twenty One Pilots – Holding on to You Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I'm sure the guys in Twenty One Pilots would probably want their listeners to interpret the lyrics personally, so I'll just say that WHAT I THINK personally (for me) is that they're talking about holding onto FAITH to overcome personal (flesh-based) problems - in this case, suicidal/depression-type thoughts. He's saying flesh is all he's got, and he can't trust himself, so he's going to try to control his mind (put a leash on it) and just give it over to God - telling God to take his life, take his soul - and let God surround him. And he's also talking to other people who struggle with the same problems ("at night, right?"), telling them to also entertain faith. BUT he's making it clear that people shouldn't just follow these lyrics - he doesn't mean it that way - he's saying people should think for themselves - because God gifted us with the power of thought. | |
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