Fairly Local

In a couple of interviews, Tyler has talked about how humans know right from wrong, but we do not always do what is 'right'. We often hurt other people, even people who we love. The chorus alludes to this by saying "I'm evil to the core. What I shouldn't do I will...What I wanna save I'll kill. Is that who I truly am? Tomorrow I'll keep a beat and repeat yesterday's dance." He is referring to the never-ending cycle of pain that comes from hurting others when he talks about repeating yesterday's dance.

The phrase 'fairly local' is their way of saying that they have both gone through the same dark times that we also go through.

They have also mentioned in interviews that a lot of musicians are not genuine when it comes to their songs. Some musicians do not believe in the words they are singing and they are creating music for the wrong reasons. This is why this song (or any of their songs, for that matter) will "never be on the radio". Twenty one pilots' lyrics are much deeper than most pop music that is about less important things like partying, drinking etc. Because their songs are so heavy, it is not likely that the general population will grab onto them as a band.

"The world around us is burning, but we're so cold. It's the few, the proud and the emotional." It is scary to recognize all of these problems that humanity has. It is even more terrifying to look at ourselves, as individuals, and to bring all of our faults to the table.

The demon-like voice in the song represents our evil side, or our 'demons', that are in the back of our minds. This is the voice we listen to when we make decisions that have unwanted consequences. This song sounds so dark and maybe even a little creepy because of the dark part that we all have inside us.

Towards the end of the song, everything is reversed. We realize and accept that we are messed up. Even with all of this evilness that humans have, we are not going to just let it keep happening. We are going to try our hardest to stop hurting others.

Romans 7:15

I think that in Fairly Local they are saying that they understand what it's like to be in a dark place, far from God.

at the beginning of the first verse it says,

"What I shouldn't do I will They say I’m emotional What I wanna save I’ll kill"

in the bible it says something similar:

Romans 7:15-20

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

thing are probably making more since now.

in the second verse, things are reversed and he has the power to switch things up and do what he truly wants to. this is relayed in Romans 7:22;

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law...

so, you probably have figured out the whole song exept for one part: the chorus. the phrase "fairly local' explains that tyler has been through what we are going through. it confirms this by saying, "Ive seen the streets you're walking down." the part that says "good people now" says that we all are good people but all have issues.

thx for reading! <3

Okay, so i was looking through and saw that someone posted this and it is a perfect description of the song.

the comment below was posted by @fayelouise13

      "In this song above, with the way it's constructed, it appears they are trying to demonstrate life without Christ vs. life with Him. Without Him we are "evil to the core" because of our fallen condition (and that means all of us, friend, Christian and otherwise). On the otherside of the chorus, he flips it, because with Christ, we are redeemed and empowered to live life out of love, service and triumph because Christ gives those to us. We don't have to "repeat yesterday's dance" because, in Christ, our past, failures and sins are obliterated :) And no, you do not have to beg Him. It's simply ( it can be hard) acknowledgement of our sins, acknowledging He gave Himself to take our place in the sight of God (allowing us to stand in His righteousness not our unrighteousness), and asking Him to be our Lord, leading us away from sin and into His presence. It's a daily struggle, but Christ is faithful and loves you (that's the whole reason He came). Twenty One Pilots is saying here that they've been where you are and are reminding you life is so, so worth it. And that ultimately, you are loved. :)"

So, so true my freind; so,so true.

he's telling us you're not alone. sometimes he's evil and sometimes he's not. if you are feeling like that, he's telling you that he's been there and you're not alone.

"Josh and I are right now sitting in Columbus, Ohio, at my house and we love it here. It's our hometown and it always will be. So I think in the song "Fairly Local," it's more metaphor. We had a lot of conversations with a lot of people who like listening to music or using music to get through tough times. If anything, I think Josh and I learned when we were traveling the world during the last album cycle that everyone's the same, everyone feels the same issues. So it's kind of a way of getting on the same level as these people and telling them, in a sense, we understand what you're going through."

-Tyler Joseph

It seems to me like the two verses are two different sides of his (or anyone's) mind. Everyone does things we know are wrong. Sometimes we don't even care that they are wrong. Yet overall we generally try and do good with our lives. The two verses of this song are almost exact inverses of each other. It seems like this is done to highlight the contradiction in our minds between what want to do and what we know is right and the struggle that goes on internally over it.

So this is actually a question I need answered asap!!!! So I have been a TØP fan for a long time, I'm a full on clique member! I watch all their interviews, I know all the cliques inside jokes and I have all the merch and I watch all their vines and personal vids... I love josh and Tyler just as much as I love the band itself. Twenty one pilots is my obsession and I love them with all my heart. I kee that they were Christian, but that didn't change how I felt about them (I am anti religion) and recently I looked up what the lyrics to some of their songs were, and real sizes I have been depending on songs that I for the majority of the lyrics disagreed with. I believe in god, but in some of their songs it says seems to say that you must beg god to forgive your sins and he'll and stuff I don't exactly believe... I'm comeoltely heartbroken because this ruins the concept that I thought I finally found a band that I can relate to on a whole different level and something I believe in and understand. Now I don't know what to think... someone help. I've cryed about this for an hour (it sounds dumb but I love them so much) and I am lost. They are the only thing keeping me going in this hard time in my life and I feel like because it's Christian I can't rely on it like I did, a few songs a I can (the ones that don't imclude Christian belief) but I don't know what to do. I'm not judging them, I accept them as people and amazing people still, but their music idk what to think now. Someone help I'm heartbroken.:(

Fairly Local by Twenty One Pilots is one of my favourite songs. The song for me, is really relatable as it depicts my day to day challenge to be a better person. The song is about a journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. To not repeat the same mistakes that I have made in the past. The song is written by Tyler Joseph who is a Christian, like myself. As Christians we strive to be more like Jesus, trying not to repeat the mistakes that we find ourselves making. That is where I feel that Joseph is coming from. He talks about his own day to day challenge to make a conscious decision to do better then he has done in the past. Twenty One Pilots let the listeners know that they have been down the path of making mistakes. But they have also been down the path of pursuing Christlikeness. Not only have the been down both these streets but they continue on them. They are ‘fairly local’ to these streets.

In the first verse of the song, it talks about how Tyler is “evil to the core.” The next line says “What I shouldn’t do I will.”I believe what he is saying is that; because i'm evil to the core, I do what shouldn’t. The rest of the verse says “What I wanna save I’ll kill. Is that who I truly am? I truly don’t have a chance. Tomorrow I’ll keep a beat. And repeat yesterday’s dance.” This verse I think is inspired by a bible verse from Romans 7:18-19 which says “18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” The first line of the above section says that Tyler is going to kill what he wants to save. I think one example he could be talking about are his relationships with other people. He wants to save them, but inevitably he will end up killing them because he is “evil to the core”. If he wants to save these things, they must be of value to him. But what is he saving them from? I think he is saving them from himself and the consequences of his being evil to the core. He asks himself; if I really am evil to the core, and I end up killing what I value, then I “don’t have a chance”. Maybe as he realises how he made mistakes, he realises that he will continue to make these mistakes. The next day he will “keep a beat”, a beat that he has been playing for a while one and that he will “repeat yesterday’s dance”. Which I think is metaphorical for the actions that he has made. I believe that what he is saying here is that he will continue to make the same mistakes he has made in the past unless a change is made. Though he doesn’t mention it specifically, I think he is talking about his journey until he met Jesus Christ. Up until that point he was making mistakes with no hope in the future but to continue to make these mistakes and kill the very things he wants to save. But in the third verse he sings a very different tune. The two verses are split by another verse, a chorus and the bridge. In these he doesn’t tell the listeners the catalyst for his change in tune which is why I must assume that he, as a christian, is referring to how christ has changed his life like he has changed mine. In the third verse he says “I’m not evil to the core. What I shouldn't do I will fight. I know I’m emotional. What I wanna save I will try. I know who I truly am. I truly do have a chance. Tomorrow I’ll switch the beat. To avoid yesterday’s dance”. What we see in this verse is a complete attitude change that has happened through the power of Christ. Because only through power Christ, we are “not evil to the core”. Tyler realises that as sinful human beings, we are going to make mistakes but we still have to try and not make those mistakes. He says “What I shouldn’t do I will fight”. He is choosing to make a stand against the mistakes that he is inclined to make. He is choosing to “try” to save what he loves. He is going to “switch the beat” in order to “avoid yesterday's dance”. He says that he knows who he “truly” is. Someone who has been changed by Christ and because of his transformation through Christ he truly does have a chance.

Tyler makes it known to the listeners in the chorus that they aren’t alone in their journey with making mistakes and the struggle to avoid making them. Though he is singing about his journey, he is encouraging the listeners by showing them that they aren’t alone. Even one of the world's most artists has gone and is going through these struggles. This is encouraging for me. He says that he has “seen the streets you’re walking down”. Through this he is saying to anyone listening that he can relate personally and that you aren’t alone. He says that “he has been around”. From this, I take this to mean that; if you have been through it, chances are I have too. He says through out the song and in this passage that he is fairly local to the streets that you’re walking down. So don’t feel alone, because you aren’t. That's what I feel he is saying.