They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?

They think this thing is a highway
If it was our way, we'd have a tempo change every other time change
'Cause our minds change on what we think is good
I wasn't raised in the hood
But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness
If it wasn't for this music I don't know how I would have fought this
Regardless, all these songs I'm hearing are so heartless
Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless, honest
There's a few songs on this record that feel common
I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin'
In the industry it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency
My creativity's only free when I'm playing shows

They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?
They be alive tomorrow?

I'm sorry if that question I asked last
Scared you a bit like a hazmat, in a gas mask, if you ask Zack
He's my brother, he likes when I rap fast
But let's backtrack
Back to this
Who would you live and die for on that list?
But the problem is, there's another list that exists
And no one really wants to think about this
Forget sanity, forget salary, forget vanity, my morality
If you get in between someone I love and me
You're gonna feel the heat of my cavalry
All these songs I'm hearing are so heartless
Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless

They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?
They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?

But will they be alive tomorrow?
But will they be alive tomorrow?
Will they be alive tomorrow?
Will they be alive tomorrow?

They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?
They say, "Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy"
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?


Lyrics submitted by olivia1578

Lane Boy Lyrics as written by Tyler Joseph

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Lane Boy song meanings
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  • +10
    General Comment

    i think this song is talking about Tyler and josh's struggles against fighting everyone opinions and ideas that they have for the band. I guess because twenty one pilots is so diverse, and they cover all sorts of topics, and musical structures that nearly almost album they create is different in its own special way, record labels and others in the industry question whether twenty on pilots will succeed. and to me this is their song fighting back, saying yes we will succeed, but will you?(will they be alive tomorrow). I think the highway && the lane reference is just Tyler trying to express how everyone seems to make music lately, how everything has to be a certain way, all very basic, uniform, and you all go the direction you're supposed to never straying from your 'lane', or what you know will make you music and be 'popular'. I think "But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness If it wasn't for this music I don’t know how I would have fought this" was put in the song to show Tyler's want to express his past pain and struggles and how we wants his music to be therapeutic ad cathartic to his fans, and we will express his music the way he wants. "Regardless, all these songs I'm hearing are so heartless Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that’s flawless" I think he puts this in the song to say hat despite his want to help people through his music and wanting to do his music in his own way, I think here he is saying that all of the stuff other say is 'popular' and 'safe' are meaningless anyways, and the songs he puts out might not be perfect to people but its honest, and true. "honest, There's a few songs on this record that feel common I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin'" I think here Tyler is saying that he is aware that some of these songs on blurryface are more common sounding, and I think he is kind of saying that while being constantly nagged about playing it safe, and living in constant fear of whether or not he will be successful and whether or not people will like his stuff//be impacted(he talks about this sometimes in interviews) "In the industry it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency My creativity's only free when I'm playing shows" here he is obviously saying that he looks at most artists and finds that music has all become about writing things to get the most money, and finding what will get the most likes and everything of that nature. and he feels that's he can only be creative while playing live to his fans because they're all there for the same reason, because they love music and what it does for them. ultimately I think Tyler wrote this song to explain his view on the music industry and how it is kind of fake, and artificial, and he just wants to be able to play his music, the way he likes.

    cathartic225on June 10, 2015   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I think this song is about how a lot of people in the rap industry have responded critically to 21p's music, saying they should "stay in their lane" and not rap because they weren't "raised in the hood." Tyler counters that just because he wasn't raised in the hood doesn't mean he hasn't had other terrible experiences that rap and hip hop got him through, and that many rappers songs on the radio now are "heartless" and their songs are "flawless."

    epicandy5on June 21, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    @alex978103 thank you, I love the song and twenty one pilots and I love how they are so diverse, but the fact that tyler doesn't hide that some of the stuff on the album is mainstream just makes me love him and it ever more!!!

    cathartic225on June 15, 2015   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Society. Basically society. Everyone want us to be the 'lane boy' to be the current person, you know in this world being weird, being different or even say your opinion is bad seen. But MAN we as human beings can't do the same fucking thing. Just look through social media and you'll know. There's something you have to do to be cool or to be accepted by the society and if you don't do it...better listen to some twenty one pilots to keep you safe. Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless...tired about everyone doing what everybody does and caring bout what people think. All the people that just listens to music on the radio because that's what's trend, that is what you are supposed to be listening to.

    GigiBellamyon August 11, 2016   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Ok, so I just want to just start out and say that I think that the whole fight against the rap/pop industry ordeal makes sense, but I feel like we're missing a big lyric here: "but will they be alive tomorrow". This could make the song have maybe a double meaning, referring to the struggle with the other industries, or the pressure from society on Christians. Tyler says that they say "stay in you're lane boy", but they do what they want to, not following societies rules but they follow Gods rules, which ticks off the rest of society. Tyler says, "if it was our way, we'd have a tempo change every other time change/ cause our minds changed on what we think is good" meaning without God, they would do what they want and indulge themselves, but God calls them to change, and they find themselves having the urge to do the right things instead. Then he goes on to say, "I wasn't raised in the hood/ but I know a thing or two about pain in darkness" saying that just because he doesn't live like the rest of society anymore doesn't mean he doesn't experience pain and troubles, and that just because he's a Christian doesn't mean he's perfect. In this song, I feel like Tyler is calling us to be better, and not constantly chase the people who are different from us, declaring that they should be like us, but learn to be accepting and try to understand where their coming from. I also believe that Tyler's trying to put us in his shoes, trying to explain the pressure he feels from the rest of society to be either a perfect Christian, or no Christian at all.

    vicegupion December 04, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sorry, I just wanted to clarify what I meant by the "but will they be alive tomorrow" section. I think this could be Tyler challenging the rest of society, saying, yeah, I'm going to be with God, but where are you going? Seems a little pushy for Tyler, but in this context, it would make sense.

    vicegupion December 04, 2016   Link
  • -1
    Song Meaning

    Alright folks, time to analyze my favorite song ever! All of Twenty One Pilots' songs are not only catchy, but extremely thoughtful. None of the songs are what they appear to be... this being said, Lane Boy is certainly not about a dude driving a car.

    This song, my friends, is a middle finger to the haters who think that TOP is a band who is too musically scattered to survive in the music industry. Tyler knows that music is music, and heck, he can do what he wants! HE is the artist; whether he writes pop, rap, alternative, techno, etc., each piece of music he writes stands for itself and should not be pushed towards a "category" like some other generic songs and albums out there. TOP is a band of variation, not a band that fits into one single category! Hurrah! Now, let's get into the nitty gritty... how did I come to this conclusion?

    Tyler kicks off the song with these lyrics: "They say, 'Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy'/ But we go where we want to" Despite people telling him to stick to one genre of music, Tyler is a strong, independent singer-songwriter who does what he wants!

    "They think this thing is a highway, highway/But will they be alive tomorrow?" The younger generation is the next generation. Hence, the younger folks of society have the responsibility of shaping the future. Maybe not sticking to a genre will be a thing in the future? For now, Tyler does what he wants, despite old stuffy people telling him what he should and shouldn't do.

    "They think this thing is a highway/If it was our way, we'd have a tempo change every other time change" Highways are straight. Long. Fast. There are no curves, no hills, usually nothing to see on the sides of the roads. There are a lot of them. But you know what? TOP will not drive on the boring highway of the music industry! If it were his way, he would change the tempo a bunch of times! However, if you randomly slow down and then speed up on a highway, you might crash because that could be dangerous with a bunch of other cars around you. This instance translates to one in the music industry: if you make your songs super weird, then no one will probably listen to them because they're hard to follow. Tyler negotiates for catchy songs, but catchy songs that have nothing to do with each other. He needs to spice up his job somehow, right? Who wants to write the same kind of song all of the time?!

    "'Cause our mind's changed on what we think is good" Young people like Tyler appreciate different songs than adults do. So, how can anyone expect him to listen to these tasteless adults?

    "I wasn't raised in the hood/But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness/If it wasn't for this music I don’t know how I would have fought this" Tyler raps in his songs. However, he's not some ghetto gangster from the slums who raps about the pain and suffering of the hood. People sometimes criticize him for being a normal dude who raps. They think he's too innocent to enter the rap community. But you know what? That's rude because he still knows about pain and darkness, just from different experiences. He uses his music as a form of catharsis for said pain and darkness.

    "Regardless, all these songs I'm hearing are so heartless/Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that’s flawless, honest" Tyler is disappointed by the lame pop songs he hears on the radio. They're pretty dang boring in that there's no meaning to them. If there is meaning, it's surface-level. He wants songs that he can analyze, songs that are food for thought, songs that convey a deeper message. By "perfect person," Tyler means someone who seems like (s)he's never encountered something horrifying in his/her life. "Perfect" people can't write deep, meaningful songs because they haven't learned much about the dark side of the moon. A "song that's flawless" seems all jolly and dandy, but is it honest? Is it a realistic song? Probably not, according to Tyler.

    "There's a few songs on this record that feel common/I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin'/In the industry..." Oh no, Tyler is beginning to fall into the trap! A few songs in Blurryface, his latest album, appear to him to be similar. If it were up to Tyler, all of his songs would be different. Tyler knows that he has to stick to some kind of agenda, though, so he submits to distant similarity to maintain an audience. Being a singer-songwriter means the constant battle between writing what you want and writing what your audience wants. Tyler is basically just discussing this concept.

    "...it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency/My creativity's only free when I'm playing shows" Tyler gets money and fame when his singles make it to the radio. Radio tunes are always the exact same every time they are played. On the contrary, Tyler also makes money from performing in concerts, but it's a lot more fun for him to perform live so he can change his songs up a bit. He can have Josh do a backflip, he can take a picture of a fly on his piano, he can run on top of the crowd in a hamster ball. It's a good time.

    "I'm sorry if that question I asked last" (psst the question is "will they be alive tomorrow"?)

    "Scared you a bit like a Hazmat, in a gas mask..." This question scares some people like a hazardous material wearing a gas mask. This part is kind of jumbled; Tyler just wants cool fast lyrics to show that he can rap.

    "...if you ask Zack/He's my brother, he likes when I rap fast" Proof of previous statement.

    "But let's backtrack/Back to this" Reigning in the one-way convo here...

    "Who would you live and die for on that list?" AKA, which old people do you love?

    "But the problem is, there's another list that exists/And no one really wants to think about this" After we all die, there's a naughty list and a nice list. People go to Heaven, and people go to the place with the fire and the pitchforks. We never want to think about the latter.

    "Forget sanity, forget salary, forget vanity, my morality/If you get in between someone I love and me/You're gonna feel the heat of my cavalry" Ty values loved ones above materialism and above himself. If you touch the people he loves, he will freaking send his army after you.

    The chorus repeats a few more times, so if you want to read their analyses, feel free to scroll up and reread them.

    So yeah, that's that! Tyler the musical rebel absolutely refuses to stay in his musical lane. This song is pretty much a YOLO statement (;

    If you actually read this entire thing, you're an absolutely awesome person. Please let me know if you agree/disagree! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! :) :) :)

    Carly12on July 14, 2016   Link

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