I've got an interesting twist on everyone's meanings...
On the album Pretty. Odd., it seems that Panic! directly addresses their audience a time or two. Many of you have said that this song is about him reminiscing on a past love / relationship -- That he (the narrator) is singing this song to someone, and they have a history together.
My theory: The song isn't sung for a girl, or a fellow band member. The song is directed at the audience. The listeners.
I'll break it down:
"Allow me to exaggerate a memory or two / Where summer's lasted longer than / Longer than we do"
---- This line seems very straightforward. He's going to exaggerate past memories, back when summers lasted longer than [the band]. Back when Panic! wasn't too popular, and their hype was gone before the summer.
"Where nothing really mattered / Except for me to be with you / But in time we all forgot / And we all grew"
---- Back then, it wasn't about the fame, or the music. It was about them, playing music their listeners loved. But after a while, the band and the fans grew apart. It was about the money, and the record labels, and the music lost its meaning.
"Your melody sounds as sweet / As the first time it was sung / With a little bit more character for show"
---- Taking the voice of a fan, he's commenting on himself -- On his growth as a singer. His melody is as sweet as it was when the band first formed, but now it's grown more character.
"And by the time your father's heard / Of all the wrong you've done / Then I'm putting out the lantern / Find your own way back home"
---- Keeping the "voice" of a fan: Many of us were told [by our fathers] when we were young the evils of the world -- stealing is bad. Be honest, generous, etc. It's a simple statement. If your father found out that you became greedy, and lost meaning, he'd be upset. If we think of a band as a child, the "father" would be the fans themselves. They raised the band to what it is now. This thought process simplifies the verse: The fans realized the songs lost their meaning, and the band was just in it for the money. They "put out the lantern". This line spun some confusion. I have lived on a large farm before. At night, the house flood lights were turned on (a "lantern"). The lights from the house could be seen from anywhere on the farm, and would be a beacon back to the house. Well if you "put out the lantern" (turn it off), you'd be lost in the dark, and would have to "find your own way back home". The fans turned on the band. They put out the metaphorical lantern, and left the band to find it's own way back to it's "home" -- where it was about the music, and not the money.
"If I've forgotten how to sing / Before I sung this song / I'll write it all across the wall / Before my job is done"
---- Back into the voice of the band: It's [again] fairly straightforward. The band realizes that they've gone awry (they've "forgotten how to sing", until they wrote this song). Now, they'll write it "all across the wall" before the "job is done" -- they're going to spell out their mistakes throughout the album.
"And I'll even have the courtesy / Of admitting I was wrong / As the final words before I'm dead and gone"
---- He's accepted that they lost their way, and wants to shout it to the world before they suffocate under the pressure of pop culture and greed they placed upon themselves.
"You've never been so divine / In accepting your defeat / And I've never been more scared to be alone"
---- Back to the fan's voice: They've accepted their apology, and admit that they've missed the band's original purpose.
"If love is not enough to put my enemies to sleep / Then I'm putting out the lantern / Find your own way back home"
---- Now the band is talking about the album itself (more on this below). If the original fans aren't willing to accept the band's apology, then the band will "put out the lantern" on its 'fans', and let them find their own way back to their "home" -- whether it be Panic!'s old albums, or another typical pop culture band.
Really, I think of this entire album as an apology. A lot of the haters here have made comments about this being their "worst album yet". Yet the die-hard fans are willing to accept it for what it is, and appreciate the talent in the songs (however different from the norm they are). THAT is the true meaning of this album. I doubt the band planned to make a lot of money with it. Pretty.Odd. was a sort of "filter". The band released a bunch of apologetic, random music -- addressing the audience directly if they cared to listen. When Panic! lost its original meaning, and fell victim to greed, swarms of new 'fans' came for the repetitive beats and upbeat lyrics. But how many actually listened to what the songs were ABOUT? The flamers on this comment board are these 'new fans'. They joined the Panic! hype for the tempo. For the upbeat, fast lyrics. Meanwhile, the original fans (who were with Panic! from the beginning, when they were about the music) were put on Panic!'s back-burner. Panic! ignored their true fans, and essentially released a public apology to them. This new album, clashing, and simplistic to interpret, has a fitting title:
Pretty. Odd.
The album IS pretty odd. The genres are eclectic (honestly, who guessed they'd find folk music when browsing the latest Panic! album?! It certainly took me by surprise!). But this song for instance: it's NOTHING like what the 'new fans' joined Panic! to hear. It doesn't have a techno-like tempo. It doesn't have upbeat, fast lyrics. It's homey. It's down-to-earth. This sharp contrast weeds out the 'fans' who were only in it for the pop culture, and only the true fans stick around to pay attention to the lyrics.
Panic! went off-track and lost their meaning. It was originally about the music. About how the fans felt. About the love, and the relationship between artist and listener. But record deals, Hollywood, and money got in the way. They were blinded by the finer things in life, and realized that contracts don't buy happiness. Music isn't music when it's not recorded from the heart. The band is pleading: They've found the error in their ways, and want to reconnect with their true fans. They want to go back to their old style, before it was about the money, but when it was about the music. Will you accept their apology?
I've got an interesting twist on everyone's meanings...
On the album Pretty. Odd., it seems that Panic! directly addresses their audience a time or two. Many of you have said that this song is about him reminiscing on a past love / relationship -- That he (the narrator) is singing this song to someone, and they have a history together.
My theory: The song isn't sung for a girl, or a fellow band member. The song is directed at the audience. The listeners.
I'll break it down:
"Allow me to exaggerate a memory or two / Where summer's lasted longer than / Longer than we do"
---- This line seems very straightforward. He's going to exaggerate past memories, back when summers lasted longer than [the band]. Back when Panic! wasn't too popular, and their hype was gone before the summer.
"Where nothing really mattered / Except for me to be with you / But in time we all forgot / And we all grew"
---- Back then, it wasn't about the fame, or the music. It was about them, playing music their listeners loved. But after a while, the band and the fans grew apart. It was about the money, and the record labels, and the music lost its meaning.
"Your melody sounds as sweet / As the first time it was sung / With a little bit more character for show"
---- Taking the voice of a fan, he's commenting on himself -- On his growth as a singer. His melody is as sweet as it was when the band first formed, but now it's grown more character.
"And by the time your father's heard / Of all the wrong you've done / Then I'm putting out the lantern / Find your own way back home" ---- Keeping the "voice" of a fan: Many of us were told [by our fathers] when we were young the evils of the world -- stealing is bad. Be honest, generous, etc. It's a simple statement. If your father found out that you became greedy, and lost meaning, he'd be upset. If we think of a band as a child, the "father" would be the fans themselves. They raised the band to what it is now. This thought process simplifies the verse: The fans realized the songs lost their meaning, and the band was just in it for the money. They "put out the lantern". This line spun some confusion. I have lived on a large farm before. At night, the house flood lights were turned on (a "lantern"). The lights from the house could be seen from anywhere on the farm, and would be a beacon back to the house. Well if you "put out the lantern" (turn it off), you'd be lost in the dark, and would have to "find your own way back home". The fans turned on the band. They put out the metaphorical lantern, and left the band to find it's own way back to it's "home" -- where it was about the music, and not the money.
"If I've forgotten how to sing / Before I sung this song / I'll write it all across the wall / Before my job is done" ---- Back into the voice of the band: It's [again] fairly straightforward. The band realizes that they've gone awry (they've "forgotten how to sing", until they wrote this song). Now, they'll write it "all across the wall" before the "job is done" -- they're going to spell out their mistakes throughout the album.
"And I'll even have the courtesy / Of admitting I was wrong / As the final words before I'm dead and gone" ---- He's accepted that they lost their way, and wants to shout it to the world before they suffocate under the pressure of pop culture and greed they placed upon themselves.
"You've never been so divine / In accepting your defeat / And I've never been more scared to be alone" ---- Back to the fan's voice: They've accepted their apology, and admit that they've missed the band's original purpose.
"If love is not enough to put my enemies to sleep / Then I'm putting out the lantern / Find your own way back home" ---- Now the band is talking about the album itself (more on this below). If the original fans aren't willing to accept the band's apology, then the band will "put out the lantern" on its 'fans', and let them find their own way back to their "home" -- whether it be Panic!'s old albums, or another typical pop culture band.
Really, I think of this entire album as an apology. A lot of the haters here have made comments about this being their "worst album yet". Yet the die-hard fans are willing to accept it for what it is, and appreciate the talent in the songs (however different from the norm they are). THAT is the true meaning of this album. I doubt the band planned to make a lot of money with it. Pretty.Odd. was a sort of "filter". The band released a bunch of apologetic, random music -- addressing the audience directly if they cared to listen. When Panic! lost its original meaning, and fell victim to greed, swarms of new 'fans' came for the repetitive beats and upbeat lyrics. But how many actually listened to what the songs were ABOUT? The flamers on this comment board are these 'new fans'. They joined the Panic! hype for the tempo. For the upbeat, fast lyrics. Meanwhile, the original fans (who were with Panic! from the beginning, when they were about the music) were put on Panic!'s back-burner. Panic! ignored their true fans, and essentially released a public apology to them. This new album, clashing, and simplistic to interpret, has a fitting title:
Pretty. Odd.
The album IS pretty odd. The genres are eclectic (honestly, who guessed they'd find folk music when browsing the latest Panic! album?! It certainly took me by surprise!). But this song for instance: it's NOTHING like what the 'new fans' joined Panic! to hear. It doesn't have a techno-like tempo. It doesn't have upbeat, fast lyrics. It's homey. It's down-to-earth. This sharp contrast weeds out the 'fans' who were only in it for the pop culture, and only the true fans stick around to pay attention to the lyrics.
Panic! went off-track and lost their meaning. It was originally about the music. About how the fans felt. About the love, and the relationship between artist and listener. But record deals, Hollywood, and money got in the way. They were blinded by the finer things in life, and realized that contracts don't buy happiness. Music isn't music when it's not recorded from the heart. The band is pleading: They've found the error in their ways, and want to reconnect with their true fans. They want to go back to their old style, before it was about the money, but when it was about the music. Will you accept their apology?
That's actually awesome! I don't know if you're gonna read this, but thank you for bringing up this point of view.
That's actually awesome! I don't know if you're gonna read this, but thank you for bringing up this point of view.