Lyric discussion by SMUSER17406781 

Cover art for Twenty-One lyrics by Cranberries, The

The song is to me, mainly, about wanting something so much that you almost forget who you are, and lose yourself in the chase. It doesn't matter what it is, a relationship or a traumatic childhood that you wanted to be different. In the album No Need to Argue, it it stated that the song was written on the 6th of September, 1992, which is the day Dolores O'Riordan turned 21.

To me, it's the point where you get up and realize that even if you could have that which you really want, if you only tried a bit harder - a bit more, it's not worth it any longer. (There's actually a line in the song that goes along with that in my opinion: "You took my thoughts from me, now I want nothing more") Whether it's the childhood dreams you couldn't reach, a love that remained unrequited, or whatever, I see it as the point where you accept that it is what it is and move on.

And about the line where she sings " 'cause I've found it all", I don't know if she means her band or not, or if she means that she's turned 21, I interpret it as being the strength to accept and let go. But it's just my insignificant interpretation.

22

What you wrote here made me kind of emotional :') wonderful interpretation

@SMUSER17406781 Twenty One Grams - is the difference in body weight after we die. (google 21 grams experiement 1907) It is theorized that this loss in weight is the soul leaving the body. With this information we can deduce that Dolores was clearly on the subject of Death. Lets analyze the lyrics abit further... " I don't think it's going to happen anymore " What does she mean here? I will tell you what she means... she doesn't want to have suicidal thoughts anymore or be depressed... " You took my thoughts from me now I want nothing more! "...