Lyric discussion by JimWalshJ 

Cover art for Radioactive lyrics by Imagine Dragons

I strongly believe this song "Radioactive" is about the singer's realization of the power within himself. "I'm waking up through ash and dust." to me says that he is shaking off all the preconceived notions that all the people in his life had for him. "Breathing in the chemicals" to me signifies the getting charged over the positivity of all that life has to offer. When he mentions the apocalypse, I feel he means that today he must make a decision to either change and succeed or do nothing and become like everyone else. "I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones, (enough) to make my systems go, welcome to the new age..." Yes he actually says "enough" but nonetheless I feel that he accepts he will change for the better and rejoices in that decision.

"I'm radioactive!" shows nothing will stop him from succeeding, nothing will get in his way and he will succeed.

The song's video with the little bear victoriously fighting off the monster further illustrates this point.

Furthermore, Imagine Dragons song "It's time" also talks about moving forward and bettering yourself.

My Interpretation

Agree completely. I'll add a few things:

In the vid, the 'puppets' are actually their stuffed animals from childhood. This adds a growing up tinge to the "breaking the mold" motif. At the end when they escape the 'prison of their former selves' they leave their stuffed animals behind as well.

"I'm breathing in the chemicals" could be an acknowledgement that our brains are chemical machines and we're not really as in-control as we may have thought before this transformation. Not sweating stuff that's out of your control is a crucial milestone in the path to a...

@JimWalshJ You're 99% right, even Reynolds explained that the song is meant to evoke a feeling of "empowering" - and it does. But I would like to add a little "apocalypse" feel if you let me: notice how the uses words like Chemicals, Rust, BUS, Paint, Revolution, etc. All these words describe very clearly a post-apocalyptic decaying world, full of zombies if you wish.