In my mind, this song speaks to several undertones of Twenty One Pilot songs if not all. As an avid listener and huge fan of this band, and as biased as it may be, I believe this song is about suicide. The character, referred to as Johnny Boy, has decided to commit suicide. This song is basically a dictation of the moment he is found dead by people who seem to have cared about him as they say "you're my pride and joy" (which is most likely just his wife's words). The world/fate (or some other higher force) could not save him in that moment although their was a general sense that he had determined an end to his life. "Johnny Boy" has some sort of "disrespect" for himself leading to his suicidal thoughts, but everyone else responding to the situation blames it on circumstances that happened to him.
I believe that this song does give the message that he did commit suicide, successfully or not, he was "lying on the floor." The people calling to him give off a distant and fading last call for his life to be saved by letting him know that he is loved, ironically timed as he is no longer mentally present to hear how he is appreciated. Another reference for his lack of appreciation are in the verses "The man deserves a medal, but he's never really won a prize before."
The overall message to me is that we should appreciate people while they are with us. We may feel love and compassion for someone, but without telling them directly, there is no way to know for sure that they are aware of it themselves. On the other hand, suicidal thoughts should not be acted on with such haste. Johnny may have killed himself for many reasons but solidified by the lack of respect for himself and the lack of attention from others. If he had approached the people in his life about his feelings or stuck through his life he could have had the chance to live to the day that someone told him he was loved. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, and this song is just a memoir of feeling for a man who may never have known how much he was loved before he ended his life for a lack there of.
In my mind, this song speaks to several undertones of Twenty One Pilot songs if not all. As an avid listener and huge fan of this band, and as biased as it may be, I believe this song is about suicide. The character, referred to as Johnny Boy, has decided to commit suicide. This song is basically a dictation of the moment he is found dead by people who seem to have cared about him as they say "you're my pride and joy" (which is most likely just his wife's words). The world/fate (or some other higher force) could not save him in that moment although their was a general sense that he had determined an end to his life. "Johnny Boy" has some sort of "disrespect" for himself leading to his suicidal thoughts, but everyone else responding to the situation blames it on circumstances that happened to him. I believe that this song does give the message that he did commit suicide, successfully or not, he was "lying on the floor." The people calling to him give off a distant and fading last call for his life to be saved by letting him know that he is loved, ironically timed as he is no longer mentally present to hear how he is appreciated. Another reference for his lack of appreciation are in the verses "The man deserves a medal, but he's never really won a prize before." The overall message to me is that we should appreciate people while they are with us. We may feel love and compassion for someone, but without telling them directly, there is no way to know for sure that they are aware of it themselves. On the other hand, suicidal thoughts should not be acted on with such haste. Johnny may have killed himself for many reasons but solidified by the lack of respect for himself and the lack of attention from others. If he had approached the people in his life about his feelings or stuck through his life he could have had the chance to live to the day that someone told him he was loved. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, and this song is just a memoir of feeling for a man who may never have known how much he was loved before he ended his life for a lack there of.