The song's lyrics convey an anti-drug message, while the song sonically sounds more like an homage to psychedelic rock of the 70s. These two contrasting elements of the song make it very unique, but also drive home the message of being high on live and love, rather than psychedelics.
We see this message communicated in the plenty of cryptic, mindbening, and almost hallucinogenic lyrics that take place in the two verses: "You take your time and watch it crawl like you're the big shot symphony. But oh what would you say if I told you 'the pitch is wrong' with a smile? I took a trip to wonderland, gonna get you nowhere by a mile" -- "I took a shot and missed the mark, well every single day I multiply. A million drums of kerosene, baby, like a hotel in the sky. I just want to see all the sparks you're trying to hide. Let's take a trip to wonderland, we can just tune this fire tonight."
However, in the chorus this high that the lyrics seem to be describing is revealed to be one of love and pure happiness. He even says "Acting like your favourite drug, raise a cup, we can light it up, we can light it up." The phrase "I can light it up for you" has multiple meanings. On one hand, it means that he thinks he can light up her life and make her happy. On the other hand it refers to lighting up a joint or something of that sort. This matches with message as Tedder is simply saying that she won't need drugs when she has him, and he will "act like 'her' favorite drug."
This makes even more sense in the context of the album, as one of the main themes of "Native" is the universal search for happiness. This song makes it clear that drugs aren't one the roads that lead you there.
The song's lyrics convey an anti-drug message, while the song sonically sounds more like an homage to psychedelic rock of the 70s. These two contrasting elements of the song make it very unique, but also drive home the message of being high on live and love, rather than psychedelics. We see this message communicated in the plenty of cryptic, mindbening, and almost hallucinogenic lyrics that take place in the two verses: "You take your time and watch it crawl like you're the big shot symphony. But oh what would you say if I told you 'the pitch is wrong' with a smile? I took a trip to wonderland, gonna get you nowhere by a mile" -- "I took a shot and missed the mark, well every single day I multiply. A million drums of kerosene, baby, like a hotel in the sky. I just want to see all the sparks you're trying to hide. Let's take a trip to wonderland, we can just tune this fire tonight." However, in the chorus this high that the lyrics seem to be describing is revealed to be one of love and pure happiness. He even says "Acting like your favourite drug, raise a cup, we can light it up, we can light it up." The phrase "I can light it up for you" has multiple meanings. On one hand, it means that he thinks he can light up her life and make her happy. On the other hand it refers to lighting up a joint or something of that sort. This matches with message as Tedder is simply saying that she won't need drugs when she has him, and he will "act like 'her' favorite drug." This makes even more sense in the context of the album, as one of the main themes of "Native" is the universal search for happiness. This song makes it clear that drugs aren't one the roads that lead you there.