"Stand up straight now/Can't break down"
This reminds me of being scared to ask for help in school even when I really needed it and feeling like I needed to pretend to be okay and that I was holding myself together, even if I was falling apart.
"Graduate now"
With the context of other lyrics, this sounds like a student who has reached the end of the year and feels like they should be happy, but they aren't; they have regrets about their choices during the year that probably led to bad grades, something they could have avoided if they'd put in more effort.
"I don't wanna be here"
There could be a million reasons for this. The speaker might be regretful, like above, or just anxious about the future, which is shown later. It's likely a mix of multiple feelings.
"It's a taste test/Of what I hate less"
What would they rather do? Stay at home where it's safe, but forever remember the choices they've made? Or go to the graduation and face those fears? This lyric also reminds me of being in school and trying to decide what homework to do first while being really overwhelmed. Not a good combo.
"Can you die of anxiousness?"
The speaker is SO anxious at this point that they feel like it's going to physically hurt or kill them. Also a question I may have asked as a student.
"What's about to happen?"
Anxiety (I think) can be defined as fear of POTENTIAL danger, even if you don't know what that danger is. Compare that to fear, which is usually more concrete and is always about one or more EXISTING things.
"I remember/I remember certain things"
So "canonically" (in terms of the speaker, not the actual artists), this song/story was written after the fact.
"What I was wearing/The yellow dashes in the street"
If the speaker is going to graduation, it's likely they're wearing something fancy, like a graduation gown. Special emphasis on the street? Well, the meaning comes next.
"I prayed those lights would take me home"
So the speaker is actually standing in the middle of the street, waiting to get hit by a car so they don't have to go to graduation. From my interpretation, they were probably walking to the school.
"Then I heard, 'Hey kid, get out of the road!'"
The pause between this line and the last one is SO well placed, and the effect is best when you're listening to the song for the first time and don't know how it's going to turn out. Not only do I feel a TON of relief hearing this line, but for some reason I interpreted some minor invalidation as the driver yelling this does not understand why the speaker is standing in the street. This makes the speaker (or me at least) feel like the feelings that brought them to this moment are silly and don't matter, which is probably making it worse. But still, relief!!
"Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester"
This line is the antithesis to the speaker's feelings from before. It's tinged with regret, but also provides hope. It's telling the speaker that they can't change their past mistakes and choices, no matter how much they want to, and the best, healthiest thing for them to do is not beat themself up about it, accept that it happened, and learn to move on and give themself a second change on the next go around. Really powerful and relatable to me.
"Can't feel my legs/I might suffocate/There's a pressure in my chest"
The speaker's anxiety is so strong now that it's becoming more and more physical, to the point where they might collapse or vomit or something. I've definitely felt like this before. In fact, the whole song up until the calmer ending feels frantic and jumpy, which actually reminds me of an older TOP song, "We Don't Believe What's On TV". The music style works really well with the lyrics to convey the message: I actually FEEL anxious while listening to it, but that's probably also due to the lyrics.
“And then he slowed down/And rolled down his window/And he said
“Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester”
I’ve heard the driver being interpreted as God before, which makes sense to me. I’m atheist myself, so normally I would try to add a nonreligious interpretation, but given the fact that the driver just automatically knows what’s going on with the speaker, I can’t think of any other logical way to interpret this part. I guess the driver could just happen to be a friend or someone who’s BEEN through this kind of struggle before, but the probability of that just doesn’t support the claim. So, he’s God, telling the speaker these words. Kinda sweet.
“It's a taste test/Of what I hate less”
This part of the song is calmer and almost peaceful, conveying that the situation from before has been resolved, though the speaker’s feelings haven’t gone away. Pretty realistic, because one little reminder will not account for years of mental growth and (re)construction.
“I don’t wanna be here/Start fresh with a new year”
The words of the driver are now interlaced with the speaker’s own fears; they are remembering what he said to them.
“Can’t change what you’ve done/Start fresh next semester”
The speaker repeats the words of the driver to themself and resolves to live them.
Okay, I know there’s a high chance the whole “student” thing was supposed to be an elaborate metaphor, but I’m sure this song probably resonated with a lot of younger TOP fans. This is all MY interpretation of the song, a mix of how it related to MY life and an interpretation of the STORY of the song. I wonder how this song relates to the lore…if it does. It might describe Clancy’s anxiety about the situation he’s been placed in and wondering if he’ll be able to reach his goal. Sorry, that’s really vague, but I don’t understand the lore perfectly well. Anyways, that’s it! Thanks for reading all this.
"Stand up straight now/Can't break down" This reminds me of being scared to ask for help in school even when I really needed it and feeling like I needed to pretend to be okay and that I was holding myself together, even if I was falling apart. "Graduate now" With the context of other lyrics, this sounds like a student who has reached the end of the year and feels like they should be happy, but they aren't; they have regrets about their choices during the year that probably led to bad grades, something they could have avoided if they'd put in more effort. "I don't wanna be here" There could be a million reasons for this. The speaker might be regretful, like above, or just anxious about the future, which is shown later. It's likely a mix of multiple feelings. "It's a taste test/Of what I hate less" What would they rather do? Stay at home where it's safe, but forever remember the choices they've made? Or go to the graduation and face those fears? This lyric also reminds me of being in school and trying to decide what homework to do first while being really overwhelmed. Not a good combo. "Can you die of anxiousness?" The speaker is SO anxious at this point that they feel like it's going to physically hurt or kill them. Also a question I may have asked as a student. "What's about to happen?" Anxiety (I think) can be defined as fear of POTENTIAL danger, even if you don't know what that danger is. Compare that to fear, which is usually more concrete and is always about one or more EXISTING things. "I remember/I remember certain things" So "canonically" (in terms of the speaker, not the actual artists), this song/story was written after the fact. "What I was wearing/The yellow dashes in the street" If the speaker is going to graduation, it's likely they're wearing something fancy, like a graduation gown. Special emphasis on the street? Well, the meaning comes next. "I prayed those lights would take me home" So the speaker is actually standing in the middle of the street, waiting to get hit by a car so they don't have to go to graduation. From my interpretation, they were probably walking to the school. "Then I heard, 'Hey kid, get out of the road!'" The pause between this line and the last one is SO well placed, and the effect is best when you're listening to the song for the first time and don't know how it's going to turn out. Not only do I feel a TON of relief hearing this line, but for some reason I interpreted some minor invalidation as the driver yelling this does not understand why the speaker is standing in the street. This makes the speaker (or me at least) feel like the feelings that brought them to this moment are silly and don't matter, which is probably making it worse. But still, relief!! "Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester" This line is the antithesis to the speaker's feelings from before. It's tinged with regret, but also provides hope. It's telling the speaker that they can't change their past mistakes and choices, no matter how much they want to, and the best, healthiest thing for them to do is not beat themself up about it, accept that it happened, and learn to move on and give themself a second change on the next go around. Really powerful and relatable to me. "Can't feel my legs/I might suffocate/There's a pressure in my chest" The speaker's anxiety is so strong now that it's becoming more and more physical, to the point where they might collapse or vomit or something. I've definitely felt like this before. In fact, the whole song up until the calmer ending feels frantic and jumpy, which actually reminds me of an older TOP song, "We Don't Believe What's On TV". The music style works really well with the lyrics to convey the message: I actually FEEL anxious while listening to it, but that's probably also due to the lyrics. “And then he slowed down/And rolled down his window/And he said “Can't change what you've done/Start fresh next semester” I’ve heard the driver being interpreted as God before, which makes sense to me. I’m atheist myself, so normally I would try to add a nonreligious interpretation, but given the fact that the driver just automatically knows what’s going on with the speaker, I can’t think of any other logical way to interpret this part. I guess the driver could just happen to be a friend or someone who’s BEEN through this kind of struggle before, but the probability of that just doesn’t support the claim. So, he’s God, telling the speaker these words. Kinda sweet. “It's a taste test/Of what I hate less” This part of the song is calmer and almost peaceful, conveying that the situation from before has been resolved, though the speaker’s feelings haven’t gone away. Pretty realistic, because one little reminder will not account for years of mental growth and (re)construction. “I don’t wanna be here/Start fresh with a new year” The words of the driver are now interlaced with the speaker’s own fears; they are remembering what he said to them. “Can’t change what you’ve done/Start fresh next semester” The speaker repeats the words of the driver to themself and resolves to live them.
Okay, I know there’s a high chance the whole “student” thing was supposed to be an elaborate metaphor, but I’m sure this song probably resonated with a lot of younger TOP fans. This is all MY interpretation of the song, a mix of how it related to MY life and an interpretation of the STORY of the song. I wonder how this song relates to the lore…if it does. It might describe Clancy’s anxiety about the situation he’s been placed in and wondering if he’ll be able to reach his goal. Sorry, that’s really vague, but I don’t understand the lore perfectly well. Anyways, that’s it! Thanks for reading all this.