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Rush – Time Stand Still Lyrics	4 years ago
If you haven't seen it already, please watch the U.S. Army's musicians perform this song in memory of Neil Peart -- it's beautiful! Note the lack of a percussionist, and think of the "missing man" formation. https://youtu.be/aAPSK_cV5n0 The lyrics are incredible, and all the more poignant given Neil's untimely departure.

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Twenty One Pilots – A Car, a Torch, a Death Lyrics

8 years ago

Most interpretations of this song assume it tells a single story from start to finish, but I believe it tells three distinct stories, each of which demonstrates the power of love from somewhat different perspectives. And each demonstrates something slightly different about the love God must have had for us to have died for us. I think this notion of separate stories is also reflected in the structure and flow of the music: the second part is clearly set apart from the first and third, which closely parallel each other and even begin with the same lyrical phrase. Even the song's title suggests three distinct parts. The first story describes the deep depression the writer feels when he begins a journey by car, perhaps because he can't bear to leave, perhaps because he dreads reaching his destination, or maybe both. When his thoughts turn suicidal, what ultimately sustains him is remembering how deeply someone (I'd guess his mother) loves him. Since this story takes place in a car, I believe it is the "car" part of the song's title. The second story describes someone the writer cares deeply about who is tormented by dark thoughts (represented by the demon), perhaps mental illness, and he dreads having to leave her alone, knowing she will suffer without him being there to comfort her. As he imagines her struggles, his anguish is so great that he would be willing to give up his own life to save her. Since the demon in this story holds "a makeshift torch," I believe this is the "torch" part of the song's title. Finally, the third story parallels the first and brings us back to a common theme in many TOP songs, namely suicidal depression that sets in at night and recedes with the morning. Again it is love that helps him through, this time God's love, which he has with him always (symbolically held in a jar), even when he chooses to walk away from Him. As John 15:13 KJV says "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." The ultimate demonstration of God's love was dying for us. I think it is His death that is the "death" part of the song's title.

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Twenty One Pilots – Taxi Cab Lyrics

8 years ago

I agree with much of what others have posted here, but I wonder how many appreciate the allegorical significance of the taxi cab itself. Unlike the hearse, which takes its cargo to a cemetery or crematorium -- or even an ambulance, as some have suggested, which takes a patient to the nearest hospital -- a taxi cab symbolizes true free will: it'll take its passenger wherever he or she wants to go, with no predetermined destination. Of course, the same could be said of a limousine, but a taxi cab -- most especially a "beautifully PLAIN taxi cab" -- is affordable by anyone, the common man as well as the rich man. I believe the songwriter is telling us that salvation is a free will choice that's open to everyone. And to those arguing that the last lines of the rap represent a hospital and/or post-hospital therapy instead of Christian salvation, I respectfully suggest you consider the writer's choice of words more carefully. We go to hospitals to treat our ailments, and we go to therapy to learn how to cope with our lives. But these lyrics describe a more fundamental forgiveness only possible through salvation: having our sins (blood) washed away, and undoing whatever harm we've done.

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Twenty One Pilots – Car Radio Lyrics

8 years ago

@[CaptiveL:12442] As Keith and others note, it's both literal and a metaphor. And as metaphors go, I think this one is unusually brilliant. Unlike just about every other component of a car, the radio serves no functional purpose -- it is solely there to entertain and provide distraction from the tedium of driving. And if it gets stolen, it leaves an empty slot in the dash, and one must then drive in silence. Metaphorically, the car is his life, and the radio was something that provided distraction. But now that something is gone, leaving a hole in his life, and freeing his mind to think thoughts both deep ("something great") and depressing ("something terrifying"). One recurring thought involves refilling the hole in his life by going back to the old distraction ("replace that slot with what I once bought"). This is suggestive of an addiction of some sort, but it doesn't have to be. But the ultimate message of the song involves "the things we can do" about our lives, of which "there are only two" that matter: we can choose "faith" or "sleep," which he goes on to develop as life vs death, being full of life and thinking vs being mindless or even literally dead (suicide). We can pay attention and drive the car safely, or we can "pull the steering wheel" and crash it. The plea is for faith = life = thought, a similar message to "Holding on to You".

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Twenty One Pilots – Holding on to You Lyrics

8 years ago

@[Moonbeam86:12440] I think your analysis is spot on. There are clear Christian themes here, the weakness / vulnerability of the flesh, giving one's life and soul to Christ, etc. As others have noted, he clearly deals with depression and suicidal thoughts, but by holding on to Christ he can overcome it. I also agree he wants his listeners to find their own answers by thinking for themselves ("we are gifted with thought"), but he encourages them to consider Christ as a possible answer ("entertain my faith").

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Twenty One Pilots – Guns For Hands Lyrics	8 years ago
I want to comment on the line "It's obviously best for them to turn their guns to a fist." I believe it was Freud who said "depression is anger turned inwards." If we accept this, then it follows that depressed people would feel better if they could remain externally angry instead of turning their anger inward.

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Rush – Anthem Lyrics

9 years ago

The title of this song, "Anthem", is the name of a short story by Ayn Rand that was the thematic inspiration of side one of Rush's later 2112 album. In a nutshell, it's a story of a society wherein individualism is systematically suppressed, where the protagonist rediscovers individual identity. To me, the lyric "Live for yourself, there's no one else more worth living for" sums it up quite nicely.

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Rush – Kid Gloves Lyrics

9 years ago

This is one of my favorite Rush songs. To me, it's all about stages of maturity, about learning to avoid conflict by being careful about how we treat others and their beliefs. I'm particularly fond of the clever reversal that begins with "it's cool to be so tough" but concludes with it's "tough to be so cool." I think everyone can identify with that progression of understanding, but it takes a poet like Neil Peart to articulate it so beautifully.

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Augustana – Boston Lyrics	10 years ago
I love the sunrise/sunset line in particular because it's doubly clever. I agree totally that it's about a new beginning, and I think that's the main point of the line. But it's also cleverly a distinction between Boston (i.e. Atlantic coast) vs California (i.e. Pacific coast). Coastal Californians enjoy beautiful sunsets over the ocean; here in Boston, we enjoy beautiful sunrises.

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Rush – Bravado Lyrics

12 years ago

"We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost" There is a profound difference between trying one's best and failing at something vs accepting defeat. Many of the greatest achievements of the world came after a series of failures wherein the people behind those achievements refused to give up and kept at it until they persevered. I agree with so many above -- a beautiful song well crafted and performed by skilled and caring artists....

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Elton John – Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) Lyrics

12 years ago

I agree with bluelady that the ending is both beautiful and sweet, and I never tire of hearing that part of this song. But to me, the line that grips me shall forever be "we're crippled and we're dazed". Every song about the loss of someone dear to us is filled with sadness and fond memories, but this powerful line underscores just how tragic this murder was, and how grevious a loss it was for all of us.

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