I'm taking over my body, back in control, no more "shotty"
I bet a lot of me was lost, "T"'s uncrossed and "I"'s undotted
I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got
Not any more, flesh out the door, SWAT
I must've forgot, you can't trust me
I'm open a moment and closed when you show it
Before you know it, I'm lost at sea
And now that I write and think about it and the story unfolds
You should take my life, you should take my soul

You are surrounding, all my surroundings
Sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain
You are surrounding, all my surroundings
Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes
And I'll be holding on to you
And I'll be holding on to you

Remember the moment you know exactly where you're goin'
'Cause the next moment before you know it
Time is slowin' and it's frozen still
And the windowsill looks really nice, right?
You think twice about your life, it probably happens at night, right?
Fight it, take the pain, ignite it
Tie a noose around your mind, loose enough to breathe fine
And tie it to a tree tell it, "You belong to me
This ain't a noose, this is a leash
And I have news for you, you must obey me"

You are surrounding, all my surroundings
Sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain
You are surrounding, all my surroundings
Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes

Entertain my faith, entertain my faith
Entertain my faith, entertain my faith
Entertain my faith, entertain my faith
Entertain my faith, entertain my faith
Entertain my faith, entertain my faith

Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?
Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought
Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat?
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts
It's our hearts that make the beat
Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?
Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought
Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat?
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts
It's our hearts that make the beat
Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?
Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought
Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat?
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts
It's our hearts that make the beat
Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?
Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought
Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat?
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts
It's our hearts that make the beat

And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you
And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you
And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you
And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you


Lyrics submitted by bookhouseboy23, edited by gjr5017, Ragefreak, Skoobasteve24, Yessel, MindlessWander, legomasio1400, danielson8501, nickvandervalk, rvidil, shadesofblu, topbunkboy, purpledino135

Holding On To You Lyrics as written by Charles Hammond Bernard Leverette

Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Holding on to You song meanings
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46 Comments

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  • +17
    My Interpretation

    I'm sure the guys in Twenty One Pilots would probably want their listeners to interpret the lyrics personally, so I'll just say that WHAT I THINK personally (for me) is that they're talking about holding onto FAITH to overcome personal (flesh-based) problems - in this case, suicidal/depression-type thoughts. He's saying flesh is all he's got, and he can't trust himself, so he's going to try to control his mind (put a leash on it) and just give it over to God - telling God to take his life, take his soul - and let God surround him. And he's also talking to other people who struggle with the same problems ("at night, right?"), telling them to also entertain faith. BUT he's making it clear that people shouldn't just follow these lyrics - he doesn't mean it that way - he's saying people should think for themselves - because God gifted us with the power of thought.

    Moonbeam86on April 29, 2013   Link
  • +16
    My Interpretation

    I think this song is about being depressed and suicidal. "You are surrounding all my surroundings. Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes." that to be sounds like depression being all around you and effecting how you see things.

    "I'm taking over my body. back in control, no more shotty. I bet a lot of me was lost "T"'s uncrossed and "I"'s undotted. I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got." This to me sounds like he's taking control of himself again, he's fighting back. But when he was under, going through deep depression, a lot of him was lost.

    "And now that I write and think about it and the story unfolds. You should take my life, you should take my soul" I think that's depression's opinion coming back, with some suicidal thoughts.

    "Time is slowin' and it's rolling still, and the windowsill looks really nice, right? You think twice about your life, It probably happens at night, right?" That's like a panic attack, and the windowsill part is implying jumping out of it and committing suicide. and it happens at night, because that's the typical time that you feel alone and hopeless and there's no one to stop you.

    "Fight it, take the pain, ignite it. Tie a noose around your mind, loose enough to breath fine and tie it to a tree tell it, you belong to me, this ain't a noose, this is a leash and I have news for you, you must obey me!" This part is about owning your depression.

    companioncubeon July 14, 2013   Link
  • +11
    My Interpretation

    I agree that it's about coming out of depression, but there is more to it than that. It's about the person/ people or things that you hold on to in order to get out of the depression. I have been depressed for a little more than a year now and I despretly cling to anything that makes me happy. It makes me look kind of obsessive but, I love orange (the color) so almost every thing I own is orange, I'm absolutely in love with Fall Out Boy (the band) so I listen to every song they have everyday, I'm a very very loyal friend, there's alot. That's what this somg says to me.

    FrTHMMRS21on March 17, 2013   Link
  • +9
    Song Meaning

    I think it has to do with coming out of depression. "I'm taking over my body Back in control" and "And the windowsill looks really nice, right? You think twice about your life It probably happens at night, right?" shows about how the person has gone through it and wants to get back in control.

    triangleson January 09, 2013   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    I know quite a few people who go to church with these guys and most of their songs have Christian subtext; this one is about coming to Christ and dying to one's self ("You should take my life, You should take my soul") and holding onto Him through that transition ("Holding on to you..." and "Entertain my faith").

    LNJon February 22, 2013   Link
  • +7
    My Interpretation

    To me the song's definitely about depression, and since I suffer from it it connects so well with me.

    "Tie a noose around your mind Loose enough to breath fine and tie it To a tree tell it, You belong to me, this ain't a noose This is a leash and I have news for you You must obey me!"

    • probably the most powerful part of the song. It shows that even though you live with depression you can overcome it and control it. I feel like he really has some issues because many of his songs are like this. I also like how he's calling out hip hop: "Lean with it, rock with it When we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothing We were gifted with thought

    Is it time to move our feet To an introspective beat It ain't the speakers that bump hard It's our hearts that make the beat"

    basically saying how in hiphop now all it's about is catchy beats and dance moves, relying more on the speakers than your own mind. We were gifted with thought, so we should use it to its fullest potential, not just to make a catchy song

    riccit45on September 06, 2013   Link
  • +6
    My Interpretation

    All the depression themes have been mentioned, why I agree, it is about someone trying to overcome depression, but is so evident that this song is about God. The whole chorus is about the Holy Spirit,

    "You are surrounding all my surroundings" God is always with you. "Sounding down the mountain range Of my left-side brain" The left side of the brain is said to be the 'logical' part, meaning that all of his logical thinking is sort of reliant on God. "You are surrounding all my surroundings Twisting the kaleidoscope Behind both of my eyes" God is the one that shifts his views so he can see more than meets the eye. "And I'll be holding onto you." Come on.

    There's heaps of other little references in the verses as well As well as sort of worshiping God, it's more than it. It's to inspires others to start thinking about their own, to use our knowledge to our advantage rather then leave it dormant. This song is fantastic in juxtaposition to "Car radio" as they both have similar morals.

    Aetyruzenon October 12, 2013   Link
  • +5
    My Interpretation

    I agree with the depression theory that most people have, but I want to add that the part where it says "Tie a noose around your mind Loose enough to breath fine and tie it To a tree tell it, You belong to me, this ain't a noose This is a leash and I have news for you You must obey me!" Is talking about how if your mind is the problem and you are having bad suicidal thoughts, instead of cutting of your mind completely, or killing it, you need to find a way to control your thoughts, or "put a leash on your mind" you need to control your thoughts instead of thinking that the only way to stop them is to kill yourself.

    Jøsh Dunon March 04, 2016   Link
  • +2
    My Opinion

    i think the song is about someone letting go of the fear of suicide and depression.

    cameliaajadeeon March 07, 2016   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Yes, I definitely agree with the song being about depression and also the things that keep your head above water. It seems like he's angry at himself for being depressed but can't seem to shake that it keeps creeping back (as in the first verse). He wants nothing more than to overcome the feelings, but the emotional ups and downs are beyond his control. The "I must'a forgot, you can't trust me. I'm moment-to-moment and close but don't show it. Before you know it I'm lost at sea," shows the struggles he cycles though as one minute he can be fine and the next moment snap back into his old ways/thoughts/patterns. His depression controls him ("Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes.") And the only thing he can do is hold on to whatever his buoy is. I don't necessary believe it has to be religious, though. It could be friends, family, things such as music (as the person below me stated) or painting, or even the faith he has that the future will bring better times ("Entertain my faith"). I'd assume the last bit of the song pertains to his wish that people could express themselves more genuinely through the heart like he is himself. If people worldwide weren't so judgmental or cold, and more open to the idea that we're all human, I'm sure it would be easier for someone who needed help to find it and not feel so small and insignificant. I really enjoy this song because it shows me that twenty|one|pilots are really making an effort to make a song that people across the board can relate to, not a song about big booty hoes or "getting paper" because deep down everyone has hard emotions they have to deal with, no matter how hard they can cover it up externally.

    BrooketheFoxon July 02, 2013   Link

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