Twenty One Pilots presents us with an hypnotic sound track which inherits the duo’s charming vibe which has taken over our minds over the span of last few years.

The song highlights how an individual is trapped by his lifestyle and is somehow constantly peddling toward sustaining that lifestyle.The artist expands upon his own experience and describes how this high demanding routine takes it’s toll on us, how it changes us, and if not dealt with properly can ultimately destroy us.

Sipping on straight chlorine, let the vibes slide over me

This beat is a chemical, beat is a chemical

When I leave don’t save my seat, I’ll be back when it’s all complete

We live our live fueled by different addictive substances, this practice is not only acceptable but is also appreciated in modern pop culture.The most common example is coffee, containing Caffeine  and absolutely on nutritional value it is our cultural’s favorite beverage relied upon to deliver in the most high demanding situations(when one has to deliver an extra amount of work that he isn’t used to/ isn’t capable of delivering).Caffeine here represents all the substance an individual can use to cope up with stress of life, after all it is your choice whether you like caffeine or alcohol(among other things) as your make -believe ‘stress reliever’.

Loving what I’m tasting

Venom on my tongue

Depending at times

Poisonous vibration

Help my body run

Well if you used it once you’ll it again, at first it may seem that you are in control and are using it occasionally, but eventually it will grow as a habit and ultimately as an addiction. People will aspect you to continue with your addiction, to abuse your body with the substance of your choice, that’s when you will know its time to say no and leave it alone even if you are offer highest of praises in exchange of using it, you will have to do it for the well being of your mind.And by doing this you will re-enter your life as a much better off version of yourself

Fall out of formation

I plan my escape from walls they confined

Rebel red carnation

Grows while I decay

This have certain expectations from an individual and it critiques him on every step of way, it doesn’t matter if you are doing better or worse than expected either way you are a freak. Sometime we come up as an another person among certain individuals as we don’t wanna lose their companionship, these individuals can be friends, family, colleagues, classmates, etc. The point is we have to put on a facade which is far off our real self or in some cases our real self that come out in this changed personality,regardless we all have a certain urge to rebel against this society and cement our selves as something different that intriguing to other but not in a way that makes us unapproachable.

We are compelled to feed this parasitic new personality which is feeding off our real self and we can’t control it’s growth or our consumption. As the artist puts it- his rebel red carnation(his other self) is feeding and growing stronger, while his real self is decaying rapidly.

Had you in my coat pocket, where I kept my rebel red

I felt I was invincible, you wrapped around my head

Now different lives I lead, my body lives on lead

The last two lines may read incorrect until said

The lead is terrible in flavor

But now you double as a papermaker

I despise you sometimes

I love to hate the fight and you in my life is like

Now the artist tackles our love life, how the right partner makes us feel invincible as if they are with us, together nothing can stop us. Then he remembers that his partner is not in love with him but with his ‘other personality’ which he created in order to make this partner like him.Now he is living a dual life, in this situation he can not embrace either of his personalities and combining both his both not an option either as it will collapse the world he has mad for himself and he will lose everything that he holds dear.

Again to lead these dual lives we are compelled to abuse substances and this cycle goes on upto a certain point all is accepted but when the limit is reached we burst on our loved ones and blame them for making us this way. This way of living is highly toxic and is not providing us with even a bit of happiness. So, we start to take pleasure in things we aren’t supposed to, we despise the things we first rooted for, you love how much you hate that feeling you get when you argue with someone loved.

I’m running for my life

Running for my life

In spite of knowing all this we still push our selves to the freaking limit every now and them to preserve this full filling empty life of ours. Just to keep this glassy cage made by our perception from shattering into tiny fragments leaving us all alone in the process.

I’m so sorry, I forgot you

Let me catch you up to speed

I’ve been tested like the ends of

A weathered flag that’s by the sea

Can you build my house with pieces?

I’m just a chemical

Finally we are left to dry unable to sustain our loved lifestyle, we reassure ourselves that how we have been tested and overcame those testes by taking control but now not even a strand of life is left in us and we can’t resist to feel as good as our old selves.

When nothing seems going our we finally give in and choose to give up control and turn to the ones we trust most to help us create a world we desired and tried to claim but failed to do so. In the end all the abuse we have taken has reduced us into a mere chemical.