Panic! At The Disco: The Meaning

23. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

  "The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know" is look inside Ryan Ross's writing process. This is a song about Ryan being confused with his career and life, and knowing he has much more to learn. When writing songs Ryan just lets the piano guide him, and the lyrics come to his head. In a way, that means the piano knows more about his life than Ryan does. 

 I won't cut my beard and I won't change my hair

It grows like fancy flowers but it grows nowhere
My hair, my hair  

Ryan's refusal towards changing his beard/hair likely represents his refusal (or possibly even indifference) towards changing his bad habits.

Likewise, while his hair grows like flowers, so do his bad habits. He even goes so far as to say the flowers are fancy, hinting that they're even more favorable than normal flowers. When applied to his bad habits, one might think it sounds crazy to say they have any upsides. However, as a lyricist, a lot of Ryan's inspiration comes from his own flaws, so his detrimental patterns are sometimes what fuel the incredible, thought-provoking lyrics behind Panic! at the Disco.

So, like the fancy flowers that grow nowhere, his self-destructive tendencies have helped him progress as a songwriter, but have held him back in terms of growing as a person.

  If I could build my house just like the Trojan horse
I'd put a statue of myself upon the shelf
Of course, of course, of course 

 Panic! is making some oblique classical and mythological references here: the Greeks, tiring of the interminable Trojan war, built a giant wooden horse per instruction of Odysseus and presented it to the Trojans as a gift to seemingly end the conflict, when in fact a select force of Greeks hid inside its belly. The Trojans accepted the subterfuge despite their warning to beware Greeks bearing gifts and their city was destroyed.

"Statues on the shelf" are a reference to the practice of placing penates, or household gods, on the mantle in a Roman home before the Romans largely accepted the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses we know today. Basically, he's worshiping himself as god of his own household.

  She's the smoke
She's dancin' fancy pirouettes
Swan diving off of the deep end
Of my tragic cigarette
She's steam
Laughing on the windowpanes
The never-ending swaying haze
Oh, that ever smiling maze
Oh, that ever smiling maze
Ballet  

The narrator uses a series of metaphors to describe a woman, likely his girlfriend. He first compares her movements to those of cigarette smoke. The 'fancy pirouettes' he references are connected to the way smoke spirals as it goes upwards. A pirouette  is a ballet move in which a dancer spins on one leg while holding the other in the air. A swan dive is a dive in which the diver arches their back and holds their arms above their head and to the side, bringing them together before entering the water.

He then compares her to steam on a windowpane, which he also refers to as a maze due to its ability to reduce visibility. Both smoke and steam are ephemeral, disappearing into the air after a short time. This could be the narrator foreshadowing that their relationship isn't a permanent one, but it's also possible that he simply feels that they don't get to spend enough time together.

Everything's gone missingI've lost more songs to floodsI can't prove this makes any sense butI sure hope that it doesPerhapsI was born with curiosityThe likes of those of old crowsThe likes of those of old crowsAnd oh, how the piano knowsThe piano knows somethingI don't know

Ryan is constantly writing songs on, and pretty much telling his stories to, his piano. It's always there, absorbing the words he says and turning it into a finished song. Maybe the piano knows the solutions to his worries, and the more he writes, the more clear these solutions will become.

"Songs" could be a representation of the good things in his life. They seem to have faded away, and he's not quite sure why.

In addition, pianos are typically seem as a beautiful instrument, and many people like its appearance and sound. The piano is likable, but Ryan doesn't think he's likable himself. "I've lost more songs to floods" suggests that he might be forgetful, and you probably don't want to compare yourself to an elderly bird, which would probably be weak and may have trouble flying. He's not the most confident fellow, and he envies the way people adore pianos.

The likable quality of the piano may be viewed as a contrast to Panic!'s music, which isn't the most conventionally "beautiful" thing out there. He might be wondering how to make his music more appealing to a wider audience.