Panic! At The Disco: The Meaning

25. Folkin' Around

  The twelfth song of Pretty. Odd. is an intentionally cliché depiction of a passionate romance. This is the second track on the album written by frontman Brendon Urie.  The title is a fairly obvious play on "fucking around," which might show that the relationship described wasn't the most mature one out there.  

  Allow me to exaggerate a memory or two
Where summer's lasted longer than
Well longer than we do
When nothing really mattered
Except for me to be with you
But in time we all forgotten
We all grew  

  This playful number was written by frontman Brendon Urie, who intended for the lyrics to be cliché and depict a stereotypical romance. This particular romance seems to have fizzled out very quickly. "Summer" may have been chosen to illustrate the carefree, "sunny" feelings that were present between them.  

Ryan Ross: I really like that song from a lyrical standpoint. I didn't really get it the first two times. Once I paid attention to the first line, the part that says, 'Allow me to exaggerate a memory or two,' after that I was like, 'Oh, all these lyrics are cliché on purpose.' And then it totally made sense. He outsmarted me. 

  Your melody sounds as sweet
As the first time it was sung
With a little bit more character for show  

Brendon's comparing a girl he's falling for once again to a timeless melody. He's recognizing that her presence is just as enticing as it was before, except he's justifying his attraction towards her by reassuring himself that now she's a better person than she was last time they broke up.

  And by the time your father's heard
Of all the wrong you've done  

Despite the fact that he just compared her to a sweet melody and complimented her character, he goes back on his word almost instantly by suggesting that the thing's she's done (possibly sleeping around/cheating on him) would make her father disappointed in her.

This perfectly represents the ever-changing nature of their relationship. One minute they hate each other, and the next they love each other, but no matter the emotional toll it takes on either one of them, they're inexplicably drawn to each other.

  And I'm putting out the lantern
Find your own way back home  

  If his love his not enough, then he is not going to chase her. She is going to have to realize her mistakes and come back by herself without him guiding her—by putting out this metaphorical lantern you can't see where you're going. Alternatively, he is putting out the lantern for him to go and find his own way, not blinded by love.  

Brendon Urie: That line is– I don't want to use hate against people that hate, that is just going to fuel it. I refuse to turn into what those people are, and so if I can't defeat my enemies with love, I would just give up at that point. Luckily it hasn't come to that, love will always prevail and I do believe that. That's a roundabout way of saying, love will always trump hate. 

  I've forgotten how to sing
Before I sung this song
I'll write it all across this wall
Before my job is done
And I'll even have the courtesy
Of admitting I was wrong
As the final words before I'm dead and gone  

  The narrator wants to remember the feelings he has for this person for as long as he can, and he'll capture them in any way possible, including a song! Their relationship makes him feel a way he's never felt before, and if it goes wrong he'd even be willing to take the blame for everything. He is so certain that they are meant to be together that he would wait until the day he dies to confirm their resilience.  

  You've never been so divine
In accepting your defeat  

  And I've never been more scared to be alone  

In this final verse, it seems like their relationship has finally come to a close. Even though it's for the best and they both know it, they can't help but be shaken up.

While she's in denial that it's over, the narrator's trying to stay strong and think about how much better off he is without her. But they've been clashing for so long that they've basically become dependent on each other in a strange way, and he doesn't even remember what life was like without her existence, which scares him on some deep level. This is a big change, and he's not sure if he can tough it out.