A More Personal Approach

Song recommendation & analysis

Song: Migraine
Artist: Twenty One Pilots
Lyrics:
Am I the only one I know
Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat
Shadows will scream that I'm alone

I-I-I I've got a migraine
And my pain will range from up, down, and sideways
Thank God it's Friday cause Fridays will always be better than Sundays
'Cause Sundays are my suicide days

I don't know why they always seem so dismal
Thunderstorms, clouds, snow and a slight drizzle
Whether it's the weather or the ledges by my bed
Sometimes death seems better than the migraine in my head
Let it be said what the headache represents
It's me defending in suspense
It's me suspended in a defenseless test
Being tested by a ruthless examiner
That's represented best by my depressing thoughts
I do not have writer's block my writer just hates the clock
It will not let me sleep I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead
And sometimes death seems better than the migraine in my head

Am I the only one I know
Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat
Shadows will scream that I'm alone
But I know, we've made it this far, kid

Yeah yeah yeah

I am not as fine as I seem
Pardon, me for yelling and telling you green gardens
Are not what's growing in my psyche, it's a different me
A difficult beast feasting on burnt down trees
Freeze frame, please let me paint a mental picture portrait
Something you won't forget, it's all about my forehead
And how it is a door that hold's back contents
That makes Pandora's box contents look non-violent
Behind my eyelids are islands of violence
My mind ship-wrecked this is the only land my mind could find
I did not know it was such a violent island
Full of tidal waves, suicidal crazed lions
They're trying to eat me, blood running down their chin
And I know that I can fight, or I can let the lion win
I begin to assemble what weapons I can find
'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind

Am I the only one I know
Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat
Shadows will scream that I'm alone
But I know, we've made it this far, kid

And I will say that we should take a day to break away
From all the pain our brain has made, the game is not played alone
And I will say that we should take a moment and hold it
And keep it frozen and know that life has a hopeful undertone

And I will say that we should take a day to break away
From all the pain our brain has made, the game is not played alone
And I will say that we should take a moment and hold it
And keep it frozen and know that life has a hopeful undertone

Am I the only one I know
Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat
Shadows will scream that I'm alone
But I know, we've made it this far, kid

Made it this far
Made it this far

Analysis: This song represents anyone fighting a mental illness. It starts off with the singer asking if he is alone. Often when we struggle, it is difficult to see that others struggle too. Everything will show us we are alone despite the fact that we are not.
The lyrics continue with how the singer prefers Fridays to Sundays. I found this line particularly interesting because i am the same. Friday's offer a sense of hope for the weekend while Sundays only lead to Monday. There is also the idea that Sunday is considered a holy day where you shouldn't do work. When there is no distraction it seems easy for your mind to float to ideas of suicide. There is the sense of irony, that on the day people are saved and even given new lives, the singer wants to die. Sunday is the day God rests, so does that mean he was too busy 'respecting' his rest day to respect a life? Perhaps a far stretch but i really do think Sundays hint at America's Christian religion majority and the conflicts the artist has with this.
The next lines are very conflicted. The singer says he wants to die sometimes but also states that he will sleep when he's dead. He wants to live but also die hence the migraine in his head. Strangely, his thoughts of wanting to live are making him want to die.
After the chorus, the singer goes into why people should not judge him for being angry. He compares what he's going through in his head with Pandora's box, which released all evils into the world according to greek mythology. He is claiming that his mind in itself is worse than evil. The thoughts are messy, and out to get him, but he also says he has the power to fight it.
And thus the song flips to a lighter side. If we can only freeze our thoughts, not murder our minds as he had first intended, life is good. Mental illness may mess with you but life goes on. And when you fight hard enough to look beyond the pain within, there is good out there. All you have to do is look. There is no need to lose everything you are and kill your mind. You just need to control it, if even only for a second.
The last line "we made it this far" is encouragement showing how far we've gotten and how strong we've become. If we want to make our prior struggles worth something then we cannot give up.
This song explains that people are more than their illnesses. Unlike others, however, some must pause and and take breaks from the storm lest they lose their minds.
Despite what each individual goes through the world outside remains the same. And although the world is both wretched and beautiful, one must see beauty to make it all worth it.
What did this song mean to you?

Xoxo,
~fatsotheawesome🕊