MY INTERPRETATION OF ADDICT WITH A PEN

ADDICT WITH A PEN

Emily Fuhrer

April 10 2018

An Analysis and Explication of Addict With A Pen

"Addict With A Pen" is the fourth song off of Twenty One Pilot's self titled album, which was produced in 2009. This song is one of the many songs that hold a deep meaning within the lyrics on this album. Not only this song, but the thirteen other songs on the album also have deep meanings to them, all with detailed metaphors that hold a bigger picture inside the initial lyrics. All of these metaphors have endless interpretations to them, which makes these songs unique because everybody will interpret them differently. There can be different interpretations for these songs, but the true meaning of them will always stay.

This song is known most popularly as a fan favourite. It is generally performed live in Twenty One Pilots's concerts, and usually holds an extremely emotional performance due to the meaningful lyrics and how they hold to everybody. This song can have different meanings for everybody, but it is undeniable that the lyrics in this song are referenced to God. In this song, Tyler prays to God, saying they haven't talked in quite some time, and he also confesses his sins and begs for redemption and forgiveness for his sins.

This song starts with the chorus of the song. In the chorus, it starts off with "Hello, we haven't talked in quite some time, I know, I haven't been the best, of sons". In this line, it it quite obvious what is being sung here. Since it is the beginning of the song, it is interpreted that Tyler is praying to God, and that the start of the song is the start of the prayer. Tyler admits that he hasn't been the best of sons, meaning that he has strayed away from God, and that he confesses that he has been strayed away from him. "Hello, I've been travelling in the deserts of my mind, And I haven't found a drop of life, I haven't found a drop of you" ends the chorus. Here, Tyler states that he has been travelling in the "deserts of his mind" meaning that he is travelling, searching for God, and can't find a drop of water. Here, God is metaphorically represented as water. When Tyler is looking for the water and can't find it, he is calling out to God, but he cannot find his faith and this is when he prays to God in hopes that he will somehow re-find his faith in praying to him.

In the first verse, it is started off with " I try desperately to run through the sand, As I hold the water in the palm of my hand, Cause it's all that I have and it's all that I need, And the waves of the water mean nothing to me, But I try my best in all that I can,To hold tightly onto what's left in my hand, But no matter how, how tightly I will strain, The sand will slow me down and the water will drain" Here the sand is represented as Tyler's demons, which is his depression. Tyler tries desperately to hold on to his faith as he battles his depression. Tyler states that the water is "all that he has and all that he needs" meaning that God is all Tyler has as he battles his depression. He desperately tries to hold on to his faith as he battles his depression. Tyler tells himself that "the waves of the water mean nothing to him" meaning that in the distance, God is there, but he focuses on what faith he has now. No matter how hard Tyler tries to keep his faith with God (But no matter how, how tightly I will strain, The sand will slow me down and the water will drain) Tyler's faith in God will seem to disappear as his depression takes over his mind.

In the second verse, it starts off with "I'm just being dramatic, In fact, I'm only at it again as an addict with a pen, Who's addicted to the wind as it blows me back and forth, Mindless, spineless, and pretend". Deep thinkers are usually thought of as overly dramatic, such as when they ponder the meaning of life. Tyler agrees with these theories as this situation has happened so many times he is convinced that he is being over-dramatic, so that he doesn't have to defend his emotions again. This leads to an unhealthy repression of emotions, where Tyler let his depression finally take over and him lose his faith in God. Tyler's only escape was writing and writing music, hence being an "addict with a pen". He works through his fear of losing hope with writing, and considers himself nothing more than an addict for writing. When he is being blown "back and forth, mindless, spineless, and pretend" he goes back and forth between his faith and mental illness. In the Book of John in the bible, there is a verse where it literally states being blown back and forth in the wind between doubts and faith, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind". Towards the ending of the verse, the lyrics "My trial was filed as a crazy suicidal head case". Here Tyler states that struggling with his faith seems to make him feel "crazy and suicidal". The verse is ended with "You here me screaming father, and I'm lying here just crying, so wash me with your water". Here Tyler is crying out to God because he feels like he cannot fight on his own anymore, and needs to be saved from the "sands" of his mind. He wants God to wash him with his "water" which is God essentially restoring Tyler's faith in him.

With the clever wordplay and detailed metaphors in this song, it overall gives a more emotional and meaningful experience to listen to. This is one of the fewer songs out there that give us such clever word play that sometimes other people may not fully understand the true meaning of these songs. Everybody will interpret these songs differently, but the sole meaning for the songs will never change.