Twenty One Pilots is an American music duo consisting of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. The group currently has six studio albums, with their self-titled album Twenty One Pilots being the first to be released in 2009. Scaled and Icy is the latest release from the duo, which came out in May 2021. So far, the group has won one Grammy, three AMA’s, and seven Billboard music awards, among others.
The duo are well-known for their honest and thought-provoking lyrics paired with catchy tunes. Twenty One Pilots have released music under several genres ranging from indie-pop to rap and alternative hip-hop. They are the first artists to have two consecutive albums, Vessel and Blurryface, receive at least Gold Certification for all the tracks on the album.
Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface is the 4th studio album that managed to land the first spot on multiple billboards. Such as the US Billboard 200, the US Billboard Top Rock Albums & the US Billboard Vinyl Albums music charts. The album contains several chart-topping numbers like Stressed Out and Ride, earning a spot in the top five of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 2015.
The album originally had 14 songs, but the duo’s single Heathens got included in a limited edition CD. All the songs on the record were written by Tyler Joseph and released under Fueled by Ramen. The soundtrack from Blurryface draws influence from several musical genres such as Alternative hip hop, electropop, hip hop, indie pop, pop, reggae, rock, and indie rock.
The album is certified as 5X Platinum in the US, earning Gold and Platinum in several countries. The record encompassed a total worldwide sales of more than 6.5 million units. Blurryface was the first album to have all of its tracks receive at least Gold Certification in the US. The album secured the 7th and 1st positions on the US Top Rock Albums chart in 2015 and 2016. The album still holds a good spot on the US Billboard 200 and US Top Rock Albums Charts five years after its release.
In this article, we have discussed Lane Boy lyrics meaning so if you are looking for it, read this article till the end!
What Does The Title Mean?
Before talking about Lane Boy lyrics meaning, let’s look at its title.
The title for the track comes from the metaphor frequently referred to in the song asking the singer to hold his lane or position. Tyler vents his anger and frustration and refuses to be a lane boy. When we try to understand Lane Boy Lyrics Meaning, the song is a rebellious protest against anyone trying to restrict artists, especially musicians, to a confined genre. The music video perfectly depicts this with two men in hazmat suits trying to choreograph Tyler’s performance.
What Does The Chorus Mean?
They say, “Stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy”
But we go where we want to
They think this thing is a highway, highway
But will they be alive tomorrow?
The song starts with the chorus, where the singer uses the metaphor of road lanes to describe their journey as evolving music artists. He shares that music producers and executives constantly advise them to stay in their lane, do as told, and not cross any boundaries.
However, the singer disputes the notion, saying that the band will take their music where they want to and not restrict their creativity and imagination. He continues with the same analogy, refusing to follow that same mechanical pattern of releasing new music to stay relevant. He then questions if these famous songs will still get the same love tomorrow.
Verse 1 – What Does It Mean?
They think this thing is a highway
If it was our way, we’d have a tempo change every other time change
‘Cause our mind’s changed on what we think is good
I wasn’t raised in the hood
But I know a thing or two about pain and’ darkness
If it wasn’t for this music I don’t know how I would have fought this
Regardless, all these songs I’m hearin’ are so heartless
Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless, honest
There’s a few songs on this record that feel common
I’m in constant confrontation with what I want an’ what is poppin’
In the industry, it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency
My creativity’s only free when I’m playin’ shows
The first verse starts with the singer addressing the critics and audience under the impression that creating music is like driving on a highway. Every car stays in its separate lane while trying to take over the person in front of you. The singer shares that if things were up to him, there would be a new tempo for every signature change.
Here the singer is trying to respond to the fans that feel that the artists are changing their sounds. Tyler is trying to attribute that our thoughts change with the times, and what was once considered good is no longer acceptable now. As an evolving artist, he is constantly growing, and his music is also changing.
Tyler then shares that he didn’t grow up in a harsh environment but has struggled with his share of pain and darkness. Here, the singer refers to his mental health struggles with clinical depression. The singer confesses to finding a creative outlet through music and is thankful for the discovery.
The singer then criticizes current mainstream music for being so heartless and impersonal. In these songs, any meaning or message is traded for a catchy beat to get maximum airplay. That’s why Tyler asks you not to trust a perfect musician or flawless song as they will lack complete honesty. He even goes ahead to say that some songs on the Blurryface album seem too mainstream for his tastes.
Further, Tyler shares his dilemma of creating music that he wants or songs that appeal to the masses. Here the singer is unhappy with the money-driven aspect of the music industry, where any song’s success gets measured by its sales. Because of that, the singer only feels his creativity come out when he is performing live on the stage.
Verse 2 – What Does It Mean?
I’m sorry if that question I asked last
Scared you a bit like a Hazmat, in a gas mask if you ask Zack
He’s my brother, he likes when I rap fast
But let’s backtrack, back to this
Who would you live and die for on that list?
But the problem is, there’s another list that exists and no one really wants to think about this
Forget sanity, forget salary, forget vanity, my morality
If you get in between someone I love an’ me
You’re gonna feel the heat of my cavalry
All these songs I’m hearin’ are so heartless
Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless
The singer begins the second verse by apologizing to anyone scared by his question about current mainstream music staying relevant in the years to come. He relates fear to seeing someone wearing a hazmat suit with a gas mask, also featured in the music video for the track that helps you learn Lane Boy Lyrics Meaning better.
Tyler also mentions his brother Zack in the song and shares that he likes it when the singer raps fast. This is not the first time Zack got a mention in a Twenty One Pilots song. Zack also features on the 2011 album Regional at Best’s song Kitchen Sink. Zack is a huge supporter of Tyler and motivated him to start his musical journey.
Next, the singer asks the listeners to list the people they would live and die for, meaning the most important people in your life. The line also ties in with another track on the album, Ride, where Tyler raps about taking a bullet for people he loves. Here the singer mentions we have another list of people, but we don’t like to talk about it.
The second list of people can be interrupted as the people we would willingly kill to protect our loved ones. He says if someone dares to get between the singer and his loved ones, he will fight them to death by referring to an ancient fighting technique, cavalry.
Tyler says he will not care about his sanity, salary, vanity, and morality in the fight, but the line has a second interpretation as well. These qualities often corrupt a music artist, making you lose track of your creativity. He confesses that he finds current pop music pointless and wraps it up by warning us not to trust a perfect artist or flawless song.
Conclusion
Lane Boy is the sixth track from Twenty One Pilots’ fourth studio album, Blurryface, released in 2015. Fans first got introduced to the song via a YouTube song stream on 4th May 2015. Later the official music video for the track was released on their label, Fueled by Ramen’s YouTube channel, on 20th June 2015. So far, the song has gathered more than 273 million views.
Tyler Joseph, the duo’s lead singer, wrote the song along with all the other tracks on the album. He also co-produced the track with Ricky Reed. The song debuted on the Billboards US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Charts on 23rd May 2015 and reached its peak position at the 28th spot during its stay on the charts. Overall, the song scored sixty-first place on the US Billboard Hot Rock Songs year-end chart.
By going through Lane Boy Lyrics Meaning, we see the singer dig at anyone asking the band to stay in their lane (genre), and it is the rebellion anthem by the artist. In an interview, Tyler shared that the boldness of the song was unappreciated by many people in the industry, but they decided to release it anyway. Lane Boy is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
