AJR is an Indie pop band, formed by an impressive trio – Adam, Jack, Ryan. These impressive individuals are actually brothers. This is also why they named the band after their initials. Boy bands, especially bands of brothers, have been known to do quite well. They have a very engaged fanbase. They actually started with reaching out to famous people and singers. They have exponentially expanded their fanbase through social media only. Stories say that Sia got interested in their clip on the internet. She actually got them her manager which further led to a butterfly effect.
AJR has opened for many established names, like Andy Grammar, Demi Lovato, American Authors, and more. They have many famous songs in their hat, namely “Burn the House Down”, “Sober Up”. Their track “Sober Up” received a lot of critical applause. The music video of this song also received a lot of appreciation. It featured the amazing brothers. Sober up lyrics meaning was embedded in the music video as well.
What does the title mean?
The title of the song Sober up is like a heading for the song. Sober up lyrics meaning is about being sober and aware of life. The title confuses the listeners about the theme of the song. It can either be a song about alcohol intoxication, daydreaming, or just the reality of life. The title also gives away like a piece of advice – to sober up. It is an intentional choice and a powerful one too.
Verse 1 – what does it mean?
Hello, hello
I’m not where I’m supposed to be
I hope that you’re missing me
‘Cause it makes me feel young
The song opens with a sweet greeting. The very first verse itself gives away the notion of being delusional. It starts with a certain realization of being misplaced. There is maybe a changed emotion, changed geography, or just a reflection of the past. The following lines add to it for clarity. The vocalist says that “I hope you’re missing me”. It means that he is talking about someone from his life, mostly his past life. He is in the deep dive of nostalgia. He further strengthens this feeling by confessing that such thoughts make him feel young. Feeling young is pure – a different kind – of emotion. It is something that a lot of us forget as we grow old. We forget where we are, and many times we end up at different places. We lose track of where we are going and who we are becoming. So, sober up lyrics meaning also revisits this delusion of being lost in growing up.
Hello, hello
Last time that I saw your face
Was recess in second grade
And it made me feel young
The lines continue with the same talking style. It is engaging and conversational. This is also what relates to the people the most. In these lines, the vocalist mentions the other side. He talks of an old contact that the vocalist is trying to talk to. The other person seems like an intimate and close old contact. The vocalist talks about school, old memories. There is nostalgia in the lines. There is depth, and somewhere hidden, there is a plea.
What does the chorus mean?
Won’t you help me sober up
Growing up it made me numb
And I want to feel something again
Won’t you help me sober up
All the big kids they are drunk
And I want to feel something again
Won’t you help me feel something again
How’s it go again?
The chorus is the core focus of the song. It is honest and raw. There is anger as well as desperation in the words. The vocalist asks for help. He connects this help with the words “sober up”. This might mean that is currently in a faded-out zone. He feels a certain disconnect with himself. He needs support to sober up. He needs help to be himself back again. This confession leads to clarity. It makes sense of the starting lines. Everything fits in a puzzle. These lines are now focused on the vocalist’s plea. He is confused about his state. He wants to feel something again but he is numb. This expression of numbness is connected with being high. A lot of times in states of delusion, there are no emotions. Neither sadness nor joy is felt. There is a stagnant state of existence. The vocalist is asking for help to feel again – to be sober.
The surroundings are also a prime influence on a person, the vocalist claims that everyone around him, especially his leaders, is drunk. This is something that has influenced a lot of us. We have been to parties, get-togethers where the people you look up to being drunk. You find this behavior to be normal, even necessary, this is a mild form of peer pressure. The vocalist asks for help. He wants to feel something – even be it pain or negative emotions, he wants the ability to feel everyday emotions.
Verse 2 – what does it mean?
Goodbye, goodbye
I said to my bestest buds
We said that we’d keep in touch
And we did our best
All my new friends
We smiled at party time
But soon we forgot to smile
At anything else
The chorus shifts the greeting from hello to goodbye. There is a change in conversation. The vocalist is talking about his past, referring to old friends. There is also a reference to growing up here. When he talks about how they soon forgot to smile – it is about adulthood. So, sober up lyrics AJR meaning is somewhat about adulthood and the problems it brings with it. Adulthood does not come alone. It comes with unhealthy coping mechanisms, poor choices, lost contact, and whatnot.
What does the post-chorus mean?
How’s it go again?
(Go again, go again, go again…)
The post-chorus is a lyrical play at asking how the friend is doing. There is a bit of resentment here in the emotions. Maybe he is genuinely asking about well-being. Maybe it is a sarcastic way of asking if he dealt with life better than he was able to do. There is the use of repetition in the post-chorus. This tool is mostly used to emphasize a particular phrase or a word. So, here AJR wants to focus upon understanding the course of things.
What does the bridge mean?
My favorite color is you
You’re vibrating out my frequency
My favorite color is you
You keep me young and that’s how I wanna be
In the bridge, the vocalist talks about his friend. There are hints of nostalgia, intimacy, connection, and affection. There are even some hints of a deeper connection than friendship. The vocalist talks of how the other person knows him too well. He feels young with them, he feels like himself. There are definitely such people for everyone. Such people make us feel alive. They remind us of who we wanted to be. They bring out the best in us. Likewise, the vocalist here is trying to confess this to that person. This bridge is then followed by the same verses and chorus. It is on repetition to focus on the themes of fading away, sobering up, and feeling.
Verse 3 – what does it mean?
Hello, hello
I’m not where I’m supposed to be
I hope that you’re missing me
‘Cause it makes me feel young
Hello, hello
Last time that I saw your face
Was recess in second grade
And it made me feel young
Verse one has repeated again. It is another call for the young days. The nostalgia is overpowering and the visual memories are consuming. The special mention of the recess is very relatable to the listeners. Recess was the time when all friends sat together, laughed, shared information, and run pranks. But eventually, recess becomes something you miss dearly. Sober up lyrics meaning talks about the recess in school – and this makes us realize that there is no recess in adulthood, no recess in life. We all just have to keep on going, just like he was guided.
What does the pre-chorus mean?
And I want to feel somethin’ again
I just wanna feel somethin’ again
How’s it go again?
The pre-chorus re-emphasizes Sober Up lyrics’ meaning. The vocalist wants to feel something – preferably a good thing. He wants to just escape this numbing feeling that adulthood has brought. This feeling is something we all can relate to. Sometimes it is because of anxiety, stress, and responsibilities. Sometimes we get heartbroken through life and left feeling nothing. There are many different reasons for heartbreak.
After the pre-chorus, the chorus repeats. It fits perfectly well. The chorus is, overall, sad in terms of lyrics – staying true to the sober up lyrics meaning. It is a goodbye to the old times, old friends,
Conclusion
AJR’s sober up, as per the lyrics, is quite intense and thought-provoking. We all are victims of adulthood, and we have left a lot of things behind when we moved towards our growth. Somewhere we all are lost on our paths. So much work pressure and peer pressure, and our true identity is gone. This song is an ode to our old friends and people who passed us by. It is also a call to your loved ones. There was a lot of nostalgia, lost love, and even displaced identity. So, Sober up lyrics meaning is an amalgamation of emotions felt at a certain point in life. This point comes at a later stage if v=f AS the song captures it all beautifully. Also, the song is very catchy. It is very hard to ignore the beats of the song.
