Twenty One Pilots: Holding on to You Meaning
Song Released: 2012
Holding on to You Lyrics
I bet a lot of me was lost, Ts uncrossed and Is undotted,
I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got,
Not anymore, flesh out the door, swat,
I must've forgot, you...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:Holding onto you is a very meaningful song.
The most obvious interpretation is what I will explain.
Throughout the song Tyler describes fighting depression and Suicide
“I'm taking over my body
Back in control, no more shotty”
So he’s talking about how he’s taking control over his body and not letting his depressed feelings and thoughts take over his actions. Now a “shotty” is another word for “dibs” or “shotgun”, like first to say it gets it. So he’s saying that he’s now back in control.
“I bet a lot of me was lost
"T"'s uncrossed and "I"'s undotted
I fought it a lot and it seems a lot”
It sounds like he is still fighting these thoughts. ‘I bet a lot of was lost’ is saying that when he was going under a lot of his original self was lost.
‘ "T"'s uncrossed and "I"'s undotted ‘ I honestly don’t have a good idea of what it means but what I can tell so far by un-crossed and un-dotted is that it’s being undone. That he is being undone and being put back together.
“Like flesh is all I got
Not any more, flesh out the door?”
*Once again he’s fighting these thoughts and feelings and trying to dominate them.
“I must'a forgot, you can't trust me
I'm open a moment and closed when you show it
Before you know it I'm lost at sea
And now that I write and think about it
And the story unfolds
You should take my life
You should take my soul”
Now it’s obvious that his tone is that he’s talking to someone. He says “You should take my life, You should take my soul”. This may be a deity such as God which has evidence below or someone who he has lost that has made him depressed. So he is thinking about suicide.
“You are surrounding all my surroundings
Sounding down the mountain range
Of my left-side brain
You are surrounding all my surroundings
Twisting the kaleidoscope
Behind both of my eyes”
So these depressing thoughts are surroundings him, his every moves he makes what the left side brain do. Now from some research I have gathered what the left side brain does. So it focuses in logic, thinking, actions and math. Now this makes sense. He’s saying that the depression is affecting his logic. When it says “Twisting the kaleidoscope, Behind both of my eyes” he is saying that it’s affecting the way he veiw things as it’s twisting his “vision”.
“Remember the moment
You know exactly where you're goin'
'Cause the next moment before you know it
Time is slowin' and it's rolling still
And the windowsill looks really nice, right?
You think twice about your life
It probably happens at night, right?”
He’s saying that it’s a build up to depression as it says that “you know exactly where you goin’?” means that you can see which road you’re going down and it’s the one to depression and how it says “it’s still rolling” means it’s still getting worse. “And the windowsill looks really nice, right?” This is obviously connecting to Suicide. “You think twice about your life”, this happens to us sometimes when we question out existence as all we do I live and die but with Tyler it’s a bit worse.
“Fight it, take the pain, ignite it
Tie a noose around your mind
Loose enough to breath fine and tie it
To a tree tell it, you belong to me, this ain't a noose
This is a leash and I have news for you
You must obey me”
This is one of my favourite parts of the song. He is taking back in charge of his body and having a purpose. He is tying the depressed thoughts to a tree or an anchor and keeping them away so they can’t harm him. Or like a leash like you leash a pet, you are the owners, you are in charge.
“You are surrounding all my surroundings
Sounding down the mountain range
Of my left-side brain
You are surrounding all my surroundings
Twisting the kaleidoscope
Behind both of my eyes”
Once again the same meaning
“Entertain my faith” X10
This is some evidence that the something he is “holding onto” is his belief or “faith”.
“Lean with it, rock with it
When we gonna stop with it?
Lyrics that mean nothing
We were gifted with thought
Is it time to move our feet
To an introspective beat
It ain't the speakers that bump hard
It's our hearts that make the beat”
These lyrics don’t exactly connect with the other but do have a purpose. This is saying that sometimes with life you can’t take stuff seriously, just cool down and go with it. Sometimes you just need to lay back and laugh at the world. -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:This song is talking about taking control over depression and suicidal thoughts. Such a meaningful song to me
-
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I'm taking over my body, back in control, no more shotty, I bet a lot of me was lost t's uncrossed and i's undotted. I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got, not anymore, flesh out the door, swat.
(This sounds like fighting depression after a loved one's death, it makes sense as the song continues)
I must have forgot, you can't trust me, I'm open a moment and closed when you show it and before you know it I'm lost at sea. And now that I think and write about it and the story unfolds, you should take my life, you should take my soul.
(Explaining how distant and untrustworthy you have become and feeling guilty for being this way.)
You are surrounding, all my surroundings, sounding down the mountain range, of my left side brain, you are surrounding, all my surroundings twisting the kaleidoscope, behind both of my eyes.
(The death or disappearance of this loved one is hurting you so much that you can't think about anyone or anything else, it's like they're controlling you, you can't handle your responsibilities anymore, you can't think about anything else.)
And I'll be holding onto you x2
(Holding onto the memory of the one you love)
Remember the moment you know exactly where you're going cause the next moment, before you know it, time is slowing and it's frozen still and the window sill looks really nice, right? You think twice about your life it probably happens at night right?
(This shows that the persons' departure of your life has been sudden, after you thought you knew exactly where you were headed they just disappeared. You think twice about your life, your purpose, your purpose without this person. Why am I reminding myself of Ryden, I'm gonna continue before I cry.)
Fight it. Take the pain ignite it, tie a noose around your mind, loose enough to breathe fine and tie it to a tree, tell it 'You belong to me.' This ain't a noose this is a leash and I have news for you you must obey me.
(You're fighting back now, finding yourself a purpose, you're taking back control of your own life.)
You are surrounding, all my surroundings, sounding down the mountain range, of my left side brain, you are surrounding, all my surroundings twisting the kaleidoscope, behind both of my eyes.
Entertain my faith x10
Lean with it rock with it, when we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothing we were gifted with thought, is it time to move our feet? To an introspected beat? It ain't the speakers that bump hearts it's our hearts that make the beat. x4
And I'll be holding onto you x8
(In my eyes this song is about getting over your depression after someone's disappearance or death but never really forgetting them. Then again, this is only my opinion. -
“Fight it, take the pain, ignite it
Tie a noose around your mind
Loose enough to breath fine and tie it
To a tree tell it, you belong to me, this ain't a noose
This is a leash and I have news for you
You must obey me”
I would like to add to the top interpreters. This quote makes me believe that he is tying a noose around his mind to be dominate and to take control over his life once again. But he knows these thoughts and the past womt just disappear; he will use this as a way to guide his way into the future. Taking his pain and twisting it into something beneficial to his psyche. -
"I'm taking over my body
Back in control, no more shotty"
By shotty he means shotgun as in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. This term comes from the era of the wild west when stagecoaches had someone next to the driver armed with a shotgun to protect the stagecoach from attacks. Nowadays people say "I got shotgun" as a way of calling dibs on the front seat of a car. So it seems he is saying he is back in the driver seat and taking control of his life -
It's defently about God, he even said it in an Interview, that almost all of his songs are about God and his faith.
-
"Remember the moment
You know exactly where you're goin'
'Cause the next moment before you know it
Time is slowin' and it's rolling still
And the windowsill looks really nice, right?
You think twice about your life
It probably happens at night, right?"
Thinking about suicide. Jumping out the window, life, and especially the fact that mostly people to it at night cuz thats the time no one worries or notices about you. -
"I am taking over my body, back in control.." I see this line as he is taking him self back,his depression will no longer control him.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Definitely has to do with faith and God vs the might old FLESH
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I think this song is about how at one point he had no control over his mind and his actions, but he's taking control of it and fighting back.
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I feel like this song means to not fight God. "tie a nu-ice around your mind" You are in control of your own mind. God cant control your mind and what you want to do. God put you in control.
Also, something about the music video. I feel like when he turns into one of the skeletons he is becoming conformed to the world. Hes trying to fight conformity. Hes trying to be different for God. He wants to fit in and deny God but he knows that's not right. "You are surrounding all my surroundings" He knows he cant be "normal" cause if he does God is all around and it'll change him.
please don't judge me on this its just what i think -
I think this song is about slowly falling apart but finding things that help you to come back to who you want to be, and about taking control of situations with an open mind because you know what you want but you should still "tie a noose to your mind and loosen up to find" other possibilities that might be worth the exploration and to really hold on to the idea of a new better future with yourself and finding out who you are because the song is about introspection more than anything else.
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