Twenty One Pilots: A Short Song Analysis

According to the website for The Jason Foundation, a non-profit organization for the awareness and prevention of youth suicide, the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 is suicide, and there are over 5,400 attempts every day. Though they may not know it, everybody knows at least one person who has as least thought about suicide or self-harm. Unfortunately, it seems to be quite common for young people to think about these destructive behaviors, or even act upon those thoughts. These things have become taboo to talk about, even when offering support, so many of these young people feel like they are alone and have no one there for them. The band Twenty One Pilots have many songs on the subject of mental health, but I am going to focus on the song “Guns for Hands”. This song specifically is about suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, and depression in adolescents. The band members, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, both have a history of …show more content…
I had always heard about people whose lives had been changed or even saved by certain bands/songs. I never really understood that at all. I had never even really heard any songs that I really related to. However, when I got the album Vessel by Twenty One Pilots and listened to it for the first time, I literally cried. Like, gross, ugly, snot sobbing. This was because in most of the songs, I heard what I felt, and also what I was too afraid to admit to myself that I felt. Pretty much all of the songs on the album were like that, but some more than others. “Guns for Hands” was one of the ones that was more relatable to me. That’s why I chose this song for this project.
People who are suffering from depression/anxiety usually feel that they are all alone and that there is no hope for anything getting better. To hear a song like this, especially one that has become so popular and mainstream, and to relate to it and hear that you aren’t alone is a really big deal. It could literally even save a