What does It's Time mean?

Imagine Dragons: It's Time Meaning

Album cover for It's Time album cover

Song Released: 2012


It's Time Lyrics

So this is what you meant
When you said that you were spent
And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit, right to the top
Don't hold back
Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check
I don't ever wanna let you down
I don't...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 7th 2017 !⃝

    I have always associated this song with moving and the journey.

    So this is what you meant
    When you said that you were spent
    And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit
    Right to the top
    Don't hold back
    I think this means the person is realising how hard it was for other people to move and now has to do this for themself and are trying to be strong.

    Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain-check
    this would be specifically for someone still in school or could be working. packing up and moving means getting a new job or school (academy)

    I don't ever wanna let you down
    I don't ever wanna leave this town
    this is the person telling their friends and their family they are trying to be strong but leaving is just so hard for them.

    'Cause after all
    This city never sleeps at night
    Meaning that while everyone is sleeping people are coming and going all the time.

    It's time to begin, isn't it?
    I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
    I'm just the same as I was
    Now don't you understand
    That I'm never changing who I am
    this line explains itself .

    So this is where you fell
    And I am left to sell
    The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell
    Right to the top
    Don't look back
    Turning to rags and giving the commodities a rain-check
    Getting to that happy life you will have in a new place is like heaven, but the journey is awful.

    It's time to begin, isn't it?
    I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
    I'm just the same as I was
    Now don't you understand
    That I'm never changing who I am

    This road never looked so lonely
    This house doesn't burn down slowly
    To ashes, to ashes
    It's like saying " I never felt so alone" while watching your whole life and home burn down before you. A metaphor of saying how hard it is to leave.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 8th 2013 !⃝

    This song is about the leader singer leavening college and going out into the real world. Giving the academy a rain check. College=academy. I don't ever wanna let you down, he is talking to his parents. He's afraid he will let his parents down. He doesn't wanna leave this town, this means he doesn't want to leave his home town again. The city never sleeps at night, most universities are in a good sized city. Finally the chorus its time to begin, he's starting his real life out in the real world. I get a little bit bigger but than I'll admit I'm just the same as I was, this means he is getting ahead of himself he thinks that he is different because he is in the real world, meaning he had to get a real job. Finally I'm just the same as I was I hope you understand I'm never changing who I am, means just because he is in the real world the working world that doesn't mean he's completely changed. Its easy to be so involved in the world around that you lose sight of who you are. So that final part of the chorus means he may get wrapped up in life sometimes but he will never forget who he is. So he will never change.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 20th 2017 !⃝

    I got something very different from this song. When I found my mom was given 3 months to live, I used to get in my car and blast this. She passed away at home in her sleep. She was spent...I am spent (tired). I had moved back to her house in the town I used to live in. I have a lot of work to do here. My life has changed forever, but I know she is looking down proudly at me. No matter what life endures, I will never change who I am

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 25th !⃝

    Your interpretation was too short. Let's use at least 100 characters. Write in complete sentences. Take your time and write something people want to read.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 6th 2022 !⃝

    i think its about ego and moving on when he says "i get a little bit bigger but then i admit im just the same as i was" he's talking about how he was getting full of himself but then he realized he's not so special

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 30th 2021 !⃝

    THIS SONG IS ABOUT PRIDE!!!
    "I'm just the same as I was",
    "Now don't you understand,
    I'm never changing who I am".
    I'm bisexual & this song has been inspired me to come out during pride month starting in a few days.
    - 5/30/21

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 15th 2021 !⃝

    I personally don't think you could exactly know what the writer is trying to say (he could have written those words because they rymed and sounded good with the melody or smt who knows).but saying that, what I do with songs that I love I just give my own version or perspective of the lyrics which relates to me, for this one I think his talking to him self
    So, this is what you meant
    When you said that you
    were spent
    And now it's time to build
    form the bottom of the tip
    right to the top
    don't hold back
    Hes tiered of his life,he wants to go to the top and want to be great. His saying to his self get up and start your life don't hold back
    I don't ever want to let
    you down
    I dont ever want to leave
    this
    Hes drowning in expectations from self,family. He taking a risk going out on his own and doesn't want to fail, letting everyone down.
    And so on, I think his just having a dialogue refering to his self from the third person saying it's a new life(road) but his still the same.

  8. OMF
    click a star to vote
    Oct 20th 2020 !⃝

    The song in general is about change. Hitting that point in life when he's trying to move forward or move on however you may look at it. Being from Las Vegas and having such a wonderful band successfully represented us is a new sort of thing.

    I've lived here since the 60s and the only other band that has called Las Vegas home is 702 as far as I know. Everyone else was from somewhere else successful somewhere else and they came here. Used to be a joke that Las Vegas is where your career goes to die.

    For those not from here or not knowing that Imagine Dragons is from Las Vegas, the lyric "this city never sleeps at night" obviously refers to Las Vegas. Even during this media conjured stupidity, this city Never Sleeps at night!

    Despite the absolute lack of any real culture or any real anything, except for the masses of tourists to come here to debauch themselves, people from Las Vegas are proud of being from here and Imagine Dragons does a great job representing, I hope they're always successful.

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 7th 2020 !⃝

    this touches me in ways like it feels like a song I can listen to and like do a protest with. But anyways the lryics "I'm never changing who I am" is so true don't change your self for anyone else just stay the way you are And dont give up i know its hard with Covi*-19 just stay positive okay

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 12th 2018 !⃝

    The review by Nightlore is spot on!!! I think you are very accurate, and the first time I heard this song, I thought of that (and myself).

  11. anonymous
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    Oct 2nd 2017 !⃝

    I've heard this song many times, and never gave it any "lyrical" interpretation. I heard it the other morning, a few months after getting out of a dysfunctional relationship. It really hit home. I didn't want to leave, I didn't ever do anything to "let her down."

    "This road never looked so lonely
    This house doesn't burn down slowly
    To ashes, To ashes..."
    Yep, the loneliness and reflection that what you built is now gone.

    "It's time to begin, isn't it?
    I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
    I'm just the same as I was
    Now don't you understand
    I'm never changing who I am..."

    Time to get life back together and start over, but at the same time realizing not to let the failures and setbacks change the person you are.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 25th 2017 !⃝

    This song has special meaning for me. It came out the year I was accepted into, literally, "the academy": the US Air Force Academy. I loved this song, but didn't feel like it particularly applied to me: The phrase "rain check" means to put something off or end it and, as I'd been accepted, I wasn't about to do that!

    About a month into my enrollment at the Academy, I got really bad news: right after my family moved to be closer to my dads job, he lost that job, because of the politics of the higher–ups. My family was in complete uncertainty for their future, and there was nothing I could do about it. This sent me into a tailspin, along with an injury to my foot that left me in crutches, and a number of other factors. Six months later, I was on a plane home. That was 3 1/2 years ago.

    "It's time" reminds me of that year I spent getting into the Academy, and the subsequent years it took me to recover from the loss of my dream of becoming an officer. I sort of went through "miles of clouded Hell" to get to where I am now, a civilian university student on the brink of graduating with a BS in Psychology. My family is ok too, and my dad has another job. My experience has given me a lot of insight I couldn't have gained otherwise. You can come back from "from the bottom of the pit, straight to the top."

    Never give up.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 15th 2016 !⃝

    When I first heard the song I interpreted it as. "You can say whatever you want about me but I won't let you get me down, I will stay strong and I'm never going to change because of you."

    I know that that's not what it means but I like to see it that way, I love songs that have meanings similar to this.

    I just love the lyrics "I'm never changing who I am." They are very inspiring words for me personally.

  14. anonymous
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    May 5th 2016 !⃝

    This song is about his personal demons and the end of the world you completely misunderstood it.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  15. NightLore
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    Apr 13th 2016 !⃝

    I'm going to need a bit of Wikipedia for this:

    "Despite its quick rise to international stardom, Imagine Dragons maintains a band culture of humility, relatability, and creativity... Imagine Dragons is an "atypical band" in that its image diverges from that of the stereotypical rock group. None of the members are "tatted up" and many choose not to attend after-parties, stereotypical fashions that Reynolds claims are "lifestyle choices" rather any part of "the spirit of rock'n'roll." At one point when the band did choose to attend an afterparty, they noted to each other "We don't belong here" as they arrived by foot amongst limos and luxury cars."

    With this, I believe that the song 'It's Time' could be in the perspective of a conservative person who views the world as a place where peoples' values have become twisted; however, no matter how tempting these 'values' are, he appears to refuse taking part in them with the lyrics, 'I'm never changing who I am.'

    The singer seems to know that his values will set him apart and that there will be challenges. This can be interpreted with the lyrics, 'The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell,' as well as, 'This road never looked so lonely.' It's as if he feels alone because the world around him is a cruel place, and he could be trying to find his way through the dark.

    No matter how upbeat and fun these songs seem, they truly hold serious themes. That's what I love about Imagine Dragons (and Melanie Martinez)!

  16. anonymous
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    Jan 11th 2016 !⃝

    I think it means he is going though a hard time and he will never change himself no matter what happens. And also that he will try to not disappoint his family. He is trying his best in the real world

  17. anonymous
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    Apr 9th 2015 !⃝

    Well, I think he has finally broken under the world's foot. That he's still getting back up even though he's scared and knows that he won't win. He is alone and watched as those he cared about were taken away. Though if you look at the video, the song ends on a positive note. So, basically, he's been broken but beaten, and there is still a glimmer of hope, just like their song Demons.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 11th 2014 !⃝

    There was a great turmoil or disaster and they are rebuilding the community. The song talks about the singer's ressistance to change.

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