What does Car Radio mean?

Twenty One Pilots: Car Radio Meaning

Album cover for Car Radio album cover

Song Released: 2014


Car Radio Lyrics

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire
Exhale desire
I know it's dire
My time today

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody...

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 16th 2016 !⃝

    Tyler s friend used to sing to him when he drove instead of using the radio . His friend died in a car crash and now he just "sits in silence".

  2. anonymous
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    Jan 5th 2016 !⃝

    okay, the first and second ratings really got to me. Good job, guys. I had a similar problem.

  3. anonymous
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    Jan 2nd 2016 !⃝

    Th car radio is his talkative girlfriend. Someone stole her and now he has no distraction from the voices in his head. He shaves his head and puts on a mask to go and try to stealthily get her back but gets distracted by his fans.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  4. anonymous
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    Dec 23rd 2015 !⃝

    Okay so someone literally stole his Car Radio. He said that once in an interview.

    Since his car radio is gone, when he drives, there's only silence which leaves him just his thoughts.

    He starts to think about things he has done and he's left alone with all of his thoughts which lead him to think about suicide, (pulling the steering wheel).

    It's a deep song fam.

  5. anonymous
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    Dec 10th 2015 !⃝

    "I hate this car that I'm driving". The car is his life. The car radio is the distractions/temptations that numb the mind. He's coming to terms with living without the numbness provided by the radio. And I also see hope in this song. He's saying it's not easy being mindful and present in your own life but it offers so much if you make the choice to do so.

  6. anonymous
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    Dec 8th 2015 !⃝

    I love this song and personally I think it is about someone who listens to music to escape from there thoughts and demons but when they get into their car the radio is broken so there is no longer anything to block out the thoughts and as they are driving along the person is thinking about taking the easy way out (pulling the steering wheel and committing suicide) or staying in the car and fighting it.

  7. anonymous
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    Dec 6th 2015 !⃝

    I think that car radio is a metaphor for his voice and someone has taken his voice away so now he just sits in silence and can't say anything.

  8. anonymous
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    Oct 28th 2015 !⃝

    He literally got his car radio stolen.

  9. Oli Malthus
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    Sep 10th 2015 !⃝

    Depression.

  10. TOP_LP
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    Aug 10th 2015 !⃝

    The way interpreting it is this way:The car radio represents something he would use as a distraction. A distraction from any of his thoughts that scared or worried him. This distraction was very important to him. It may have been a close friend, a lover (I doubt it though), a pet, or as the title suggests even his car radio. He has lost this distraction and now he's left with only his thoughts, including the ones that scare and worry him. He hates the silence which leaves him with only his thoughts and is begging for that distraction back so he no longer has to worry about these thoughts.

  11. anonymous
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    Jul 14th 2015 !⃝

    This song tells the story of a man facing the ugly truth that he wants to live in a world of distractions. His car radio is the main distraction he talks about. the line " cause this time there's no sound to hide behind/" gives us the first glimpse. He needs to replace his car radio because he doesn't want to recognize and think about whats in his head. " One thing consists of consistence/ And it's that we're all battling fear/ Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we are here/ Oh my/ Too deep/ Please stop thinking/ I liked it better when my car had sound/" Because of his loss of distraction he contemplates the basic question humanity has long asked itself. Why are we here? and he hates thinking about this and begs himself to stop thinking and distract himself. He liked it better when his car and sound because it kept him distracted. The beginning and the end of the song is him talking about breathing " My lungs will fill and then deflate" This is the distraction he has had to resort to. He has successfully distracted himself and kept his mind away from topics that frighten him or his perceived sense of self.

  12. anonymous
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    Dec 30th 2014 !⃝

    "I know its dire y tie today" He realized that he can't do everything he wants to complete in his lifetime.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 17th 2014 !⃝

    I thought that the car radio was a symbol for someone he loved that died and now he misses them too much and had thoughts of suicide. I thought that the lyric "quiet is violent" was referring to the fact that it's quieter without that person, without his car radio. I thought the now I just sit in silence part was about him being angered and a little traumatized that his loved one was gone. Feel as free as you wish to disagree and contradict me but this is what I believe the song is about.

  14. anonymous
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    Dec 15th 2014 !⃝

    He literally got his car radio stolen. And during that time he realized without the sound and music around he found himself drowning in his thoughts and thinking deeply about himself leading to negativity etc.

  15. anonymous
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    Dec 9th 2014 !⃝

    imo i thought that by "somebody stole my car radio and now i just sit silence" Its as though he feels empty inside like almost emotionless, and now hes just left to think and "ponder".




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