What does Stressed Out mean?

Twenty One Pilots: Stressed Out Meaning

Album cover for Stressed Out album cover

Song Released: 2015


Get "Stressed Out" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Stressed Out Lyrics


I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard,
I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words,
I wish I found some chords in an order that is new,
I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang,

I was told when I get...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Oct 16th 2016 !⃝

    The Song is about how when they were little they had a care free life, no stress, nothing to bug them, but when they got older it got harder and life got difficult so they are saying they want to go back in time and be kids again.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 8th 2018 !⃝

    The song is genius on so many levels, one of the best contemporary songs of this century along with Heavy Dirty soul in my opin.
    Here is my take on this song-

    The opening lyrics hint at the reality of the human condition from an artistic viewpoint..wishing he could create something completely new and unknown to mankind...new sounds, new chord arrangements etc. then the first verses wrap up by hinting that the conditioning of the creative mind will evolve once it matures, he uses fear as a metaphor and literally as a symbol of his conforming to society from childhood and his rhyming the words shows his conformity to social norms and expectations and caring what society thinks takes precedent over creative self, but the fear turns into anxiety of how he is viewed in the world in the form of Blurry face.

    The blurry face is the human part of our brain that pushes us to conform...the conditioning as humans to care about what people think because we are programmed to function in society as our conditioning through social programming expects.

    Joseph uses smell as an example of the primal instinctive part of our sensory make-up to recall a time or place he recollects in the subconscience of his childhood and knows his brother would have a shared experience unlike any other human before the societal programming from family friends etc to go to school, get a job, conform and make money. starts with your mother singing to you in your crib as a baby to yelling at you to get out of bed and wake up to conformity as an adult.

    Societal pressures going from childhood to adulthood can be stressing and sometimes confusing and scary. It would be nice if we all could go back in time every now and then to the carefree days of our early youth.

    Tyler Joseph does a great job of relating the human experience in lyric and music to the modern human experience in a condensed package that hits on many levels.. while making it appear so easy....he has a definite touch of genius in his soul.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    artisphilosophical
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    Jun 10th 2016 !⃝

    It's about a guy forced by reality to wake up and realize dreams are for those can uphold them and make something out of them. Not live falsely within them and pretend one doesn't have to work and become like every other dream smashed person out there in the world trying believe the BS lies people have been telling them in their younger ages. This tune displays how "reality" has tried to make them products of a black and white society at an early age, resulting in them wishing that they could dream in color in peace without having to regret it.

  4. anonymous
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    Jan 7th 2023 !⃝

    Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
    When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out
    Were stressed out

  5. anonymous
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    Nov 3rd 2018 !⃝

    tyler was recently kicked out of his parent's house and forced to live on his own. he soon realizes being a grownup isn't all it's cracked up to be, and wishes he was young again. we all can relate to this song, very much.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  6. anonymous
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    Nov 1st 2018 !⃝

    This song is about communism. They cry back the good old days of the Soviet Union, and the space race. They don't want to earn money, they don't want capitalism. 'My name's Blurryface' - this is also a reference to how the spectre of communism has faded away.

  7. anonymous
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    Jul 18th 2018 !⃝

    They remember their childhood, when there was nothing to worry about and life was so much easier back then. But now they have grown up and are indepently.

  8. anonymous
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    Apr 15th 2018 !⃝

    i think its about some over sensitive astronuat who needs to make money bht has to wear his bros old clothes and his name is blurryface

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  9. anonymous
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    Mar 21st 2018 !⃝

    My view on this is similar to others. They wish they could go back to being simple kids, but that's not all. The part about being a "Blurry Face and I care what you think" is about the vision of the media. They worry about how others think of them, and are scared about how people view them as online, and not just about who they are. It's important to them that they look presentable and not "crazy" as the world classifies anyone who is different.

  10. anonymous
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    May 28th 2017 !⃝

    The song is about going back to the way things used to be. Before things became complicated, and just remember the good past.

  11. anonymous
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    May 16th 2017 !⃝

    It means that when your young nothing seems to bother you have no worries. But as you grow older your worries seem to grow and you feel like all the happy times you had as a child are gone. It feels like you were the happiest when you were a child but now there's so much pressure to be "grown-up" and "mature". All the pressure makes you stressed hence the name of the song.

  12. anonymous
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    Apr 17th 2017 !⃝

    The song is of the past and wishful thinking. Not to deep, a youthful realization.

  13. anonymous
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    Jun 13th 2016 !⃝

    parents are too hard on there kids and he is trying to stay a kid like he doesn't want to grow up he wants to build rockets and fly them far away.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. anonymous
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    Dec 8th 2015 !⃝

    I think this song is about their childhood and how everything was carefree. Then they grew up and things started to get harder in life and they wanted to go back to being children.

  15. Higurashlillium
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    Sep 21st 2015 !⃝

    I think the song is about missing your childhood when there were little to no worries or stresses. He/ she wants to go back in time and relive the good 'ol days. Now with needing to make money it's more stressing.

  16. anonymous
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    Aug 25th 2015 !⃝

    This song is about them wanting to go figuratively back in time, "wish we could turn back time," they wish that life was as easy as it used to be. They want life to be fun, and not stressful. They used to play and have fun, then they grew up and realized they needed to get a job and make some money, "wake up you need to make money!"


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