"Mulberry Street" by Twenty One Pilots Lyrics Explained | Song Meaning 

The comments: Deep, logical interpretations of “Mulberry Street” Me: How can they live between the weekends if they paint the town on Saturday

Simply looking at this from a lore standpoint, from a storyline standpoint, my interpretation is that Mulberry Street is a place in DEMA where people go to get their "saturation". To get medicated and sedated and brainwashed into believing DEMA is this beautiful, vibrant city with no darkness or evil.

Alright, I have a theory about Mulberry street. Dr. Suess’ first children’s book was titled And to Think What I Saw on Mulberry Street. The book describes a boy who went out to the aforementioned street; and when he gets home he makes up a story about the things he saw on his adventures, when in reality all he saw was a horse and a wagon. So my interpretation of the song would be Tyler going at all of those people who post fictionalized versions of their life on social media to make themselves seem more interesting, when in reality, they are just a horse and a wagon

The rain is a symbol for depression. In Migraine Tyler say "Thunderstorms, clouds, snow, and a slight drizzle" which is a reference to depression. He says to leave them there and struggling to figure it out and to let other people stay in the sun and blissfully happy. At least that is what Genius Lyrics connects it to. Personally I believe that the "keep you pills" line is a way that Dema is using to convince people to stay sedated and saturated so that they don't realize that Dema is controlling them. I feel like Tyler would never convince some one who needs help to stop taking their medicine or to stay depressed but I do feel like there is more to this than we know.

This feels like when you're being convinced to join some kind of cult where they're telling you that everything is bliss and everything is rainbows and sunshine but Tyler is saying keep your bliss leave us in the rain there's nothing wrong with this.

My take on it I feel is similar to yours. The more I think about it, I feel like it’s about not giving in to the fake happiness that the media and the world try to give us. “Keep your bliss, there’s nothing wrong with this”, “keep your sunny days, leave us in the rain”, “you can have your weekends, we will live between them”- all these lines give me the vibe of how so many people find “happiness” through temporary things like fame, and money, and parties, and sometimes other things like drugs and alcohol, and how at least with Tyler and a lot of the clique, we don’t want that, we don’t mind living through the hard things and like you said, thinking those deep thoughts, and coping with our struggles in a healthier way, like through music, per “when times aren’t the best and I’m on the edge, I’ll listen for a song in the distance”. I really feel like it resonates that whole idea of going against what everyone else is doing and the directions they’re taking. “Keep your pills, save your breath”- I feel like that just goes along with not going with the crowd, they try to offer us temporary happiness with their unhealthy pleasures, and Tyler is saying, we don’t need those, you keep them, we’ll stick to our way of doing things. And the “get out of our way, we’re moving sideways” goes along with that- we’re doing our own thing, going our own way, so don’t try to stop us, cuz we don’t want what you have to offer, cuz this is better. I know this whole comment is so unorganized and jumbled up, but these are just my thoughts on it 😂

THIS is favorite personally because when dealing with depression you just kind of learn to survive in a world filled with “saturation” or this false philosophy of being hyper-positive world without acknowledging the sadness and pain which are necessary for a healthy life. You can’t just live on extremes, which is why this feels very personal to me, when I listen to this I feel understood and I embrace that on my bad days it’s ok to not force myself to feel certain way (specially on that piano part).

I think it’s my favorite song from the album, both the music and the lyrics. I think it’s a reaction against the toxic positivity attitude that is so prevalent these days (especially in the U.S.). It’s totally normal to not feel happy all the time, but if you dare to actually tell anyone how you’re really feeling (depressed, anxious, etc.) then you just get ignored or told to “just cheer up” or shamed for “being so negative.” It makes a lot of people feel like they have to always hide how they feel and hide their depression and feel like they’re “broken” if they can’t be so cheery and happy all the time. But, as this song points out, most people are actually relying on “synthetic highs” - fake happiness maybe from drugs or just being fake. He says “there’s nothing wrong with this” - there is nothing wrong with you if you can’t feel happy all the time and hate faking happiness to fit in.

This can technically be considered a TØP Tuesday

i noticed there are a lot of references to pills and drugs (medically) in this album..as metaphors for something else or perhaps actually pills..that's new for them

I think it's saying that it's alright to experience the full spectrum of emotions life has to offer and not just fake happiness all the time.

Honestly I was listening to this today and somehow to me it sounds like thriving while having mental illness aswell. Like learning to live with your struggles but not letting them control everything.

This album's a contradiction because of how happy it sounds But the lyrics are so down

The entire concept of this album is basically the idea of pretending to be okay when everything is falling apart around you (“SAI is propaganda”). Good Day is the best example of this, hence why it’s the first song and sets the mood for the album. But this song is also built around that concept and I think it’s written from the perspective of someone pretending to be okay and shunning anything that could help them through the rough times to their own detriment.

"Keep your pills, save your breath" reminds me of the line, "Save your razorblades now, not yet" and that line to me makes me think to not self harm because we're gonna need the razorblades to fight later and the same goes for the pills and your breath. I don't think he actually means to keep your pills but hes saying oh you better save them we need as much sanity as we can get to escape dema.

When I hear “we are moving sideways”, I interpret that as not high on drugs or down with downers. Staying level

My interpretation is that the song says that it’s ok to seek temporary bliss and not always be super critical on everything and always be moody. But also the dark undertones imply that though Mulberry Street seems to be a nice place, it also hold a certain danger. There is also the callback to this song in Redecorate. „He might have made it if he lived on a different street“. So maybe this means that though it’s ok to feel blissful, you can’t constantly have your head in the clouds or you will crash hard at one point. I like Mulberry Street a lot since it’s catchy and uplifting but also kinda eerie at that same time. Like why is Blurryface suddenly singing „So good to see you“? That’s kinda spooky lol

I think “get out of our way we’re moving sideways” is talking about kind of being in mental limbo. like you aren’t necessarily regressing, but you aren’t growing and getting better, you’re just stuck where you’re at. (moving sideways as opposed to forward or backward) you get stuck in this routine where the days just pass by and nothing happens. in a real sense, I think it could be about just kind of being in a fog, but not realizing it because maybe you’re having fun, but you aren’t growing. lore wise, i think the tons of drug references in the album are maybe a way dema/the bishops sedate people into wanting to stay there and thinking it’s awesome and great.

Sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind is what I think this album might embrace.

Am I the only one who hears blurryface in at least both this song (in the echo of “so good to see you”) and in Good Day (under Tyler’s vocals in the first verse on the second and fourth line)

I think the synthetic highs has to do with joy. He’s said in interviews that joy is what is worth looking for- that joy is something real. So synthetic highs could be we all look for someone to give us a sense of passing happiness. So could the song, with comparisons to rain, be about not needing a fleeting happiness- you can keep your bliss- because you have a joy that you can be with even in the rain? There’s nothing wrong with this because even if he’s in the rain he is still ok because he has joy. It kinda follows the theme of good day almost

Isn’t he saying something like “keep taking your pills, there ir nothing wrong in taking them.” It’s just what crosses my mind since he starts the song with this. Saying it its normal and “everybody relies on synthetic highs” so don’t feel sad if you also need them.

I think that the pills line doesn't necessarily refer to "hardcore drugs" or "drugs" specifically. More commonly, a lot of people either are addicted to pills like pain killers, or take them frequently, because they dont want to feel anything classified as bad or negative. It fits with the message that we dont need to try to be happy or get rid of all of the pain, but that its normal to feel sad, so we shouldn't think that there is something "wrong" with us. Something I personally struggled with when I started experiencing depression and anxiety was that I felt stupid or wrong or that I needed to just cover it up or try to quick fix it, so I think this is a really good message.

7:01 That quote from Tyler, in my opinion, means that if you just want to take the songs at face value and be happy and feel good with them, then that's something they want, but that there is also a lore meaning behind the songs for the people that understand the lore and the story. That's what that quote means. So yeah, if you want to take the meaning of this song in a positive way, then you go right on ahead and do that, but for us who know the story and who know the lore we KNOW this is all just propaganda.

Tyler always creates a masterpiece

Yeah, what I got from this song is that it is okay to not be okay sometimes. It's not an advice to get off your medication, but more like not trying to numb every bad emotion you have. I think it can refer to anything from mindless scrolling through social media just to keep your mind occupied, listening to music to avoid quiet (Car Radio), keeping yourself busy every second of the day, to alcohol and actual drugs.

The thing I like about this album is you can interpret in at face value (positively) and lore-wise (negatively) which gives you a whole different perspective and makes the album a lot more enjoyable :))

Hi Clifford

Like you said, I think Mulberry Street has two layers of meaning. Face value meaning is Tyler remembering the fun time he had in Little Italy instead of the nervous/anxiousness he had by leaving Ohio and meeting with record exec’s. Deeper meaning is his comment on how people with mental illness are treated. When he says “Keep your bliss, there’s nothing wrong with this” and “Keep your pills”, he’s saying that not everyone needs to be happy and medicated to be mentally healthy. Sometimes we just need to work through it and find the root of the problem or a silver lining to a bad situation.

When I hear "synthetic highs" and people to prescribe, I think of dating relationships. People tend to date just because they think it fixes all their problems.

No one seems to mention Blurryface chiming in "So good to see you" at the bridge. He makes a few cameos in the album. Whenever he pops up, the 9 are involved in some way. Like Tyler doubting the words he's singing. His insecurities are blurred with the positivity he's trying relay.

It's confusing but it's my favorite song from the record since the first listen

6:50 personally I think that the album IS propaganda but Tyler is trying to communicate through songs and lyrics (like usual) but the bishops don't know that.

“Keep your bliss, there’s nothing wrong with this” is not spoken in Tyler’s voice. It sounds like outside advice from someone or something who speaks with authority or believes themselves to be wise. In my opinion, this is the wealthy business insiders of New York or the music industry. Their advise is to climb the ladder of “success” so they can take off the weekends unlike the lower classes and find their synthetic highs in either their pride or wealth. Tyler’s voice sounds like a retort and his advise is to move sideways. To ignore the competition and stress that causes so many to be depressed or anxious and move “sideways” and find what truly makes them happy.

I've kind of seen Tyler's "synthetic high" in this song, as music. To me, this song reminds me of TOP's like, mission statement, or whatever that was that talked about the difference between joy and happiness, where joy is an underlying state and happiness is something fleeting, to be felt moment to moment (think the difference between climate and weather). Ultimately, I kind of just thought this song was saying everyone uses something to make themselves happy and that's fine. Maybe I'm missing something

There’s the song by Billy Joel big man on mulberry street, considering Tyler is a big fan of Billy Joel, it seems like maybe he’s got an inspiration from his song. read the lyrics it fits so well Why can't I lay low? Why can't I say what I mean? Why don't I stay home? And get myself into some boring routine Why can't I calm down? Why is it always a fight? I can't get unwound Why do I throw myself into the night? I'm on the outside I don't fit into the groove Now I ain't a bad guy So tell me what am I trying to prove Why can't I cool out? Why don't I button my lip? Why do I lash out? Why is it I always shoot from the hip? I cruise from Houston to Canal Street A misfit and a rebel I see the winos talking to themselves And I can understand Why is it every time I go out I always seem to get in trouble? What else have I got That I'd be trying to hide? Maybe a blind spot I haven't seen from the sensitive side But you know in my own heart I'm a big man on Mulberry Street I play the whole part I leave a big tip with every receipt I'm so romantic I'm such a passionate man Sometimes I panic What if nobody finds out who I am?

I think the whole thing takes place in one area, (mulberry street). Mulberry street represents the poem "around the mulberry bush", which has pretty rough origins: women in prison who busied themselves dancing around a bush. Hence the moving sideways (around the bush), symbolizing meaningless, monotonous, trapped cycles. People often have a mindset of progression less mental health awareness, where they respond to your suffering by simply making you feel better instead of getting to the heart of the issue for you to properly, "break the cycle in half" and heal... "Most days of the week I think he might of made it if he lived on a different street" - Redecorate.

I think "Keep your bliss there's nothing wrong with this" and "we just want to feel it all" are the things that Tyler is speaking against, not agreeing with Also I think "keep your pills" is talking about addictive substances in general. And he's saying "don't push them on me" and "save your breath" kinda a thing. Also I think he uses the word pills because in the lore of DEMA it sounds like DEMA is saying "Oh you have problems so take our addictive pills to make you rely on us more."

I took "keep your bliss there's nothing wrong with this" is not letting what's going on in the world get to you so much. So like all the things that happened within the last year. It doesn't mean we don't deserve to be happy.

I stan Mulberry Street

i think the song is meant to have a double meaning, like how you interpreted it but also the interpretation from a lore standpoint. This song is definitely one of the most obvious ones that is DEMA propaganda. Like how in the livestream performance the guy broadcaster says that Mulberry Street is his favorite song on the album and he is a bishop. I also had a realization that "Keep your bliss, there's nothing wrong with this" is a play on "Ignorance is Bliss" and this is the message the bishops are trying to push. It obviously gets more complicated with the rest of the lyrics but some others in the comments have some great explanations on the propaganda theory

The quietest parts of the song, like “there’s no sunny skies til you finally realize that everybody relies on synthetic highs” are I think the moments he’s thinking existentially, and then the loud voice comes in and is like “NOPE” I’m also thinking maybe it’s reminiscent of bipolar disorder?

Thanks! It is suuuuper interesting, I love your explaining videos ;)

There’s an interesting melodic connection to forest as well. I immediately thought of the “song in the distance” and that it could relate to the “chorus that nobody knows”

He’s giving a head nod to the community who does take depression and anxiety meds. He’s saying it’s ok. You do you and he’ll do him. He not dissing it. When he says “keep your bliss there’s nothing wrong with this” he’s saying take the meds and there’s nothing wrong with you for wanting to keep that bliss and being able to shut your brain off.

On the Billboard website when talking about the set build for the Livestream, mentioned: "the facade based on the street in New York's Little Italy where the band had dinner before they signed their record deal in 2012 "

Hi professor, the line of keep your pills I think he’s literally saying he doesn’t want pills himself and this is his song for moving forward

Clifford, you’re doing great work, my friend 🤝

(Speaking as someone who loves Twenty One Pilots and the new album) I definitely initially interpreted it as being anti-psychiatric medication, which was so confusing because it seems so counter to Tyler’s overall message. But with lines like “keep your sunny days, leave us in the rain”, “keep your pills”, “they find someone to prescribe”, and “we just want to feel it all” - it all so easily fits in with the societal message of “you shouldn’t take anti-depressants; they’re keeping you from your real feelings” (which is BS, but people believe that). I saw someone on the TOP Reddit say that her daughter was joking “I should stop taking my meds; TOP said so.” I wish that the song didn’t come across that way; it’s a bad message to even accidentally send when a lot of your audience struggles with mental health issues.

“Keep your bliss, there’s nothing wrong with this” he’s talking about these synthetic highs we find someone on earth to prescribe. Especially now more than ever, people get by by doing/taking things that make us feel good, mostly temporary, synthetic, and often times unhealthy. He’s acknowledging that this is ok, and very normal, because, “We just wanna feel it all” There are pure ways to experience real “highs” .. love, family, friends, creativity, God.

I just thought about the saying "ignorance is bliss" That saying, in the context of Mulberry Street, is saying that people who don't experience the same things as people struggling with their mental health cannot truly empathize. They try to understand, but it can often come off as desensitizing and dehumanizing, not wanting to fix someone else's problems, but rather finding the easiest solution rather than the best solution. Saying "Keep your bliss; there's nothing wrong with this." Tyler's essentially telling people 'hey I understand that you are doing fine, but there's some people and I who think differently and don't have the luxury of never having experienced anxiety, depression, etc. (like in Screen), but just because we're different, doesn't mean we need you telling us something is wrong with us (i.e. "our brains are sick but that's okay" from Fake You Out). There's doesn't have to be something wrong with us for feeling these things because sometimes people trying to 'help' only makes it worse.' So you can keep your ignorance about deeper levels of thinking and not experiencing certain emotions, whether it be neuro-typical people/people who don't struggle with mental health problems or even thinking for oneself, because that's fine and that works for you, but don't say there's something wrong with us for not experiencing life the same way. There's nothing wrong with feeling things and thinking differently. I think this idea fits in with the overall idea of the song as well in this context.

Tyler did an interview for billboard today where he said the song was about staying humble

There are very few mulberry streets in the US. One of them being in Ohio. There is barely anything on the street. However, 2/3 homes on the street look like they’re from Stressed Out. This street is like a half mile long.

So, does anyone else feel a skateboarding metaphor here? “Get out of our way, we’re moving (pushing) sideways. Keep sidewalk under your feet” I feel like Tyler is describing skateboarding as an alternative outlet for stress relief or creativity. In the context of the song, where he talks experiencing all of life, the good and the bad, it fits nicely. You might get some scrapes and bruises, but the fulfillment and exhilaration of it makes it worth it. And it’s a healthier alternative, to numbing those feelings with synthetic highs. Also,if you look at how a skateboarder stands. Arms out for balance, kind of reminds me of a marionette. “Tie strings to our hands and feet, to rain on your parade.” Feels like he’s telling Dema, we don’t need your meds to feel good, we have this other way. |-/

i think what he addresses in the "keep your bliss, there's nothing wrong with this" is that he is mind-controlled by the bishops and he's sarcastically saying "i'm fine, i don't need help" much like what good day is about but it's further about denial, if we're to correlate it in real life keep your bliss is a positive message to be taken by people who are mentally incapable of coping with life and dependent on drugs

To me, it sounds like the opposite. Like "forgive yourself for using pills to survive, everyone relies on synthetic highs and so should you, if you need it" "keep your pills, don't throw them away"

I feel like this song is about "healthy" people interacting with people struggling with psychological disorders. "Keep your bliss", to me, sounds like they should not pity them and constantly try to feel bad for others, kinda like they should keep ignoring it... "keep your pills" is maybe about "healthy" people giving advice to people struggling mentally, because many people do not understand and give very simplistic advice like "just be happier, your life is so good" or "have you gone to a psychiatrist?" ...

Did you look at And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss? It was recently pulled because of insensitive imagery, but you can find the text online. The boy creates a parade with his imagination out of a horse and wagon. That parallels what Tyler has done with Trash the dragon. The parade also crosses a street named Bliss that they have to navigate. "But now what worries me is this.. Mulberry Street runs into Bliss. " It would be a lot of coincidence if it wasn't at least somewhat related.

So, combining a few things from everyone, it seems that Tyler is essentially saying that life isn't all just sunny days and weekends. Those are bliss, sure, and they're what's portrayed in the media, but we're gonna be over here accepting the fact that sometimes it rains and 5 out of every 7 days are not the weekend and that's ok, there's nothing wrong with everything not being perfect all of the time. The Dr Suess Mulberry Street reference then would imply that it's everyone else trying to tell you that their life experience is all sunshine and weekends when in reality they are hiding the fact that they too have rain and weekdays. Synthetic highs then would be the way people look up to the vloggers/youtubers/etc who themselves are the mentioned prescribers "Keep your pills, save your breath" would refer to him saying that he doesn't want to hear about these people and the "perfect" lives they're claiming to have. The pills being the content being made that are producing the synthetic high of looking up to those with the fake lives and holding yourself to their fake standards. Save your breath being the literal meaning of I don't want to hear it. the whole idea of get out of our way, we're moving sideways would then mean that they are trying to use music to push through the nonsense and tell the truth that it's ok to have imperfect lives, and later he even says it's the imperfections that he lives for by saying "Mulberry Street, so good to see you" Mulberry street symbolizes the imperfections in life. He also says "we just wanna feel it all" meaning that they actually want to feel both the good and bad in life. That reminds me of how the Bible says the Earth was cursed for Adam and Eves' sake, that there is no joy without sorrow and it's important to have both. "Ain't no sunny skies till you finally realize" means that you'll be happier once you realize that its all fake and that your not a failure just because your life doesn't seem as perfect as theirs. "tie strings to our hands and feet to rain on your parade" then would mean to say "go ahead and try and stop me, I'm coming to rain on your parade and out you as being fake" or alternatively, it could be visualizing them being made into the giant balloons you see at parades and it's acknowledging the idea of their message sounding like a bummer to those who don't understand it. Someone could easily think that the message actually is a "life actually sucks" message when it's actually more like "it's ok for life to not be perfect and you'll be happier when you accept that" a stark contrast to "Good Day" I think that's my head canon now.

i personally think Tyler is addressing two crowds in the song for example “keep YOUR pills save YOUR breath and don’t ever forget..get out of OUR way” i think he’s saying you keep your problems keep your pills baggage ect but don’t tell us or better yet the clique what to do or how to move on from mental issues depression and stuff bc although we’re moving sideways we’re at least moving. And for the “keep your bliss there’s nothing wrong with this” i think Tyler is saying yeah you might be a depressed or struggling person but it’s alright to keep bliss or happiness when it hits you and not to just shun the positive feelings you may feel through daily struggles.

More I listen and learn lyrics, more I'm falling in love💙✌I got a shirt from you like last year. It was Trees and had the song soundwave like the pic behind you. Did you ever do more Cliff? Thanks🙋😎

In one of Clancy's letters, she details that as much as Trench is a seemingly welcoming place, and with people willing to help her, she also feels that it's a threatening place, as it's a place she's never been before and, consequently, she doesn't recognize herself in it, which makes her miss her "home" (Yes, she refers to DEMA as her home, and then immediately shows repulsion for having done so).Well, I think Mulberry Street is a metaphor that tries to translate this strange and even contradictory feeling. When Tyler says "Keep your bliss, there's nothing wrong with this", I think he LITERALLY means it. Like, he wants to encourage the clique to understand that, being in a new place, and feeling good about it, shouldn't in any way make you feel guilty or threatened, because THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS!!! Personally I take this as a mantra because it makes a lot of sense to me since I got used to living in "DEMA" so, it was kind of the place I believed for so long I belonged, and at some point I already felt like had run away from "Mulberry Street" because I felt I didn't deserve to keep that bliss, so if you're reading this, you should just keep it, simple as that, I think thats the main message Ty wants to pass for us

I think Mulberry street is like a youthful innocence place. The bliss is like "ignorance is bliss" I think it's about keeping your youthful innocence before you get old and jaded. "Keep your sunny skies, leave us in the rain" kids love playing in the rain but adults are only happy in sunny skies "You can have the weekends, we will live between them" When you get older, you only have fun on the weekends, but kids play everyday "Keep your pills" because you're old and need pills to keep your body functioning "We just wanna feel it all" - when you're really young (like rosie's age) you feel everything in a big way. You are thrilled by a small toy or you get upset and throw yourself on the ground because something upset you. "Mulberry street, so good to see you" remembering back to that time makes him feel better when he's down

Somewhere I read someone suggesting that "keep your pills. Save your breath" isn't a negative comment. It's a positive comment about medication for depression e.g. keep on taking your depression meds. Stop apologizing about it or defending it Keep your bliss -the positivity- that comes from staying on the meds that allow you to function, to "feel it all" in life. The chorus is about those on depression meds moving, but in a different direction, but still moving, thanks to the bliss they have from their meds- they are not tied up. Everybody's good feelings are, in some sense synthetic and prescribed by someone or something: music, movies, food. friends, alcohol, etc. So your depression meds are nothing to be ashamed of. So Keep your pills and live.

I was playing We Happy Few when this album came out, and I can't stop thinking Mulberry Street perfectly alligns with the game's plot. Basically, after WWII, the British government made people start taking this pill called Joy, which makes you forget your bad memories, and all your memories really (synthetic high, keep your bliss). If anyone doesn't take their joy, they are basically lynched and either "go on vacation" (are killed by the mob) or are relocated to the Garden District, which is this other place out of the city. All the streets are coloured in rainbows and everyone wears masks that force them to smile, even though everything is so miserable. Definitely check out the game's art, hat's all I could think about when listening to the song

Been subbed since Blurryface, love your analysis on lyrics so much my dude. Keep being awesome.

for me the "keep your pills" gives off the feeling that he's saying to keep using whatever we use to maintain our happiness throughout though times, which would refer to us being addicted to it. Like, music for example, i use music to keep me feeling fine sometimes, to keep me feeling positive when i don't feel optimistic, so that would be my pills, that would be my synthetic heights and my favorite type of music (or favorite artist) would be the person to prescribe it for me. So, it would kinda be like 'Good Day', where he is in denial, here in 'Mulberry Street' we would know that we're not okay but we would just use something that we are used to, to make us feel better enough to keep going. well, at least that's how i see the song haha (i hope it makes sense, English it's not my first language)

His instruction to "keep sidewalk under your feet.." leads me to think that he is telling everyone to stay safe (as a sidewalk is a relatively safe place to walk). It also sounds like he is staying to stay on a direct path, don't wonder off and stay on the sidewalk (get from point a to point b safely). Metaphoric for life I assume.

'Take my drug knowledge with a grain of salt', alright Cliff guess I'll have to look somewhere else 😂 Love that you don't try to present your interpretation as 'fact' but you discuss lots of different theories and then how you came to your conclusion about what makes the most sense to you!

Maybe “keep your pills” is encouragement to stay on your meds that are currently working for you? I know that people often stop taking their meds and then crash and burn psychologically.

I really thought the whole song was talking about how dema doesn’t want u to get help whether it be from others or medicine

The first two lines of the 1st verse got me thinking. Mulberry street is a tourist attraction yet there are also normal lives being lived on mulberry street. I live in north Wales which is a beauty attraction for visitors who come walking , mountain climbing etc . My family are farmers and we work in the rain and the week . Whilst these tourists only come during the good times ie the weekends abs the sunny weather. They trespass on our land and make life difficult. Now take that idea to mulberry street , people only probably visit on certain days and weathers yet the people who work and live there are being disturbed. Get out of our way we are moving sideways could be a way of saying whilst you are moving forward and having fun , we now have to work and live around you

I love mulberry street and redecorate

YAY this is my favourite track

I haven't watched the video yet but heres my take on the song: Its about a school bus. Supporting lyrics: get out of our way we're moving sideways welcome to mulberry street - taking/dropping off kids, cars have to go around or stop and they drive down many different streets Keep sidewalk under your feet - kids should stay on the sidewalk and not go into the road. Keep your sunny skies - school busses are yellow Leave us in the rain - having to wait in the rain for the bus You can have the weekends we will live between them - school bus comes during the week therefore it's during the week that they are "living" Honestly I don't really think that was the overall message, it just came to mind while I was listening and makes a tiny bit of sense. 😂😂 Hope you enjoyed!

In-lore: The livestream showed us how superficial some of the bishops are (Dan Lisden and Sally Sacarver) about the music. Where we can see yellow fire, they only see gray smoke. They probably approved this song because they don’t want people looking for help, which is absolutely a way you can take this song if you’re superficial about it. But we the fans know better, and we start seeing this narrative that could be saying “don’t feel guilty for your depression when you ARE feeling good, and if you know someone who is struggling, don’t feel guilty because you’re not, but maybe tie a string to them so they don’t fly away.” When we get to “keep your pills, save your breath,” it might be “you don’t necessarily have to be happy ALL the time, give us a chance to work through negative feelings.” The bishops don’t see that, they see an attitude of giving up entirely, rejecting ALL help and surrendering to them, so they approved the song. One last thing - if you’ve read Dr. Seuss, you know that Mulberry Street runs into Bliss. By the time our protagonist realizes this, he’s fabricated such a large entourage that he realizes for it to be feasible it would need guidance, which in our case ties all the way back to Message Man. The bishops have no discretion, we saw that on the livestream. Sally asking what the dragon means and commenting it’s “kind of dark,” then asking to hear her favorite song, Stressed Out, arguably the band’s most popular, “because I’m always feeling stressed out!” sounding like someone who’s older making assumptions about his music on a base level instead of taking time to think about it. This entire album is Dema controlled propaganda, but it’s also about “getting crap past the radar.” After all, they can only see smoke on the album cover.

Yoo in Mulberry Street Tyler says "You can hv the weekends, we will live btwn them" How can he do this if he's gonna paint the town on Saturday? Well that's bcos in Saturday they "medicate in the afternoon" And afternoon is usually when we're bored and mindless... Saturday is sung from the perspective of the ppl who have bliss. Mulberry Street is sung from Tyler's perspective!!!! Wowowoww so coool!!!

I believe the pills line is explained by a line that The PSP kind of skipped over. The line is: *We just want to feel it all,* Keep your pills, save your breath. So, don't bother trying to get him on a synthetic high. Yes, medication is important, but not if they make you completely numb. And I think that applies to illicit drugs and prescription drugs, whether abused or not. Just don't let yourself become numb over something synthetic. Take what you need, and leave out all the rest.

Okay my input here for “keep your pills, save your breath and don’t ever forget” is that he’s saying “stay on your meds”, because this goes along nicely with the line “keep your bliss there’s nothing wrong with this.” That “keep your bliss” line is what was nagging at me because it sounded at first like it was a bishops propaganda usage where they’re making Tyler say “it’s okay to be in ignorance...” etc. but now that I thought about it, it makes sense and goes along with his message from “never take it” with the thought about “learn but never too much.” And I think he’s just saying: if you’re happy and you start to feel guilty for doing so well because you’re making the right choices, staying on your meds, going to therapy, keep your bliss, there’s nothing wrong with being happy or content or healthy. It’s actually been the goal the whole time even if it feels foreign to you because you’re used to suffering. I think a lot of people during the pandemic got in their groove with mental health because things were so “scaled back” haha because we had time away from people and time to reflect and take deep breaths and learn about ourselves because we were less reliant on our busy lives to distract us. So that’s my take away- if you’re feeling strong, enjoy it, it’s a gift. That’s Mulberry Street for me.

I feel that’s it’s like when someone is in denial and doesn’t think they need help they’re like okay well keep ur help to yourself (the pills) there’s nothing wrong with how I am, this could also tie to how the bishops want to persuade us that there’s nothing wrong with dema. The lines we’re moving sideways shows that they aren’t actually progressing or getting better but just kinda floating in the middle. The synthetic highs might be how someone sees getting better as impossible and that any sort of happiness coming from people tryna help u out is fake and not enjoyable. Idk maybe I don’t make sense but that’s my two cents

Tyler has said that the musical style of this song was STRONGLY influenced by Billy Joel, which also ties into the whole New York theme. I believe when he says "synthetic highs" he means anything that you use to cope, not necessarily just medicine. So he's saying that even the happiest people you meet will have some sort of coping mechanism. Nobody has it all together. When he says, "we're moving sideways," I think it's sort of the same idea as saying "my pain will range from up, down, and sideways" in Migraine. There are multiple ways to deal with things. Sometimes in life, people go up (as in getting better/improving), sometimes we go down (getting worse/deteriorating/giving into depression), and sometimes we go sideways (just coasting along and basically surviving with our own coping methods, not really getting better or worse). So I think what he's trying to say is that it's OKAY to just get by. You don't have to be fake-happy and act like everything is all sunshine and rainbows. Keep your bliss. Whether you achieve that bliss through drugs, or through acting like everything is happy-go-lucky, he doesn't want any part of it. And there's nothing wrong with "moving sideways" in life and not really improving. I think most of us were moving sideways during this pandemic. Anyways, that's what I got out of it. I was a little put-off by the whole pills line, but I think he meant using pills in abusive ways, not in helpful ways. Hope this resonates with someone!

I get what you’re saying about the pill reference and how it could be confusing for those dealing with depression or anxiety. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice for that very reason. But I think it’s simply a reference back to earlier in the song and the prescription for synthetic highs that everyone relies on. These are all the things the world offers us to distract us rather than dealing with the difficult issues going on in our lives.

I think Tyler is saying just what the lyrics state - there is nothing wrong with feeling all the emotions. Instead of living for the weekend, why not make the weeks good, too? It’s like a mindfulness concept - you are not judging so called “negative” emotions, just experiencing them. Living for “when” instead of “now” is pretty sad, so may as well embrace every day and every emotion. I don’t think he is saying if you need prescriptions for depression you should not take them, but for those people who are trying to escape from any sort of negative emotion with drugs or prescriptions in order to escape from emotions all together. Even if you have to take prescriptions for depression, you have to realize that not every day is going to be filled with “bliss” and who would want it to be? It’s wonderful that we get to experience all sorts of emotions.

I think it’s become so common that people now take anti depressants or some sort of anxiety pill to get their own bliss. In reality, for many people, Tyler realized that lots of people over exaggerated their issues when he started becoming more famous and around the same time when mental health was becoming somewhat of a fad. And this plays into the overall theme of SAI of how people are practically in a controlled environment, much like we are now. And I think he’s really bringing up the pills because for so many people, it’s just dulling them and giving them bliss when in fact, they could use the issue that their emphasizing to become more them and learn to be healthy with it. This was a realization I had a while ago weigh my bipolar, and I’m very happy to be off meds. That also may make my take a little more personal than correct, but I have done a lot of thinking and observing this issue over the last couple years and I’ve seen many friends and others do much better and be much happier off of pills.

"Keep your bliss, there's nothing wrong with this" in reference to the city always made me feel that new experience big city feel of "All of you locals may be used to this but this is bliss to me, and there's nothing wrong with that". Just what I felt about that part! 💙

I wanted to add something to the discussion: if you look up “Mulberry Street” on the Internet, the first thing that comes up is not their song. It’s a children’s book. Basically it’s about a child going through Mulberry Street and making up in his mind the things that he sees. Maybe because reality is boring sometimes. I think that based on this information the song is about the creative process, too.

It's not that it's a "fake song" as if it is the opposite. It means there's two ways to look at the song... dema's interpretation and the banditos interpretation. DEMA might be saying "you don't need to get rid of whatever brings you bliss, because there's nothing wrong with this thing that makes you happy. But banditos might say "Keep your synthetic emotions... I don't want them because there's nothing wrong with feeling reality."

I was really surprised that this became possibly my favorite song on the album. The line "we just wanna feel it all" just hits for me because I feel everything so deeply and it feels like the song is telling me that that's ok and there isn't anything wrong with feeling so intensely. I also think the pills are a metaphor for just trying to push down these negative feelings instead of facing them and being okay with the fact that the human experience involves hard emotions too.

Watching the livestream when they performed Mulberry Street all the songs are around him from the album. Maybe Mulberry Street is where Tyler goes to write and be creative. “Mulberry Street, so good to see you”. Also, in Redecorate he says “maybe he woulda made it if he lived on a different street. Maybe Mulberry Street. In Kitchen Sink he kinda wants people to be creative and use hard to times to do so.

My favourite song off the album

First time I heard those confusing lines and had a suspicion that Tyler is talking about antidepressants, this thought really hurt me, not gonna lie. I don't wanna 'feel it all' without my pills, because it feels like dieing constantly

Going back to your theory of “never take it” being suspiciously current for the time we’re in right now with media lying to us, what if we looking at this song as the same. equally lore propaganda and current times. A lot of the older generations want to “get back to the good ole days” and he is basically saying, “no it sucked back then too, you just all had unhealthy ways of coping while you refused that anything was wrong” OR this song is satire and he’s quoting what he has been told by older generations and he is being sassy when he says, “save your bliss there is nothing wrong with this”, as if he is rolling his eyes and repeating what many elders today say about medication and mind over matter. It goes back to the whole idea of ignorance is bliss from a generation that didn’t know much because they didn’t have the access to information we have now. They got all of their information from the media and went with it without fact checking. essentially “Mulberry Street” is a place in time where the perfect american family lived in suburbia. I feel like this could be used for the overall vibe of album sounding like it came from the past. In scaled and icy world it is propaganda. In general population it’s a little bit satire and current events coming into one. Many songs could fit the bill on this vibe like “bounce man” , “the outside” and “good day”. Maybe i’m totally missing the mark but I do believe this album is an artistic ploy to do what other bands do with shorter songs and repetition of lines. Essentially they’re saying, “look we can do this too, but it’s not us”, especially if dema is the music industry and SAI is propaganda. A friend of mine pointed out that at past live performances they end with, “we’re twentyone pilots and so are you”, which they did not end with on the live performance, possibly further indicating they’re under the control of dema. people in the general population probably just think they’re trying something stylistically different on this album. I’ve also wondered if this will not be a full album cycle and we’ll get the second part (the “real” twentyone pilots) later this summer/fall, similarly to what Taylor swift did with her quarantine albums folklore and evermore. who knows 🤣 I could be way off.

Synthetic highs, in a synthetic place. SOOOOOOOOO good to see you x

It is a formidable take of it..

I know that lots of people are hyper focused on how each song fits into the lore of the album but I don’t think the bishops actually wrote the album. An interview that Tyler had with Zane Lowe made it seem like it was more like a Dema approved album after the bishops got mad about Trench. In that sense, the lore explains why the album is more upbeat and happy but it doesn’t have to be included in every song.

Moving sideways definitely seems to contrast with "going down," which is the only way out of Dema (i.e., through Trench). Towards the end of the song after he sings "I'll listen for a song in the distance" and then there's a slight pause, the Blurryface voice seems to interrupt and put him back on the propagandized(?)/Mulberry Street state of mind.

I also think that it's a social media type of thing where, keep your bliss, there's nothing wrong with this. So many people only put the good things out and the reality is different.

I think it's a fair bit about social media. Mindless bliss fits well there. And when you log off for many days life becomes so much... Bigger!

“Questions still remain” Ah ha!

I think "keep your pills" is a reassuring reminder that what works for you (in regards to a mental game with yourself to make you feel better,) although it may be different, is valid and you shouldn't be concerned with society's norm's in regards to him "pushing sideways"