The Hidden Meaning Of Twenty One Pilots' "Car Radio" - RETROACTIVE REVIEW 

someone actually stole his car radio in high school

Twenty Øne Piløts has helped me so much and this is exactly what I thought when I've heard it

This is no "hidden meaning". It's pretty obvious if you understand and if you can relate. These lyrics aren't for everyone only few understand

I think us people who have depression understand this songs meaning without looking it up because people without depression don't understand how it feels to be in a silent car driving and how it feels to be in a car with the radio on to keep those thoughts from your mind.

He didn't really talk all that's much about how the point of the song is that you need to try to take time to think. Go through your thoughts. Don't repress your emotions and use music as something to "hide behind." It isn't just a "I'm depressed, can you relate?" it's more a "I'm depressed, maybe you can relate, but you need to stop trying to avoid thinking. You have to think. You have to keep going."

I love this interpretation/explanation. Im always trying to interpret their songs in my own way but its nice to hear what others think and compare our perceptions. Would love to see more of these related to Twenty One Pilot songs.

If you stubble with depression like me the meaning is obvious right away

None of this song was hidden for me " i could pull the steering wheel". Suicide.

i Heard That Car Radio Was About When Tyler Was In High School Somebody Stole His Car Radio And He Was Really Depressed At That Time And He Would Use The Music To Escape His Thoughts. The Verse 'I Could Pull The Steering Wheel' Means That At Any Moment He Could Have Committed Suicide By Getting Into A Really Bad Car Accident Or Driving Himself Into A River. Stay Alive Frens |-/

You really explained it so accurately. Great video.

Thank you for the meaning. Car Radio is my favorite song and I was looking into lyrics to try to understand what it meant but I wasn’t able to figure it out on my own.

3:22 This has happened to me several times. Most of the time, it's been when I'm falling asleep, and it's fucking terrifying.

I like what you said very much although I've come to a theory by my own experience. We all know what's on the radio, we'll happy go lucky meaningless songs with some nice beat. These song take you away from reality while you're driving which also makes you unable to think and see clear into what you're doing. as it's gone he has no choice other than to drive without a radio for a while and based on my own experience I start thinking in silents thinking to I've thought so far to even make me cry and whilst thinking I discovered very new possibilities that are very plausible and other things. drenched by society and all of a sudden being able to see is too much for one to handle which makes him want end it no matter how. This is also and endless circle of how music and domination is actually mind controlling us

Literally I listened to the commentary he made on this song. He made this song in college after his car radio was stolen, and he was surprised what kind of things you think about when music isn't playing.

It was a song I blasted every summer night driving home from work. I’d scream it at the top of my lungs and cry. I was in a horrible place at the time. I had to be hospitalized twice, I cut almost everyday, I’d beat my body into one bruise, pull out my hair. All because a horrible abusive relationship I was in imploded. I was later stalked and harassed by my ex and their friends. To me they stole my “car radio”

I think it's about someone stole someone else's car radio so that made the car stop and a truck crashed into the car and killed the person

Thank you, I feel this song in my soul fighting depression still. I was wondering if it meant what I was thinking or something different. Yes it’s what I was feeling listening to it

I agree with this, but I think I stands for having a voice - when you try and battle depression, you try and tell people to make it better. But when people don't listen or don't care that symbols the car radio so it's like stealing your voice from the world. And when you sit in silence it makes the depression worse because you don't tell anyone what you think. You try and air out your voice in an attempt in being heard but people tell you you're strange or not normal and that voice slowly goes away and soon enough you're scared of being heard. This is just my opinion plz no hate.

My take on this song was that it had as much to do with having a faith than depression, or perhaps links the two. If I don't have a faith I just sit in silence and we all must chose. Someone stole my faith and now I sit in silence. I personally don't have a faith, but that was my first thought.

firstly i wouldnt state so certainly about what's meant to be factual and what's metaphorical. also i would have said it was a car radio because its a time when he would then otherwise be forced to sit in silence

I THINK it means that the car radio is the only thing that keeps him away from his thoughts. And when it's gone he's thinking about all the bad stuff. (This is only what I think so don't judge me) and in the MV when he fixes his hair (yk in the beginning) it's like he's hurting himself. So instead of cutting himself he's doing that. (This is only what I think. So PLEASE don't reply if you're gonna be rude, thanks) Because this is how I feel. Without music and my keyboard I'm empty and alone, I'm feeling bad. But when I have it I'm happy 🤷🏻‍♂️ But this probably means something different, what do I know? Bye

And what is exactly is the ''hidden'' thing about this? I am 100% sure this is also explained in Genius..

ok, sure but, in an interview tyler said he only wrote the song because someone stole his car radio and he had to confront his thoughts. so, ya...

Oh my God I've got chills....

OMG!!!! I just realized that "I could pull the steering wheel" means 'I could swerve off the road and kill myself' I'm and idoit *face palms*

I think that the car radio in the song represents his ability to hear. So that when someone steals the car radio it is as he is loosing his ability to hear and so this represents he is deaf and is struggling to cope with this. For the parts where he sings about thinking too much I think he is trying to say that if he can’t hear the world he only has himself to think about as a result of being deaf. This was my first thought of the song what do you think??

Dude this was so good keep it up

I thought the song is about losing a best friend. “Becuase someone stole my car radio” the car radio is a person and a murder stole them

I like to think that they made the middle of the song loud... because he wants us to think? Or maybe distract? Am I depressed?

cycle will never be broken

I think it's about how if you keep something to yourself and don't tell it could be violent bc it is hurting you inside

Wow this dudes spit is the nastiest thing I've ever heard.

Well I guess i was right about the message of this song. Yay me!

The actuall meaning is how his friend had cancer and he drove to the hospital to see him before he died. In the rush, he forgot to lock his car so someone stole his car radio so he had to drive home in silence, when his friend had just died

AND NOW WE JUST SIT IN SILENCE *Serial killer voice*

could you do a retroactive review on primus or Tool maybe?

WHO REALLY NEEDS THIS LIKE SRSLY

its better when Tyler sings it

Gernerally 21P arent the kind of band that I would go look for. That isnt to say that I am closed off in my listientg tastes, quite the contrary. some of my favorite artists in no particular order, Open Mike Eagle, John Coltrane, Elvis Costello, Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Pantera, Mc Serch (cats SLEPT on his one solo album!), Shostakovich (Im particularly obsessed with his string quartets - no 7) Pole, Square Pusher, Oingo Boingo, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Co Flow (Funcrusher+ changed my LIFE when they dropped that back in the day)... you get my point) its really more that I am not the audience this is marketed too, (47 year old married cat). My wife and I happen to watch the SNL episode they were on (SNL has sucked for YEARS but every now and agin we hold out hoping beyond hope that a new cast may redeem them yet... so far no such luck.... maybe it really is a show for the youth...) I was immediately struck by these cats. The fact that the skinny white kid who looked like he should teach sunday school could drop bars - and play both bass and piano like a seasoned session player (I was a pro bassist for a number of years and as well as composer and sound designer) almost all at the same time - well - who wouldn't be floored by that. But what hit me deeply, was the intimacy of his lyrics - the empathy and pain flows throw a good percentage of their work. And of course a recognition of a fellow survivor. I was going through a very challenging time when I heard Heathens. Im a survivor of childhood abuse - and I had some very dark times in my 20s and 30s... in my 40s I was trying to come to terms with a lot of the anger and pain I had been carrying around. Heathens spoke directly to that for me. Much respect to 21P. Brave cats to be so raw so publicly.

2:36 "MLP" heh heh

He's got back what he's once lost.

THE LIP SMACKING DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!

In the music video at the end he leans back onto train tracks

hes said in an interview once that someone actually stole his car radio..

this is dark my dudes.... skerrr

Car radio came out in 2011 and then again in 2013

i feel like if you suffer from depression then the meaning of this song is rather obvious.. it's so strange to me because upon hearing the song for the first time a while ago, i knew what i thought the song was about . but i've had friends who need to look in the song and do research. it's really weird and idk

i agree

I understood most of this song before watching this video.

If your car radio is stolen, the easy way is to just buy another one. If you have depression suicide is the easy way to not have depression. That's what I'm getting out of this song.

This song makes me want to be a psychologist. I want to help!!!!

I personally do not like this band myself. The lyrics feel more like teenage angst than someone who is seriously depressed. A great example of a song about dealing with depression is heimdalsgate like a promethean curse by of montreal. He juxtaposes these sweet psychedelic pop sounds with lyrics that deal with fighting with a depressed mind that won't allow you to feel anything but misery. That is what depression is all about. A fight with chemicals in your mind that will not allow you to feel any kind of joy or motivation even when people show you love and care. I'll throw a link below for you all to give it a listen. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5VeIL7juFE0.html

That description tho

LIKE

what ever its about(honestly it's not hard to decipher at all) the sound has nothing going for it

i hate this "band" but im watching all your videos

Or maybe you could just let Tyler spill his feelings into his music without making a big fuss

'awake' and 'sleep' are spiritual metaphors. 21p are christians and you can't analyze without a deep understanding of the theology they hold from the bible.

there is no chorus

A$AP FUCKING ROCKY 0:18

Not depression. It's about the Music industry. Please ponder.

Cool video. Thx for sharing. I just came across an up & coming musician similar to this that's worth checking out... Mikey Wax... RU-vid his song "You Lift Me Up". Really good stuff.

Why the fuck is the music so creepy

I think your taking this song to seriously

This s is creepy as s

I think the “car” is himself and the “car radio” is his heart and it’s been stolen and now he is just numb. “No sound to hide behind”= no heart beating

To all fake fans...

I thought he had lost a family member, or a close friend and has no one to hang out with.

I honestly think it’s about gender dysphoria . I mean I don’t think Tyler and josh wrote it about that but that’s how I see it. Like, I hate this car I’m driving. Car As in body you know. Annnnd, the person that was killed in the dream was the persons “dead” gender

It's as shallow as a pool and an awful song.

Nice slideshow of stock images

Well, for a lot of people this song has no hidden meaning.

I USED to be depressed so I understand but I'm not depressed anymore so great 😁