Twenty One Pilots “Ode to Sleep” Deeper Meaning | Lyrics Explained 

I know there's been a lot of Twenty One Pilots content lately (you guys don't hate that, right?), but I've lowkey kinda been trying to make Twenty One Pilots Tuesday a thing again, so I couldn't skip. :)

“It’s is not a banana” sure but we all know here how much Tyler and Josh hate bananas so ☀️-> 🍌

I may not be first, I may not be last, But when Cliff uploads, I click super fast. Edit: thx for 100 likes Edit 2: *Clique* Edit 3: faster than verse two of ode to sleep

I read an inference that it's basically him talking about his struggles that get worse at night and he stays up to fight these thoughts and encourages everyone else to do that. Then he's basically saying "why won't you leave me alone? I'm not that important, why choose me? Tell them that you (God) have no plan for me, I've got no purpose in this world, they should go to someone more important" and then it carries on going back and forth between his thoughts and then saying that he's not even worth torturing. At the end he says "I'm sorry" to God for not believing in him having a plan for everyone and for going off track/losing his way

Ode to Sleep might be my favourite tøp song, thank you for this!!

Ode to Sleep is one of my favourite tøp songs, thank you for the video

Now I can't unsee the banana. That's on you Cliff.

I was practicing Holding On To You on the piano when this uploaded.

Ode to Sleep is my favorite song of all time. It's truly incredible. It's like nothing you've ever heard before and the lyrics are so deep, esp in the second verse

Is that shirt the shirt you were going to wear for the hype video?😂🤣

I know this isn't how the lyric was intended, but I have a different meaning for the line "im afraid to tell you who I adore". when I tell someone that I like TØP, I feel exposed because they are so personal to me that when someone finds out I like them, I feel vulnerable.

Okay but Cliff is trying so hard to not full out rap the lyrics 🤣

The lyric "I don't wanna be the one to have the sun's (Son's) blood on my hands" is referring to Hebrews 6:4-6 where it states that anyone who follows Christ and then later falls away, they may as well be crucifying Christ all over again. He's not talking about the literal sun.

I was literally looking this up yesterday

I been waiting for this song for so much. I always thought of it like a way out of the dark and like a realization

Huh. I always thought of "the dark's not taking prisoners tonight" as a statement of defiance. Like, "You won't get ME! Not tonight!" But I like the sense in which it means "If I give in I'm a goner." Nice new perspective. Thanks, Cliff!

Dude, awesome breakdown. I’d love to sit down with Tyler and hear about his story in regards to his faith. No cameras, just Christian to Christian. Hope he has brothers and sisters who can encourage him in his faith! I think you hit the nail on the head - we need songs about both the darkness and the light. Would love to hear songs from him relating to God’s goodness and victory, despite (and overcoming) the sin, darkness, and brokenness. My sin is ever before me, and this world is full of darkness, but God is good, in control, and has ultimate victory over sin and death. It’s so good that people can feel like Tyler can empathize with the inner darkness that we all have and feel. That’s SO good. But at the same time, we as Christians can’t neglect the hope that comes from God (the one who brings eternal hope), rather than only feeling understood by other people. Tyler is so authentic and writes exactly what he’s going through, so I’m not saying he should write things that are inauthentic. But I hope God really grips him with joy in Christ, so that Tyler genuinely writes about the peace he has with God because of His grace through Christ. Want him to overflow with that, in addition to writing about the struggles, because Christianity doesn’t do away with hurt, sin, trials, suffering, and pain in this life. With that said, love this band and really enjoy your explanations of their lyrics!

This is so awesome man, thank you for honestly approaching this song and not being afraid to bring in the Christian influence.

Ode to sleep is my favorite song. When I was younger my older cousin showed me twenty one pilots, and now I’m obsessed.

I honestly thought the lyric were “metamorphically Ima horror.” 😂😭

Just curious: Who can rap ode to sleep? I can only rap the second verse

This is such a great song bc it’s so personal yet everybody can relate to his struggle and although there’s no trench storyline the concepts of vessel r so universal

Thank you this is one of my favorite songs

YAY more tøp!!! Love ur channel

FINALLY YOU MADE THIS Ode To Sleep was originally on Regional At Best, by the way. It got remastered in Vessel.

Love your interpretation. Ode to Sleep is my most favorite of their songs. It speaks so much to who Tyler was then. I keep it in mind as time goes on and his music matures. I wonder how much of this song he feels still pertains to him.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE TØP SONG!!!

An old Twenty one Pilots song,but one of the best, gave me more insight on TOP as a whole

Thank you for the video! I have always thought the song was about depression. The battle of wanting to rest and the fear of the night. A constant struggle . I think the line, "Because the dark's not taking prisoners tonight." refers to him standing up to that depression and not falling victim to what many have done in the past. Just my 2 cents.

Bop (v)- To dance Ex. "I bopped my bussy so hard I broke my back" Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk

Wearing your "brown" (pomegranate) shirt, I see... 😂

-slowly- very quickly becoming my favourite channel on RU-vid.

Hey clifford, I love this channel so much because it was one of the first twenty one pilots channels I found, I just want to say that ode to sleep is a really important song to me and I agree with your thoughts, so stay alive and it must be tonight. |-/ love your channel and I hope you see this.

the rap in this is from his song just like yesterday, i find that cool. He brought back parts of no phun intended songs in self titled, rab and vessel

Hey cliff, great video! This is my favorite TØP so I'm glad you're finally getting to it but I'm also stoked you took your time when you honestly could've put this out like 3 years ago and it might not have been as thought out. About the bridge, that Day Tyler is singing about. I've thought about it a little bit and I came to the conclusion that it is about St Peter on the morning after the crucifixion. I'm glad you mentioned that part. The "same amount that I denied" makes it kinda obvious but I think the whole bridge is an extended metaphor for that experience Peter had that morning.

You should do this song "like the wind" it's been this mysterious song on the internet that a "full" version had just been found and people are trying to find the band who made it

Wow. After this I can relate to this song a LOT more.

I love how the music video serves as a mini-documentary and introduction to the band

PSP: ode to sleep is from vessel Me: wut about regional at best?

I think vessel is a way of Tyler healing and wanting to help others with his lyrics.

I'm literally attached to this song sooo much especially the lines- "Why won't you let me go, Do i threaten all your plans? I'm insignificant" for me it's like asking a abuser these questions and "I'll tell them" is like telling my frens abt it n asking for help... ( dunno if it's just me who thinks like tht..)

I LOVE ODE TO SLEEP

I think the chorus is Tyler talking to god (possibly as well as his Demons, or his demons represent his questions to God), especially since it talks about 'threaten(ing) all your plans", god's plan. Tyler feels insignificant, why won't god just let him go and succumb to the darkness? Is his soul really important in the grand scheme of God's plan? Tyler is a very self-sacrificial person, and has often written songs about relying more on his own judgement and protecting himself or others in the stead of god (like in My Blood: pulling my pin and jumping right in) so I think in the Ode to Sleep Chorus he's literally asking God "If I'm able to let you go in these dark moments, why won't you let ME go? Do I threaten your plans for the world so much that I'm worth holding on to?" I think it all represents Tyler's self-sacrificial nature, his defiance of God in those dark moments, and how he regrets being this way "what have I become? I'm sorry." literally apologizing to God at the end of the song. He lets go of God, though he doesn't even want to, and God won't let go of him. Tyler apologizing here at the end of the song is significant because Ode to Sleep leads directly into Holding On To You, a song about Tyler realizing he can't trust himself, and gaining control of his senses so he can continue to Hold on to God. Ode to Sleep is just as much a song directed at God as Holding On To You is, they are sister tracks, and represent one whole arc on the album.

I am really happy I found your channel! You’re very helpful

Man, you’re so down to earth and clear in your videos dude, I love it 👍🏻 don’t stop doing what you’re doing.

Honestly the "metaphorically I'm a whore line" was one of the least confusing lines for me because I immediately thought not the story of Gomer and Hosea from the Bible. Then again, I view a lot of their music behind a biblical lens.

I have always taken verse two as another call to being afraid of the night. It starts right before another day is gone and the fact that there is even a tomorrow is forgotten while thinking about the battle that happens at night. The clouds, trees and nature are anticipating the day time when you can hide that fight with your mask that you put on as the day starts as a means to show everyone else that he is fine and doesn't need help. To include the line from Just Like Yesterday where the verse comes from (and the meaning and weight of the day are lost without a trace), the mask and the denial of the dark parts of himself takeaway the meaning of what the day represents. The chance to seek help and come together with people to overcome and fight off the demons and thoughts that come at night. With the new day coming with all of its promised opportunity, he still has a problem even opening his eyes to it possibly because he is tired of hiding but doesn't knowhow to stop. Nature is pleading with him and begging him to look for the thing that he is missing whether it be the opportunity to change and seek help or God. I love how JLY closes the verse saying that this thing that he dismisses or can't find the motivation to look for is completely free and requires nothing from him but to be open to it.

Thank you for this amazing video! And dont worry theres never too many tøp videos

the chorus has always spoke to me and i was hoping i was right about what it meant and i pretty much was

“This imagery is so essential to Vessel: the sun... and the banana.”

Where we make english class awesome by listening to TØP :D

I love the new camera angle and lighting 👍👍

Ode to sleep is my favorite song!

Thank you so much for using my comment!!!

I relate to this song so heavily.

Literally I love you and your videos sm like everytime something with twenty one pilots happens I wait for ur notification to pop up😂😂

i can't believe a showed up at the beginning. thanks for choosing me, cliff!

Ode to Sleep is a bop.

I'm a new top fan. At first I thought: "Man, I love Trench. Oh people like vessel... hmm okay it's kinda weird" Now I'm growing more and more fond vessel thanks to other friendly fans and channels like yours!

I love the start of verse 2, especially, "a mask that portrays that we don't need grace"

for anyone in the comments, the night versus day thing isn’t an abstract metaphor. nighttime depression is a very prominent thing in many mental illnesses, especially in moderate to mild levels of depression. it makes you feel terrible at night but you wake up relatively fine.

I left a TØP interview to watch this lol

You know Ode to Sleep is ironic when you used its chorus for the morning alarm lmao Thanks for the TOP explanations Cliff

Thanks u dude, i´m learning Eanglish and you make it easier to me.

Yayy ode to sleep is amazing

If you’ve done Ode to Sleep, I feel like you should do Just Like Yesterday from NPI, the both feature the second verse from Ode to Sleep. It’s a very confusing song and I would like to understand it a bit better

Next tøp video you should go over levitate

When he says I feel my soul start leaving it sounds like going out of the body into the astral plane as happens in lucid dreaming, where you can encounter beings in the astral plane that can seem like demons.

Explain just like yesterday

Could you do a video talking about or listening to Matt Maeson (not the country singer)

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank yoy thank you this is my favorite song!!!!

Ok I'm loving all the TØP content!

0:33 *exists* me: *dies*

my favourite song

Again? This is going to be good

Amazing video 🌞

Dang this is my new favorite song by them cause he literally reveals his secret in the song but it takes someones who’s eyes are open to God to realize it !!

I thought it was suns blood on my hands held out to the moon. As in offering to the moon

8:35 'the next album is going to be awesome.' Man, SAYINGOBVIOUSTHINGSISNOTPREDICTING!!!

What about RAB? Ode to sleep is on RAB, too.

I used to hear voices when I was falling asleep and was terrified they were very demonic I have a very deep connection with this song almost tear up every time I hear it I wonder if Tyler had/has mild psychosis or paranoia, some stuff he talks about really convinces me he does or maybe I'm completely wrong

I found this song in the middle of an episode of insomnia. I hadn't slept in days. I slept that night. 😂

That's a nice red shirt

Thats amazing lol and i just got my ode to sleep tattoo

You really do read between the lines

Hi I’m new to this channel and I love it. I was curious if you could explain Hero by Skillet. If not that’s ok.

BE MORE CHILI FRIES. I LOVE THAT USERNAME OMG

My favourite one....not that the others are amazing too!

Can you talk about Bastille’s lyrics?

wait a minute clifford? CLIFFORD THE VULTURE?

Lol I thought he was saying "and that's in isle number four" 😂

Your interpretation makes more sense, but I always intepreted the lines "I'm afraid to tell you who I adore" and "metaphoracally I'm a whore" as he adoring someone or something else instead of God (for instance, fame or money), because in Bible (for example, Ezekiel 16 and Hosea 2), a whore is often used to represent the adoration of false gods. But my interpretation couldn't explain the line "won't tell who I'm singing towards", because he clearly is singing to God and not to any of these falses gods. Now everything is more clear to me about this song

Went down to comments to read jokes about banana moon

You know what would be better? Clifford singing the verses while explaining them. Huh. Lol

Please please do a video on ‘tonight’ by tyler joseph

For me this song is like Bohemian rhapsody by TOP

i will never listen to ode to sleep the same again

Ode to sleep is my favourite song, no doubt (I'm not talking about the song called doubt)

Please make a video on TAME IMPALA 🙂😭✌🏻

He already explained himself in an interview where he explained every song in vessel