Listen to the full song here:
About a month ago, a friend and I took on the challenge of analyzing two songs by the popular and brutally honest alternative duo, Twenty One Pilots. Vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun have won fans over with their honest lyrics, impressive incorporation of spoken word, and catchy melodies. “Migraine” is a track from the duo’s debut album with Fueled by Ramen titled “Vessel” and is penned by Tyler Joseph himself.
Upon closer inspection, my good friend and partner in this endeavor and I found that Joseph’s “Migraine” reveals a very relatable meaning about the human tendency to run away from conflict and avoid vulnerability, a failing that can only be assuaged by accepting the aid of those around us. Such themes seem dramatic, but it’s relevant to us everyday. Whether it be our inability to overcome failing a history test, or coping with the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes the music we listen to in times of need mean more than we initially think.
The opening line of “Migraine” begins with the speaker stuttering a confession regarding the amount of pain his migraine gives him. The migraine is symbolic for the speaker’s mental paralysis because migraines cause both physical and mental pain. Typically, they result in extremely severe headaches that cripple those experiencing them. As a result, the speaker feeling “suspended” and having “writer’s block” are both results of his overwhelming fear and avoidance of inner confrontation.
Joseph sings that his “depressing thoughts” contribute to his migraine, but uses a caesura, a rhythmic pause in a poetic line, to pause slightly in the middle of the word “depressing.” Since this is a song, the caesura has a dual function as both a musical break and a representation of the speaker’s hesitancy to express his true vulnerability.
The second stanza of spoken word consists of metaphors and visual imagery to describe the speaker’s damaged psyche. The green garden represents a thriving, healthy environment that the speaker lacks in his mental landscape. He refers to his consciousness as a beast that feeds on the burnt trees that would have filled the green garden. Thus, the representation of himself that he sees is not even human and furthermore, thrives off of his paralysis, causing an endless cycle of paralysis and pain. This also fits with the allusion he makes to Pandora’s box: To punish humankind for stealing fire from the gods, Zeus presented Epithemius with a wife, Pandora. Though Prometheus warned his brother not to accept gifts from the gods, Epithemius accepted. Zeus then gave Pandora a jar that she had to promise she wouldn't open. Eventually, curiosity overwhelmed her and she opened the jar, releasing all evils including death, violence, greed, etc. into the world. At the bottom of the jar, however, was hope, which flew out after all the evils that Pandora released into the world.
Following this, the speaker realizes he can escape from feeling trapped by acknowledging his inner conflict. Taking “a day to break away” can also mean to take a step back and observe one’s self. Thus, the speaker realizes he must confront himself in order to escape the migraine. He also uses the pronoun “we” throughout this final stanza, thus revealing that he is no longer on his own. The speaker realizes that he must appreciate these moments he has with others and take time for introspection in order to relieve his pain. Finally, Joseph repeats “We’ve made it this far” but abruptly ends in the middle of the word “far” at the very end. This is meant to leave the ending open to interpretation as to whether or not the speaker succeeds in resolving his inner conflict or if he inevitably gives up. However, the sequence of stanzas in this song indicates that the speaker likely succeeds because it shifts from disheartened to hopeful at the very end. Thus, the speaker overcomes his instinct to take the easy way out and confronts his vulnerability with the help of those around him.
