I had the awesome opportunity to see Twenty One Pilots in Orlando this past weekend. Believe me, it was magical and one of the first concerts I had been to in a very long time. Obviously hearing Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun play their older songs was one of my personal highlights of the whole evening; however when they played "Car Radio," I was stunned by what the lyrics were saying in that moment.
Joseph has said in interviews that the song was literally about someone stealing his car radio, even though it sounds like there could be a double meaning. Here's a quick mini-breakdown:
"I have these thoughts//So often I ought//To replace that slot//With what I once bought//'Cause somebody stole My car radio//And now I just sit in silence"
What thoughts do we have that make us sit in silence? Oftentimes it is those intrusive thoughts that we could label our demons. Or our past decisions that choose to haunt us.
"Sometimes quiet is violent//I find it hard to hide it//My pride is no longer inside//It's on my sleeve//My skin will scream//Reminding me of Who I killed inside my dream//I hate this car that I'm driving//There's no hiding for me"
This is in the second verse, and Joseph says "sometimes quiet is violent" there are a million meanings to this, but something I took away was anyone who has been abused or hurt in a way that they had to keep silent about it out of fear, illustrating that when someone takes your voice (or car radio) away it does violent damage internally. The next line is: "I find it hard to hide it// My pride is no longer inside" perhaps hints at the damage that is done every time someone tries to steal a voice. Following that, he is talking about the regret the silent person must have and even if they have overcome a struggle, they are still forced to deal with what they feel in their dreams. The next part saying "I hate this car that I'm driving" could be anything from hating the decisions the silent person has made in the past to not being able to stand where they are in their current situation. And the "no hiding for me" is the fact that they have to face all of their problems. They can no longer run from them, even if it is against every instinct they have.
Overall, I think that although this was inspired by a true story (as previously stated), there is an important message. It's that we all have a voice that is meant to be heard. And our voices being silenced means we may be internally killing our well-being and emotional, spiritual and mental health. We must ensure that no one can take our voices and that we guard them with our lives, because our voices is one of our precious gifts. And if someone is silencing you help is always available, I promise. So let's stay alive and keep our voices.
