Frontman Tyler Joseph shared that “Redecorate” was inspired by an actual scenario where a friend of his preserved the room for their son who passed away, and that its message is important to him.
Tyler Joseph:
"'I had a friend of mine whose son passed away and they would keep his room the same way that he had left it. I remember thinking how crazy powerful a story that is, and how it makes me wonder, like, ‘What will people do with my stuff?’ It can actually bring you back down to earth, make sure that you don’t make any horrible decisions. I’m realizing now how difficult it is to talk about, but this song is really important to me. I love the messaging of it, and I hope that our fans hear what it is I’m trying to say in it. Because it is a bit delicate, but it’s one of my favorite tracks and it’s pretty powerful if you let it.'”
—via Apple Music
Redecorate
twenty one pilots Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(And it put my cares to rest)
Taking inventory of his life
Seeing snapshots chronologically inline
Something told him he should look around and tidy up
He collected many things but never quite enough
Tried looking at it from a new perspective
Orders from that corner where that shadow always lived
Never asked permission, he just hopes that they'd forgive
I don't want to go on like this
At least let me clean my room
I don't want to leave like this
'Cause the last thing I want to do is
Make my people make decisions
Wondering what to do, oh
Should they keep it on display
Or redecorate?
Blankets over mirrors, she tends to like it
She's not afraid of her reflection
But of what she might see behind it
She had plans to change her name (yeah)
Just not the traditional way (yeah)
Haunted by a couple big mistakes
She covers all the dents with the way she decorates
Then one night she got cold with no blankets on her bed
So she ripped them off the mirror, stepped back and she said
I don't want to go on like this
At least let me clean my room
I don't want to leave like this
'Cause the last thing I want to do is
Make my people make decisions
Wondering what to do, oh
Should they keep it on display
Or redecorate?
With the bells and the whistles scaled back
Like an isolated track
And he feels trapped when he's not inebriated
Fair to say he's fairly sedated most days of the week
He might have made it if he'd lived on a different street
I repeat, scaled back and isolated
He says he likes an open schedule but he mostly hates it
If you're running to his room, take a breath before you break-in
Put your ear up to the door, tell me can you hear him saying?
I don't want to go like this
At least let me clean my room
I don't want to leave like this
'Cause the last thing I want to do is
Make my people make decisions
Wondering what to do, oh
Should they keep it on display
Or redecorate?
I don't want to go like this (go like this)
At least let me clean my room (clean my room)
I don't want to leave like this (leave like this)
'Cause the last thing I want to do is (to do is)
Make my people make decisions
Wondering what to do, oh
Should they keep it on display
Or redecorate?
Or redecorate?
Or redecorate?
"Redecorate" is a song by American musical duo twenty one pilots. The song is about the feelings that arise when one takes inventory of their life and realizes they want to make changes. In the first verse, the singer is reflecting on his life and feeling like he needs to tidy up. He sees his life chronologically, and while he has collected many things, he hasn't quite collected enough. He lies down and looks at his life from a new perspective, hoping to be forgiven and not wanting to leave his loved ones with difficult decisions after he is gone. The chorus then reveals itself to be a plea to be allowed to clean up before leaving, so they're not leaving a mess behind.
The second verse is sung by a woman who blankets her mirrors to avoid having to confront the mistakes of her past. However, she gets fed up with the way she has been avoiding them and decides to rip the blankets off. The chorus follows with the same sentiment expressed in the first verse before transitioning to the bridge. The bridge introduces a male character who feels trapped without alcohol and drugs. The chorus is repeated as a plea to clean up before leaving.
Overall, the song is about the desire to clean up one's life before leaving and not wanting to leave a mess behind. The imagery of tidying up and redecorating is used as metaphors for this process.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a wonderful structure to the city
Taking inventory of his life
And it put my cares to rest
Seeing snapshots chronologically inline
Something told him he should look around and tidy up
He collected many things but never quite enough
He collected many things but never quite enough
Tried looking at it from a new perspective
Tried looking at it from a new perspective
Flat on his back but he still heard the directive
Flat on his back but he still heard the directive
Orders from that corner where that shadow always lived
Orders from that corner where that shadow always lived
Never asked permission, he just hopes that they'd forgive
I don't want to go on like this
Taking inventory of her life
At least let me clean my room
Seeing snapshots chronologically inline
'Cause the last thing I want to do is
Something told him he should look around and tidy up
Make my people make decisions
He collected many things but never quite enough
Wondering what to do, oh
Tried looking at it from a new perspective
Should they keep it on display
Flat on his back but he still heard the directive
Or redecorate?
Orders from that corner where that shadow always lived
Blankets over mirrors, she tends to like it
She had plans to change her name (yeah)
She's not afraid of her reflection
Just not the traditional way (yeah)
But of what she might see behind it
Haunted by a couple big mistakes
She had plans to change her name (yeah)
She covers all the dents with the way she decorates
Just not the traditional way (yeah)
Then one night she got cold with no blankets on her bed
Haunted by a couple big mistakes
So she ripped them off the mirror, stepped back and she said
I don't want to go on like this
With the bells and the whistles scaled back
Or redecorate?
Like an isolated track
And he feels trapped when he's not inebriated
Fair to say he's fairly sedated most days of the week
Fair to say he's fairly sedated most days of the week
He might have made it if he'd lived on a different street
I repeat, scaled back and isolated
He says he likes an open schedule but he mostly hates it
If you're running to his room, take a breath before you break-in
Put your ear up to the door, tell me can you hear him saying?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tyler Joseph
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rosii88
Redecorate:
"Taking inventory of his life.
Seeing snapshots chronologically in line
Something told him he should look around and tidy up.
He COLLECTED many things BUT NEVER QUIET ENOUGH."
Leave the city:
"I'm tired of tending to this fire,
I've used up all I've Colleccted,
I have singed my hands."
Two great references to what the intertwined history of Trench and Scaled and Icy means.
@moss_yt
There’s at least one song that asks you not to commit suicide per album and honestly I appreciate it.
@mollystarzz
@@Ratpoisonbean this is about suicide. im pretty sure he tried writing it in his pov. trust me bro. when I tried ending it was "should i kill myself and leave it like this or redecorate?"
@aspen8434
@@Ratpoisonbean Yes, he used that idea to relate it to suicide. Many people think about cleaning their room etc before they end it.
@jackz0_o385
@@mollystarzz but he said in one of his interviews that this song was about his friend keeping his child’s room as a momento
@notamberp
@@Ratpoisonbean have you considered it possibly being about both? what if their child co**itted s**cide, AND they don’t want to change their room.
y’all gotta try not seeing things as either black or white, sometimes that shit’s gray.
@reyeschris4561
Stfu ur not suicidal
@CardboardTriangle2
This song's vibe sounds like a transition between Trench and Scaled and Icy.
@nic9206
Thats exactly what i felt!! You put it into words! Agdnsvfnd
@dezzzzioooo
yeah it definitely does!
@Chelsie-bp8id
its a nice touch considering i might not be over trench yet 😆