Goner by Twenty One Pilots: Mental Illness in Alternative Music (Song 1)

Goner by Twenty One Pilots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmgFLV0fp4

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I wanna be known by you

I wanna be known by you

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I wanna be known by you

I wanna be known by you

Though I'm weak, beaten down

I'll slip away into the sound

The ghost of you is close to me

I'm inside out you're underneath

I've got two faces, Blurry's the one I'm not

I've got two faces, Blurry's the one I'm not

I need your help to take him out [2x]

Though I'm weak and beaten down

I'll slip away into the sound

The ghost of you is close to me

I'm inside out you're underneath

Though I'm weak and beaten down

I'll slip away into the sound

The ghost of you is close to me

I'm inside out you're underneath

Don't let me be gone

Don't let me be gone

Don't let me be gone

Don't let me be gone

Don't let me be

Don't let me be

(Ah, yeah)

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I'm a goner

Somebody catch my breath

I wanna be known by you

I wanna be known by you

    Goner by Twenty One Pilots is a song told from the point of lead singer Tyler Joseph’s  battling depression. The main devices used to tell his story are repetition, symbolism, metaphors and tone. Most lines are sung twice and put emphasis on the speaker’s struggle. The repetition of the phrase “I’m a goner, somebody catch my breath” along with “don’t let me be gone” shows how genuinely hopeless and helpless he feels. Repetition also is used to express the duality of the speaker, as he later repeats “I need your help to take him out” clearly having hope for recovery. The entity he’s referencing is both a metaphor and symbol for his depression and anxiety. This character “Blurryface” titles this album and embodies Tyler’s anxiety, depression and mental strife. He’s a motif, featured in most songs on the album as most of the songs help paint a thorough narrative of Joseph’s life dealing with his mental illness. Another device commonly seen in this band’s discography is tone. The song begins with soft piano and quiet vocals. From time to time the music swells but then returns to its soft nature. However, when you think the song is over and has grown completely silent, the music picks back up much louder than before, and the vocals are significantly more aggressive. This shows the speaker’s shift from sorrowful and weak to frustrated and prepared to fight Blurryface. Metaphors play a large part in characterizing the dilemma at hand. I interpret the line “Though I'm weak and broken down, I’ll slip away into the sound” as the speaker, although wanting to give into depression, will instead slip away from it by listening to music as some kind of therapy. Another metaphor used is “somebody catch my breath” which is a way to say the speaker needs someone to help him. Duality is further expressed through dialog in the line “I wanna be known by you” This is coming from Blurryface, wanting desperately to expose Joseph’s innermost fears and worries. This song tackles the topic at hand as a complete other entity rather than just a trait of a person. However unlike many songs, the illness is not presented as an unstoppable issue, but as something that can be solved through help and support from others.