Twenty One Pilots - Chlorine Lyrics Meaning

anonymous

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Feb 7th 2019!⃝

[So where are you? It's been a while...]
(Tyler's referencing the hiatus)

Sippin' on straight chlorine
(Chlorine is a chemical that in large amounts is deadly, but can be helpful in small doses. The chlorine represents the creativity process in how Tyler writes his songs about his problems.)
Let the vibe slide over me
Beat is a chemical, beat is a chemical
(The metaphorical "drinking chlorine" hurts but also helps him)
When I leave, don't save my seat.
I'll be back when it's all complete
(During the hiatus when he left, the "seat" is probably him saying to allow yourself to listen to other bands or something)
Moment is medical, moment is medical
(This might not relate to it, but during the hiatus his grandfather was very sick and eventually died [see Legend], so that could be this)
Sippin' on straight chlorine

Lovin' what I'm tasting
Venom on my tongue
Dependant at times
Poisonous vibrations
Help my body run
(The "chlorine" [creativity process] is good for him as it helps him express his feelings through what he loves. But, the thoughts he has and struggles he has hurt him. Letting go of them via songs "helps his body run")
I'm running for my life (x2)

[Chorus]

Fall out of formation
I plan my escape from walls they confined
(The media has made "walls" into what people should and shouldn't sing about. Tyler has fallen out of the formation and sings about his trials instead of mainstream songs.)
Rebel red carnation grows while I decay
(Since he doesn't sing or write about things that mainstream songs conform to, there are less fans (sadly), and he is metaphorically "decaying" because of this. The rebel red carnation I think is the fans that have been with him through and through. The blurryface era was red. We "rebelled" by not leaving them through the hiatus.)
I'm running for my life (x4)

Had you in my coat pocket where I kept my rebel red
Felt I was invincible, you wrapped around my head
(Coat pockets are kept near the heart. Tyler has kept the clique near his heart is my interpretation. Seeing the support from the few fans kept him going through his trials (why he had the hiatus, as said in Leave the City.)
Now, different lives I lead, my body lives on lead
(Lives: his private and public life now after ending the hiatus. The lead is parallel to the chlorine as being the creativity process.)
The last two lines may read incorrect until said

The lead is terrible in flavour
But now you double as a papermaker
(The lead/chlorine is hard to deal with, but the hardships put into song brings him money (hence the "papermaker").)
I despise you sometimes, I love to hate the fight
And you in my life is like
(He dislikes his problems and struggles, which are fighting against him. The problems he faces in his life are symbolic to the chlorine in the next lines.)

[Chorus]

I'm so sorry I forgot you
Let me catch you up to speed
I've been tested like the end of
A weathered flag that's by the sea
("Forgetting" the recepient is probably him going away during the hiatus. Throughout it, he had been tested by his problems and trials which left him beaten, which is what the flag represents.)

Can you build my house with pieces?
I'm just a chemical (x4)
(His "house" is symbolising himself. Tyler and Josh both are Christians, and there is a Scripture that says "your body is a temple." This line could have possibly derived from that. It's in pieces because of the battle with whatever problem(s) he faced while gone. The chemical is probably meaning that Tyler feels that he's been overtaken by his problems and is now just in pieces, and is asking the clique to help him "put the pieces back together.")

[This is just my own interpretation, I don't know exactly if this is what Tyler meant. This is how I saw it as.]

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