“Tick Tock” is the third track on Joji’s 2020 album ‘Nectar.’ The song takes on the subtle topic of time, ever fading away, and bringing chaos to everything we try to hold near and dear to us.
Joji released his second studio album ‘Nectar’ on September 25, 2020. The album got postponed from its original release date of July 2020 due to Covid-19. This is his return to music after the 2018 album ‘BALLADS 1.’
Time is one of the biggest forces of ‘change’ that create so much turbulence in our personal lives. But it is not the fault of time. How we face and manage time and the change it brings about is entirely up to us. However, juggling a few balls such as personal success, self-fulfillment, family, relationships, and everything else could be a little too much to handle.
Listen to “Tick Tock” by Joji
“Tick Tock” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
In these lyrics, Joji tries to wrap his head around the time fading around him. No matter how much we would want time to slow down or entirely freeze, it is not a possibility within the realm of the world as we know it. Hence, everything, good and bad, is always fleeing away. There is no present, only a reel of events changing extremely fast. Joji’s cry for God will most definitely be left unanswered.
Chorus
In the chorus of the song, Joji talks to his girl about what time could possibly bring into their relationship–which is ‘change.’ So, he begs his girl to stay unchanged and harbor the same feelings that she does now towards him in the future as well.
Verse 2
In the second verse of the song, the inevitable has happened. Joji claims that he has hit the jackpot, possibly referring to the success of his career. But, of course, he failed at the balancing act–he lost the girl. Now that he has all the big bucks, he begins to question if it is what he wanted for his life. His weakness was his love for his music, which devoured his entire life. He mixed up his priorities and he feels bad about his current situation. But as we said before, ‘time’ itself did not cause this heartache on Joji. The singer chose his path. Joji ends the verse by raising a question that will likely be left unanswered as well; ‘does she still love him?’
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.
What did joji mean when he sings ” with y hands in the ocean I pay, oh I pray, I pray.”
I’m assuming it’s like his “last resort” or last time he’ll ask but I’m no expert that’s what I think