“Redecorate” is the eleventh and final track on Twenty One Pilot’s 2021 album ‘Scaled And Icy.’ The song eerily narrates the perspectives of three people and their lives just before pass away. All three souls leaving seem to be concerned about ‘unfinished’ business in the world of the living.
Twenty One Pilots announced their sixth studio album ‘Scaled And Icy’ to be released on May 21, 2021. Two singles were released ahead of the album drop, namely; “Shy Away” and “Choker.”
On Apple Music, Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots shared the inspiration behind “Redecorate”; “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.”
Listen to “Redecorate” by Twenty One Pilots
“Redecorate” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Intro
The into is a reference to the fictional city of DEMA, the band had infamously created in their previous albums. The lines are from one of the documents the band introduced during the ‘Trench’ album.
Verse 1
In the first verse, we get to hear about the first ‘he’ of the song. It is fair to assume that this person is on the verge of his death. It is said that in your final breath on this earth, your life flashes before your eyes. In the song, too, we hear Tyler singing how this person’s life rolled out in chronological order in these last moments.
We learn quite a bit about this misfortunate soul who is leaving this world. We hear that he liked to collect stuff–maybe even a hoarder. But, it is said that it was never enough for him. This could very well be about relationships. Maybe this person only collected material things and not friends or families. Later in the verse, we also get to know that this person had a dark corner in his room that used to call out to him every day. This is a reference to the mental demons he fought. The lack of loved ones in his life certainly did not help him silence these demons.
The demons never asked for permission to occupy his head. He had no one to get help from. This person tried to fight these demons on his own but failed. So, he is bidding farewell and hopes that anyone who is concerned about him can forgive his final actions.
Chorus
All three subjects in this song are more or less forced to leave this world. So, it is likely that on their way over, they turn back and look at the life they have just ended and realized that it was not perfect at all. All three of them realize that they are leaving ‘unifinished’ business behind. Of course, now it’s too late for all these three souls to turn back. They can only wonder what people who were around him are going to do with their life. Are they going to eternalize each of these three people’s lives? or are they going to redecorate it with new memories?
Verse 2
In the second verse of the song, we are introduced to another person–a female, this time. We get to learn quite a lot about this person too. The singer narrates how she was continuously haunted by some mistakes she committed in the past. These mistakes made her despise herself. She could never leave those memories behind. The fact that her mirrors are covered by blankets means that every time she looked at the mirror, instead of her reflection, she sees the person who committed those mistakes.
She’s not afraid of her reflection
But of what she might see behind it
The ‘traditional way’ of changing names, as said in the song, is when a girl marries and replaces her last name with her husband’s. However, Tyler ensures that this is not what he is talking about with her life. This means that this person even wanted to change her name (both first and last names) to get away from the life of mistakes she had in the past.
However, on one unfortunate night, her room got a bit too cold so she took the blankets off the mirrors to cover herself for warmth. But she was not prepared to see what was shown in the mirror when she removed the blankets. All the memories she tried her best to suppress, came crashing down on her. It was too much for her to handle on this particular night, and she bids farewell to this world.
Bridge
The third protagonist’s story unveils in the bridge of “Redecorate.” Although we don’t hear the history of this person, we do hear that he is struggling with some addiction problems. He is sedated on most days of the week, which could suggest that he is taking some severe medication for whatever underlying issues he is battling with.
The line “scaled back and isolated” is a reference to the album title ‘Scaled And Icy,’ which Tyler Joseph explained as an ‘acronym’ for ‘scaled back and isolated.’ Tyler explained that being forced into lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, most humans felt as if they were scaled back and isolated.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.