1. Addict With A Pen - Twenty One Pilots

Addict With A Pen

Hello

We haven't talked in quite some time

I know

I haven't been the best

Of sons

Hello

I've been traveling in

The desert of my mind

And I

Haven't found a drop

Of life

I haven't found a drop

Of you

I haven't found a drop

Of water

Water

I try desperately to run through the sand

As I hold the water

In the palm of my hand

Cause it's all that I have

And it's all that I need and

The waves of the water

Mean nothing to me

But I try my best

And all that I can to

Hold tightly onto

What's left in my hand

But no matter how

How tightly I will strain

The sand will slow me down

And the water will drain

I'm just being dramatic

In fact,

I'm only at it again

As an addict with a pen

Who's addicted to the wind

As it blows me back and forth

Mindless, spineless, and pretend

Of course I'll be here again

See you tomorrow

But it's the end of today

End of my ways

As a walking denial

My trial was filed as a crazy

Suicidal head case

But you specialize in dying

You hear me screaming, "Father,"

And I'm lying here just crying

So wash me with your water

Water

Hello

We haven't talked in quite some time

I know

I haven't been the best

Of sons

Hello

I've been traveling in

The desert of my mind

And I

I haven't found a drop

Of life

I haven't found a drop

Of you

I haven't found a drop

Of water

My first piece of writing I have chosen for this assignment is the song Addict With A Pen by the band Twenty One Pilots and written by the vocalist Tyler Joseph. The entire self-titled album follows ideas of religious confusion, struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, following the protagonist's thoughts from his perspective. It is truly an amazing and thought provoking album.

This song follows the protagonist through a journey through his mind, which is represented by a desert. The first verse introduces the song as if he is talking to someone. The song never reveals who this person is, but my interpretation given the context of the album and the band itself is that he is talking to a God or religious figure. The comparison between his mind and a desert introduces the rather sad feeling of the song. A desert is a place of danger and a place of emptiness, hence the name desert. The second verse talks about a "water". The "water" metaphor could represent a number of things but given the context of the album and the very nature of the song and the next verse, it is probably representing the protagonist's will to live. The second verse talks about him slowly losing the water as he travels through his mind. The third verse then shows the protagonist reflecting on himself and the song ends off with a repetition of the first verse.