What does Thunder mean?

Imagine Dragons: Thunder Meaning

Album cover for Thunder album cover

Song Released: 2017


Thunder Lyrics

Lyrics
Just a young gun with a quick fuse
I was uptight, wanna let loose
I was dreaming of bigger things
And wanna leave my own life behind
Not a yes sir, not a follower
Fit the box, fit the mold
Have a seat in the foyer, take a number
I...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 3rd 2017 !⃝

    I think this song is about not letting others get to you. The line:
    "Just a young gun, with a quick fuse, I was uptight, wanna let loose."
    Is about him/them as a child, not feeling able to let go, which eventually led them to become musicians.

    "I was dreaming, of bigger things and, wanna leave my old life behind."
    Is about how even when they were younger, they felt the need to become something bigger than themselves.

    "Not a yes sir, not a follower, fit the box, fit the mold, have a seat in the foyer, take a number."
    Is about how society has been molded by each other to act a certain way.

    "I was lightning, before the thunder."
    Lightning is a flash, but if you don't look, you can miss it. Thunder represents the crowd, and how with all the noise, they are hard to miss.

    "Kids were laughing in my classes, while I was scheming for the masses. "Who do you think you are, dreaming 'bout being a big star?" "
    Is how his peers reacted when he shared his plans for the future.

    "They say you're basic, they say you're easy, you're always riding, in the backseat."
    Is about how as a kid, he was never "special." He "rode in the backseat," meaning that he wasn't the center of attention, or really anything big.

    "Now I'm smiling, from the stage while, you were clapping, in the nosebleeds."
    Now look at him. Just look.

    The chorus, however, mentions "Thunder" a lot. This means that now, he comes with a bang. He no longer is only the "Lightning," which you must look closely to see. He is now the Thunder AND the Lightning. He is heard. He is seen. He exists.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 19th 2018 !⃝

    "Just a young gun, with a quick fuse, I was uptight, wanna let loose" is him being a child and never being able to let go of things. He wanted to, but he never felt good enough about himself.

    "I was dreaming, of bigger things and, wanna leave my own life behind" means that he was thinking of doing something really big and impressive with his life and wants to leave his boring unsatisfactory life behind.

    "Not a yes sir, Not a follower" is saying that he either wasn't the same as everyone or he didn't want to be the same as everyone else. He wanted to be himself.

    "Fit the box, fit the mould" is saying that when he tried to be himself, he felt like he was being forced to act like everyone else and blend in with the crowd.

    "Have a seat in the foyer, take a number" means he was pushed aside many times and was probably told that you are not like other people we don't want you or you're not what we're looking for right now.

    "I was lightning, before the thunder" basically says that before, he was just there. Very easy to miss and was like a quick, quiet flash. The thunder means that he came back bigger and he noticeable and people began to have interest in him and he stood out from the crowd.

    "Kids were laughing, in my classes, while I was scheming for the masses" simply says while he was telling his friends about him wanting to become a musician they all just laughed at the thought of it.

    "Who do you think you are, dreaming 'bout being a big star" is the reply/reaction he got from the people he told about his big dream.

    "They say you're basic, they say you're easy, you're always riding in the backseat" is him as a kid never really being special. He was seen as a nobody. He is always in the backseat means he was irrelevant.

    "Now I'm smiling, on the stage while, you were clapping in the nose bleeds" is saying that now he fulfilled his reams and became a musician and his friends are back there watching him do what they thought he could never do. They missed the chance to be famous with him.

    The chorus, which says:
    "Thunder, feel the thunder, lightning and the thunder. Thunder, feel the thunder, lightning and the thunder
    Thunder, thunder, thunder." means that before, he was only the easy to miss lightning, but now he is the successful and impossible to miss thunder. He reached his goals.

    The lyrics of this song are like the story of how he became a musician, what you should take from this is:
    .be yourself
    .no matter how many times life knocks you down always come back up again
    .Believe in yourself
    .pursue you goal until you reach it
    .don't focus on others tearing you down, instead build yourself up until you can feel the pride when you accomplish you goals

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 2nd 2017 !⃝

    I think its about believe in yourself. If you have a dream, go chase it. Do not listen to others opinion trying to drag you down. At the end you have to be nothing before turning to something. What I cant understand is the girl with snake tounge in the video clip. It is still a great song though.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 15th 2023 !⃝

    The first set interpretation to me as a child is very encouraging
    it tell me that although they were young inexperienced an makes decisions without thinking they were tense and nervous and nervous and wanted to change they had big dreams they had large goals and they figured that their personalities were stopping all their dreams from happening they really wanted to change they wanted to 'fit the box, 'fit the mold they wanted to move higher and have nothing in their way of their goals and from what the imaginre dragons are today i must say that was a really good choice.....

    Thank you Imagine Dragons for that song
    And thank you GOD for the inspiration.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 17th 2019 !⃝

    The verse “Just a young gun, with a quick fuse, I was uptight, wanna let loose” can be interpreted using two parts. New guns = ready to fire a bullet. Quick fuse, uptight, let loose = like an explosive (firecracker for example) he was bottled up with some feeling or emotion and he had a fuse quick to burn and he just wanted to blow. He wanted to make a bang.

  6. anonymous
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    May 23rd 2019 !⃝

    Imaginary is Luciferian.

  7. FoxBeReal27
    click a star to vote
    Oct 12th 2018 !⃝

    This song is about how even when people judge you and put you down because of your dreams, you don't give up. That can be hard sometimes. I know that. I also believe this is Andrew Tolman's story about himself. He could have been the nerdy kid or the unpopular kid that no one would expect anything would come of him. But he didn't give up. He pulled through.Look at them now: Imagine Dragons is one of the most popular bands in the country and is being paid millions of dollars. Now those people who put him down along the way are clapping in the nosebleeds.His story is so inspiring to everyone. Remember, if you have big dreams, this could be your story, too.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 11th 2018 !⃝

    The song is talking about Dan's life how he was bullied as a child and nobody thinks he was gonna be a person of value. but he ended up a star in a very very popular band and is rich and famous and everyone that hated him and picked on him ended up not being like him, as it says in the song " I was smiling from the stage while you were clapping in the nose bleeds."

  9. anonymous
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    Oct 5th 2018 !⃝

    Seems to me this great song is just about another fallen angel and his ego's drive, that's sung in symbolic and metaphorical human form. Who's ego always wanted to know how it feels like to be like a king or god and beat everybody else in a big way, according to his own lightning fall's will that wanted to win. And who's now boasting like another pitiful angel or god that thinks he made the big time.

  10. anonymous
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    Mar 13th 2018 !⃝

    I'm not sure how accurate I am but I believe this song is about a type of people called Thunder beings... Or what are called heyoka... One of the seven types of empaths... Or hypersensitive... Thunder beings as they have been named (translating to "sacred clown" have played a major role in spirituality and nonconforming opposing social order and using their gifts to. Spiritually "heal" this broken world....

  11. anonymous
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    Dec 14th 2017 !⃝

    Most know of Apples blatant use of satanic symbolism as well as technology being the devils tool. Just as these Luciferian hacks use lightning to symbolize the Satan Apple gives tribute to him by officially calling there usb charge cords... lightning cords

  12. anonymous
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    Nov 24th 2017 !⃝

    The aliens are demons. Demons are aliens. The song says one thing but the video us disturbing. OK besides the same stuff I've read. The white sheep. That's an instant revelation to my biblical beliefs, the technology surrounding and the lines of lambos coming after everyone is on looking 3 lights appearing from the sky.. so aliens appear and fix stuff but at a demonic cost. Offer a rich technological utopia but ya gotta worship the wrong god. Idk just an idea it's clear that upon their arrival shut changes from what we jknow to futuristic and demonic. Think about that for a minute. But the lyrics I just can't link to the video Joseph kahn doesn't seem to have a horrible background. Good song disturbing video. OK so the song believer. Again in the video it's as if he was being genetically enhanced or modified which again is distu r big don't forget about radioactive. A ring of dealers betting on stuffed animals or innocence if you will. Our leaders throwing us at a cause they feel to be legit. I'll stop.

  13. anonymous
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    Nov 2nd 2017 !⃝

    I think it is way more simple than what most people think. He dreamed of being an artist at a young age. Had lots of issues with not being a "normal" kid. While all the kids laughed at his grandiose dreams, he has the last laugh cause they there are sitting in the nosebleeds watching his be the star. Maybe the aliens ARE demons. The demons he faces every day of thoughts he isn't good enough or it all will end. I absolutely love this song and this band!

  14. anonymous
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    Oct 28th 2017 !⃝

    I think this song is about the singer's life growing up. The line "Not a yes sir, not a follower" means he does things his own way and doesn't let himself get bossed around. The line "I was lightning before the thunder" means that he knew he wanted to be a singer. The "lightning" was the spark of the idea and the "thunder" was the real deal. The line "Who do you think you are? Dreamin 'bout being a big star" says what his childhood friends thought about his idea. The line "Now I'm smilin' from the stage while you were clappin' in the nosebleeds" means that since his friends didn't support him, they missed their chance to be famous. You may have seen one of my interpretations before (I did one for Home) and I am using this song in the same play.

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 28th 2017 !⃝

    It gives me chills just reading these... I love the song, riding in my car blasting it, it feels almost empowering. But today I watched the video, and in the first seconds I thought, damn it...it's the devil again. It's sad,and scary how he puts himself into so many things. The imagery is clearly demonic. Clearly. Which sucks cause it's got such a good beat. Damn devil screwing up my playlist!

  16. anonymous
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    Oct 12th 2017 !⃝

    The video revolves around aliens n not demons.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  17. anonymous
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    Sep 26th 2017 !⃝

    All well and good to interpret the lyrics as most of us share the same thoughts on the meaning, but watch the video and you left wondering what the hell? Doesn't fit with the interpretation.

  18. anonymous
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    Aug 27th 2017 !⃝

    I think you are spot on with your interpretations. The music says one thing but when you see the video they show demon like charachters. Now where is that related to the lyrics.

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