Twenty One Pilots: Guns for Hands Meaning

Song Released: 2013

Guns for Hands Lyrics

I know what you think in the morning,
When the sun shines on the ground,
And shows what you have done,
It shows where your mind has gone,
And you swear to your parents,
That it will never happen again,
I know, I know what that means, I...

1. anonymous

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   May 2nd 2016 !⃝

   I think its about the dangers of texting ,social media, and cyber bullying. How harmful the words people text and post can be. He talks about trading your thumbs for ammunition and being fused at the wrists. I see that as a reference to how you type using your thumbs and the position you hold your phone looks like your hands/wrists are fused. When he says he's trying to sleep, he can't because his mind is stuck on the what people might be saying about him. It's actually really sad when you think of how we've become addicted to technology. It controls our lives. People compare their lives to others by what they see on fb. People base their self worth on how many likes they get. The inclusiveness of the online world has made us so narcissistic that our world can be destroyed by hitting send...or post! This is why I love music... it makes you think. It causes self reflections and at the same time... it makes you aware of the world around you! Great song... songwriters are the modern day poets!
2. anonymous

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   Dec 27th 2015 !⃝

   Let's go through this in portions of the song, ending with the chorus...
   First of all, I really think that the whole song is about the singer begging the listener(s) (or a friend, or a fan) not to hurt themselves, not to kill themselves.
   
   "I know what you think in the morning
   When the sun shines on the ground
   And shows what you have done
   It shows where your mind has gone
   And you swearing to your parents
   That it will never happen again
   I know, I know oh ow, what that means, I know oh oh oh ow"
   He sings about knowing that the person he's talking to has harmed themselves, and that they've promised their parents that it won't happen again. But he also knows that the person he's talking to doesn't fully intend to keep that promise, they just plan on saying that to keep their parents at ease.
   
   "Let's take this a second at a time
   Let's take this one song, this one rhyme
   Together, let's breathe
   Together, to the beat
   But there's hope out the window
   So that's where we'll go
   Let's go outside and all join hands
   But until then you'll never understand"
   Now I think he's confronted the self harming and suicidal person, just as they're about to kill themselves. He pleads with them to wait and take things one step at a time, think things through. 'Together let's breathe, together to the beat' He's asking them to take a deep breath and really think, and really hear him out. He tells them that there is hope, he tells them that if they work together they can fix things, but until the person he's singing to/about listens and accepts help, they'll never understand what he's saying and what he means.
   
   "We've turned our hands to guns, trade in our thumbs for ammunition
   I must forewarn you, of my disorder, or my condition
   'Cause when the sun sets, it upsets what's left of my invested interest
   Interested in putting my fingers to my head
   The solution is, I see a whole room of these mutant kids
   Fused at the wrist, I simply tell them they should shoot at this
   Simply suggest my chest and this confused music, it's
   Obviously best for them to turn their guns to a fist"
   He starts to explain what's happening, what he sees going on and how he perceives it. He tells this suicidal person that he's been through the same thing, that he knows what everything is like. He tells the person that they're not alone, that others struggle too, in the same way or similar ways. Then he puts in a final plea: He tells the person that if they really can't keep themselves from hurting their bodies, then they should hurt him instead, shoot him in the chest if they have to, to finally be okay. I'll admit, I'm kind of unsure about what that last line means though, 'Obviously best for them to turn their guns to a fist'.
   
   Now to decipher the chorus... Just wanted to do this part last so I wouldn't feel like I'd have to repeat myself:
   "That you all have guns
   And you never put the safety on
   And you all have plans,
   To take it, to take it, don't take it, take it, take it
   
   I'm trying, I'm trying to sleep
   I'm trying, I'm trying to sleep
   But I can't, but I can't when you all have
   Guns for hands yeah"
   He knows they have guns (or other methods of self harm/suicide) and he knows they're not joking around with how they plan to use those objects; they're serious, and they even have a specific plan of how to just end everything.
   He tells this specific person that he tries to sleep, to stay calm and act normal, but how can he when he knows what this person is going through? How can he when he desperately wants to help?
3. anonymous

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   Jan 17th 2015 !⃝

   I feel like in the very beginning, when it says, "it shows what you have done. It shows where your mind has gone." And, "you swear to your parents that it will never happen again. I knelt what that means" it's about cutting. The singer himself has been depressed and self-harmed and it just makes sense that the night before you were very sad and cut a lot and you realized in the morning what you've done and your parents find out and you tell them it won't happen again. The singer knows that excuse and that it most likely will happen again.

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