Explaining the meaning of twenty one pilots “Isle of Flightless Birds”
Joseph is saying that even though living life by your values is difficult, it’s worth it and eventually you will find purpose in doing so.
"Isle of Flightless Birds" is a song by twenty one pilots from their self-titled album. To me, "Isle of Flightless Birds" uses the contradicting concepts of "asleep" and "awake", "flying" and "falling", "angel" and "demon" to talk about what he thinks is "right" and " wrong”, “yes” and “no”.
My first impression of the song is that, it’s talking about how kids have hopes and dreams for the future, but as they get older, their dreams start to fade away - they start families and tries to stop thinking about the things they used to think about as kids. The lyrics are noticeably more explicit and emotional in this song, more so than their later works like “Blurryface” or even “Trench”.
All we are is an isle of flightless birds
We find our worth in giving birth and stuff
We're lining our homes against winding roads
And we think the going is tough
The title of the song “Isle of Flightless Birds” refers to a species of birds that have wings but have degraded flight functions, such as ostriches, penguins, etc.. The chorus of the song talks about the protagonist flying "without hope" and "without fear", but his wings are "taunted" by the earth, and then “plummet“ (falls to the ground) while singing. What is being talked about here should be a sense of powerlessness - the protagonist has lost the ability to fly (seeking dreams and hopes), and it almost feels ridiculous to even try.
Now is the climax to the story
That gives the demons and angels purpose
They fly around while we are walking
And mold our emotions just to please them
Why not fly? The first verse talks about how flying "angels" and "demons" shapes our thoughts and emotions, making us obey them and please them. People will have their original views, but human minds are easily influenced - changed by society and the good or evil of others, they will tend to please others, lose their own purpose and uniqueness , and eventually they become “flightless”.
Here, Joseph compares people to birds, and "flying" symbolizes human individuality. People who do not fly are people whose individuality has been erased.
The rap part begins to tell the story of the isle of the flightless Birds, which symbolizes people who are asleep. Here they regard "getting married and having children" as their life value, arrange their houses in dense rows on winding roads, and paralyze themselves with thoughts of "the going is tough". A connection to the concept of "sleep"/"wake" in the story of Dema is relevant here - To sleep is to obey, to wake is to rebel. And Nico/the devil exists to use social conventions to push you to "obey" and become their slave.
The song goes on to describe the pain of "waking up." If you live by the standards of right and wrong values, "Your weeping will creep in your head" and "you'll begin to wish you were sleeping." But the lyrics go on to say that if you wake up every day determined to stand up for your values, you will know your heart and "the light will set you free." Joseph is saying that even though living life by your values is difficult, it’s worth it and eventually you will find purpose in doing so.
The last verse talks about how the protagonist thinks the Lord is disappointed with him and other "flightless birds" - they live aimlessly, paralyzing themselves with repetitive life arrangements, wasting the Lord's patient waiting or expectation for them. Similar to the other songs on this record, this track is more explicit in its Christian message - Joseph believes that not following god’s purpose is a sin. But eventually I believe this shows how he feels ashamed about him or potentially other people wasting their life away without realizing their fullest potential by doing something meaningful.
How frustrating, and so degrading
His time, we're wasting
As time will fly by and the sky will cry as light is fading
And He is waiting, oh, so patiently
While we repeat the same routine as we will please comfortability
In conclusion, this song as well as other songs on the record talks about finding purpose. Here, "finding purpose" is synonymous with "seeking good and eliminating evil", as he believes in the purpose of life is to pursue what your heart wants in its most original form. At the end of the song, the song encourages listeners to stand up for their values and make a choice between good and evil and find their true purpose.