Jumpsuit

Album: Trench (2018)
Charted: 50 50
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The co-lead single of Twenty One Pilots' fifth album Trench is a bass-driven dub stomper that introduces a new world created by the duo, which includes a walled city called Dema. Lead singer Tyler Joseph, under an alter ego named Clancy, attempts to escape from Dema wearing a yellow jumpsuit that acts as a protective barrier from the nine bishops that oversee the metropolis. These hateful watchers are unable to see this color, thus providing the wearer's safety.

    I can't believe how much I hate
    Pressures of a new place roll my way
    Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me


    The fictional storyline employed in the song is a metaphor for the anxieties and pressures that Tyler Joseph has felt since Twenty One Pilots achieved global prominence. The idea has previously been explored by the duo on previous tracks such as the Blurryface single "Lane Boy."
  • The song's mysterious and cinematic music clip, directed by longtime collaborator Andrew Donoho, includes a scene showing Joseph making an escape attempt from Dema. The video was filmed in Thórsmörk, Iceland.
  • "Jumpsuit" took just two weeks to reach #1 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. The track's fortnight ascension to the summit was the fastest a single has reached the top of the tally since Green Day's "Know Your Enemy" did it in two weeks back in 2009.
  • Twenty One Pilots employed a handful of producers on their previous album Blurryface, but Trench was helmed entirely by Joseph and new collaborator Paul Meany, lead singer and keyboardist for the rock outfit Mutemath. The band acted as support for a large chunk of the duo's touring in support of Blurryface.

    "There are a lot of aspects of recording that I'm still learning – as someone who's never produced a record fully on his own," Joseph explained to Kerrang. "Especially when it comes to capturing live drums and collecting audio, and editing and organizing that. As much as I was trying to balance those things, Paul helped organize that side of the record. He was the only other person who was seeing things from the beginning."
  • Tyler Joseph told Kerrang this is his favorite Trench song to play live. He explained: "It's exactly what I saw in my head when I was writing it - I knew it was going to be at the top of (Trench) and the top of the show. I think the song gives off the energy that is required to be injected into a room that can sustain for the course of an entire set. It's a very useful song."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.