Why 'Neon Gravestones' Is the Most Important Song on the Trench Album

We are two weeks into the Trench album, and just like every album Tyler, and Josh have given us a true piece of art. There is something refreshing about Twenty One Pilots songs, for each person this can be because of something different, but for me, it is refreshing to hear a band write, sing and perform about something as real as mental health, personal struggle, recovery, and how love will alway win. Every song on this album stood out to me, and made me feel like I wasn’t alone. But one song stuck out to me:

"Neon Gravestone."

This is the seventh track on Trench, and the first thing that caught my eye was the transition between "Smithereens" and "Neon Gravestone." We go from hearing such a upbeat, light melody, to a heavy, slow, piano based melody, and the ghostly words Call.

Then you listen to the talented Tyler Joseph rap each verse of this beat poem, the eerie background vocals which periodically will sing the word Call again, and the chorus. The chorus states that the neon gravestones want your bone, which I always imagined sounding like a siren song, drawing you into your death.

This summary makes it sound like a normal song though, and the title clearly states that Neon Gravestones is the most important song on the album, and dear reader this is why.

On my first listen I was trying to figure out the meaning of the song, and within the first verse I found my answer. For the end of the first line states: “An earlier grave is an optional way, No.” (Genius.com)

To me, this clearly was meant to represent people dying before they were supposed to, how they are giving into the call of the “neon gravestones”. While several options of what the neon gravestones were supposed to represent only one option really stood out as something that Tyler would touch on, suicide.

When you listen to the entire song, it is clear that he is saying that we have to change the conversation we are having about suicide, because right now it is viewed as a way of escape. We never talk about the shattered families, the unanswered questions, or the guilt that is experienced after, just that it is a possible fix. We don’t even like to talk about what lead this person to suicide, why a person felt like death was he only way out. Tyler even writes in the song that he does support the discussion of suicide, however that we need to change how we are discussing the topic. This line can be found at the beginning of the third verse:

“Don't get me wrong, the rise in awareness Is beating a stigma that no longer scares us But for sake of discussion, in spirit of fairness Could we give this some room for a new point of view?” (Genius.com)

Personally, suicide has been a a struggle I have dealt with throughout my life, with my own past suicidal thoughts, and suicides of loved ones. I have had to sit through three funerals for people who gave into the call of the neon gravestones, and I get what Tyler means when he raps, “Well, I'm refusing the lesson It won't resonate in our minds I'm not disrespecting what was left behind Just pleading that it does not get glorified.” (Genius.com).

This is the line which is supposed to represent that the deaths of these victims should be opening a discussion, and respect, not glorification. In each funeral I sat through I have witnessed the glorification of their actions. In the first two it was a glorification of the action, for mass gatherings occurred at both, but no further discussion. In the moment, it didn’t feel like Glorification, but looking back, it shows people who struggle with bullying, mental health and suicide that afterwards it will be a large remembrance party filled with people you didn’t think cared. It is almost like a celebration that you did this act, instead of the celebration of your life. The third, was the hardest one, and I have watched his death be used to glorify his parent, because she lost a child to suicide and is doing “so well” coping with it. When I saw that, that is when I realized how much glorification with suicide was an issue.

This song is trying to relay that fact to people, and the glorification of the topic is represented in the color of the gravestones, neon. When I think neon I think flashy, trendy, welcoming sign, inviting everyone into a party. He is trying to show that we have turned something so tragic into a trend, and we shouldn’t anymore because this is a negative action which is permanently damaging to both the person and their loved ones.

This is why I think this song is so important, it is bring a sub-problem of a real problem to light. It makes you think, or at least it made me think.

I just want to end with a static

“In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide.” (CDC.Gov)

Google states that the population in the USA was 323.4 million people in 2016.

If you or someone you know are suffering from a mental health issue, and are battling suicidal thoughts, you are not alone. Below are all the numbers for the suicide crisis hotlines.