Comparison Essay: Stressed Out vs Nostalgia

If you were a kid when you first heard “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots then you probably were confused. The concept of missing your childhood was hard to fathom because all most kids wanted to do was grow up. But, after really dissecting these songs and analyizing the lyrics, it’s easy to see why people don’t enjoy adulthood as much as childhood. To illustrate this, I chose to compare the theme of “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots, which is an alternative song, and “Nostalgia” by Chance the Rapper, which is a hip hop/rap song. The common theme between these two songs is missing your childhood.

My first song “Stressed Out” is about how great the singer thought childhood was. This song is based on how the singer is tense and strained in his adult life and misses the worry-free lifestyle of childhood. He also mentions many examples of why he experiences nostalgia towards his childhood. One of these examples is “Wish we could turn back time to the good old days” (Twenty One Pilots chorus) this shows how he wants to experience the worry-free, mellow times of his early years. This example lyric states exactly what the thesis is, wanting to go back to the “good old days”' of being a kid.

Chance the Rapper mentions some activities he did in his childhood causing him to miss it in his 2012 hit song “Nostalgia.” Chance the Rapper sings about everything he did in his adolesance and how it was easier compared to adulthood. He mentions all sorts of things he did when he was living the responsibility-free lifestyle of his early years, such as “I used to chill with the kids next door. And Spongebob came around 4” (Chance the Rapper verse 2). This line is explaining an aspect of his youth that he regrets appreciating in the moment. He also sings “Remember the old days, the ones you’ll never get back” (Chance the Rapper verse 2) These lyrics show that he misses the old days but he knows he’ll never experience that lifestyle again. This example ties back to the thesis because he’s saying that he “misses the old days,” but he knows those days are over. This song doesn’t sing about missing his childhood as much, but it sings about the aspects of his youth that he misses.

The common theme between these two songs which is “missing your childhood” is universal because both song’s main focus is about them remembering how easy it was being a kid and how they wanted to go back to that life without all of the responsibilities of adulthood. In both of them, “Stressed Out” more than “Nostalgia” they sing about being stressed out in their adult life, which causes them to want to go back to their childhood. The two songs are relatable because the central focus of both these songs is missing the simple joys of being a child. An award that “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots won, was the Alternative Rock Song of the Year at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Also at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ”Stressed Out” also won Best Record of the Year. The album “10 Day '' that “Nostalgia” by Chance the Rapper was on, received a lot of backlash on social media, despite making it to number two on the Billboard 200. After these songs won all these awards, it showed that this theme obviously resonated with people. After listening to and dissecting these songs, a lesson that these songs have taught me is that I need to enjoy my childhood more because these songs mention how in your adulthood you will get “Stressed Out” causing you to miss every facet of your early life.

Wanting to go back to your youth is an idea that a lot of adults share, but children do not understand this idea as well, which causes them to not savor and enjoy childhood as much as they wish they had done once they are adults. The main similarities in these songs are wanting to go back to their childhood and listing the aspects of the mellow way of life known as your adolescence that cause them to miss it. The differences between the songs are probably that “Stressed Out” sings a lot more about being frazzled and anxious in your adult life and why he wants to go back to his childhood, for example He sings “When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we’re stressed out.” (Twenty One Pilots chorus) This is showing that he misses the simple times and now he’s just stressed out in his adulthood. “Nostalgia” is more about what activities he did as a child which caused him to yearn for the stress-free life of being a kid. After really listening and dissecting these songs I definitely think that I will miss my childhood in my adult life and right now, I need to enjoy it more.