Lyric Analysis of "Roaring 20s" by Panic! At The Disco

So, 2020, am I right? It's been one he- I mean one rollercoaster of a year. We started with such high hopes, and with less than 50 days till the end of it, those hopes have been proved very wrong. We all thought it would be like the infamous Roaring '20s of the 1900s, but we forgot about the pandemic that swept through around that time. History really does repeat itself, doesn't it? Anyway, I'm going to be analyzing the lyrics of "Roaring 20s", a song with the upbeat instrumentals we wished reflected this insane year. However, you may be thinking "This isn't a book, why are you making a blog post about it?" Well, reader, it's for a very simple reason. I feel like it and have close to no other inspiration. Also because I'm considering this as a poem instead of a song. Will I be overthinking every word in this? Of course.  However, overthinking is a skill I tend to excel at, so get yote. This is all my own opinion, so feel free to combat my thoughts in the comments (or start an argument between our blogs owo?). Here's a link to the song if you want to listen, by the way: Panic! At The Disco - Roaring 20s (Official Audio) 
TW: Mentions of degrading mental health and suicide.

Broadway is black like a sinkhole

Everyone raced to the suburbs

And I'm on the rooftop with curious strangers

This is the oddest of summers

In these four lines, the line with the most obvious meaning is the comparison of Broadway to a sinkhole, with its meaning being that the entertainment industry can easily suck someone in and envelop them in its cut-throat environment. From this, I assume that the "main character" of this poem/song is in the entertainment industry, and this poem/song is their way of venting out their frustrations with the life they're living. The next line, "Everyone raced to the suburbs" seems to generally be about the "main character" (MC's) yearning for a calm, slow life in the suburbs, with a happy family that they now can't have because of the "sinkhole". Though, the usage of the word "everyone" could imply a more general yearning the populous have for the "perfect life in the suburbs". The last two lines are a bit more difficult. It could simply be describing an odd occurrence the MC has had, but I think it could actually be coated in symbolism. The rooftop could maybe be some sort of stage, with the "curious strangers" being the audience and the MC's fans, peering into every aspect of their life. However, I do believe the last line is simply stating how odd a certain portion of time is. Perhaps the MC suddenly rose to popularity and fame during this "odd summer".

Maybe I'll medicate, maybe inebriate

Strange situations, I get anxious

Maybe I'll smile a bit, maybe the opposite

But pray that they don't call me thankless

I'll be honest, I had to look up the word "inebriate". It means "to make someone drunk", and I'm just going to assume the MC is talking about themself when they're saying this. I feel as though the first line is an obvious reference to the many celebrities who turn to alcohol and drugs to cope with their stress. The second line might be talking about paparazzi, crazed fans, or even scandals as the "strange situation", with the MC being unable to face this because of their anxiety.
The third line could have a few meanings depending on whether or not you take into account the lines around it. If you take it alone, it could be about the MC musing on the personas many celebrities have to take on and what type of persona they should have, smiling usually indicating a more open type of person and the opposite (frowning, serious) indicating a more closed off person. If you take the third line with the second line, this could be the MC deciding how they'll deal with these "strange situations", thinking of either being open and honest or closing themselves off until it passes.
You can also pair the two lines with the final line, adding on that no matter what the MC does, they simply hope they will still have the general population's favor. Taking it all together, the phrase seems to generally be about the MC's struggle with "strange situations", the first line being about how they intend to deal with them in private, the second line being about how they deal with them in public, and the final line being about what they want the general outcome to be.

My tell-tale heart's a hammer in my chest

Cut me a silk-tied tourniquet [Pre Chorus]

The first line has an obvious enough meaning. It's a reference to Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", describing the increased heart rate of the MC. However, we're not here for obvious meanings, we're here to overthink like it's an Olympic sport. The usage of this particular short story as a description could be implying that the MC has "killed" part of themself during their time in the entertainment industry, like the protagonist of "The Tell-Tale Heart" killed their roommate. The MC of this poem/song then buried the "heart" of their past life somewhere, but the "beat" of it is now calling to them, and as much as they wish they could go back to it, they can't.
The second line is pretty confusing, however. A tourniquet is a device for stopping the flow of blood through a vein or artery, typically by compressing a limb with a cord or tight bandage. The fact that it is silk implies it is related to being wealthy. However, I don't know why exactly the MC is talking about a tourniquet in the first place. Perhaps it's a slight (yet admittedly random) commentary on how the wealthy have much better access to healthcare and frivolous knick-knacks? I'm going to be straight here, I have no idea.

This is my roaring, roaring 20's

I don't even know me

Roll me like a blunt, 'cause I wanna go home

Roll me like a blunt, 'cause I wanna go home 

(Entire verse repeats) [Chorus]

So this is the name drop of the song. The "roaring '20s" is a direct comparison to the time period of the 1920s. The exact wording, however, reveals the entire meaning of the song. The Roaring 20s was a time period with many mixed feelings around it. The name "Roaring 20s" itself brings about thoughts of flappers, parties, illegal alcohol, and generally bright and festive behaviors. However, the cheerful, robust nickname is only that of a time period in between great tragedies, the first World War and Spanish Flu epidemic before it, and the Great Depression after it. Also, don't forget about the thousands of traumatized and shell-shocked veterans coming back from the war into society during a time where mental health wasn't understood or talked about much. Anyway, what I'm getting at is the meaning of the first line is the MC saying, "My life on the outside looks amazing to people, and while it kind of is, I am dying inside and will soon completely flip the view in which I am perceived."
The second line is not as complicated, with the meaning probably just being that they've put so much work into their public image and persona, that the line between their celebrity persona and their actual self is starting to blur.
The final two lines are pretty standard as well, with no discernable secret meaning that I can detect. It's another reference to the MC's anxiety at being in large gatherings, I'm assuming a party. It's a play of the phrase "rolling out", which means to leave. Obviously, the MC wants to leave whatever gathering they're at to either go to their physical house/home or go back to their old home life.

Oscars and Emmys and Grammys

Everyone here is a trophy

And I'm sipping bourbon

The future's uncertain

The past on the pavement below me

The first line is clearly just listing off the many types of awards that can be gifted to entertainers, preparing for the second line where the MC basically says that celebrities are essentially just pretty objects, lined up on display. However, the real question to decipher here is: who are celebrities the trophies of? Are they the trophies of whatever production company they work with, just being shown off as another success story in their belt, yet having lost themselves and their vision in the process? Are they trophies of the public, being objectified, fawned over, and slowly losing their tethers to the normal world? Perhaps they're even their own trophy, or rather their image is their trophy. Personally, my favorite interpretation is the last one, so I'm just going to explain what it actually means. What the MC of this poem/song has drilled into our minds throughout this piece is that there is a line between a celebrity's persona, and who they are as a person. When I say that celebrities are their own trophies, I'm saying that their persona is a trophy to their actual person, no matter how blurry the line between the two is. The actual person is desperately clinging to that trophy persona because that might be all they have left.
The third and fourth lines are once again, pretty simple. Our MC is drinking alcohol, but there are almost a couple meanings to the fourth line: whether the general future is uncertain or the immediate future is uncertain because the MC might get drunk and do something to change the persona's view in the public eye.
The fifth line has a couple of meanings. The first thing my mind jumped to was those handprints in the concrete around L.A./Hollywood. I then thought about how the MC sees themself in those handprints, their predecessors in the vicious cycle of celebrities they're describing. My next thought was of suicide, unfortunately. The 'past on the pavement' could be referring to celebrity suicides or people the MC knew in the past that couldn't handle the strains of fame. While thinking on how to write this paragraph, I also thought that this could be a sudden revelation that the MC is actually a ghost, lamenting on their past life of being a celebrity that they ended through suicide. However, this wouldn't make any sense, especially considering the chorus verses, although it was still fun to muse on.

Maybe I'll elevate, maybe I'm the second rate

So unaware of my status

Maybe I'm overjoyed, maybe I'm paranoid

Designer me up in straight jackets

The first line is definitely referencing the MC's insecurities about their actual place as a celebrity. They aren't sure if this mental turmoil that they're going through will pay off in the end, thinking that they will always remain a "second rate" celebrity instead of rising in the ranks. The second could simply be simplifying the first line a bit more, but it could also be talking about the MC's insecurities in how they are seen by those close to them. They no longer know exactly how their family and friends think of them; whether others are clinging onto them for their persona, or for them. The third line seems to be the start of some sort of spiral, with the verses after this one having a different feel compared to those before. It seems to be the MC realizing and confronting exactly how they feel, no more beating around the bush. They are both grateful for their time in the spotlight and paranoid about what it'll bring. The final line has a fairly simple meaning but is actually one of my favorites. It's kind of like the line, "Cut me a silk-tied tourniquet", briefly referencing the unnecessary grandeur of items owned by celebrities and then very simply saying that they feel insane, or that they want to be shut away in a mental asylum, away from their bright life

[Pre Chorus and Chorus(x2)]

They've already been explained and this blog post is long enough already.

Hallucinations only mean that your brain is on fire

If it's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight

I don't know if I will survive

I really don't know what the first line is saying here. The part about "brain is on fire", could be further describing the split and confusion in the MC's brain that was mentioned in the previous verse. The reference to Lord of the Flies probably is pushing to the chaos that occurs and the infighting between the boys, similar to the metaphorical infighting in MC's mind, them not knowing if they'll come out of this experience mentally stable.

Lighters up if you're feeling me

Fade to black if you're not mine

'Cause I just need a sign or a signal inside

Why have these past couple of verses been so confusing? The only thing that comes to mind for meaning is some sort of imaginary crowd, perhaps one of the hallucinations the MC was talking about earlier. The MC could be talking about that thing crowds do in concerts, where they turn their phones' flashlights on and wave them, maybe practicing talking to their own fans.
I feel like the meaning of this really depends on the next verse. I feel like this is a gentle lead-up, the MC desperately trying to stay 'in-character' in the first line, trying to get up the morale and excitement of their fans. They start to waver in the second line, however, letting their darker, more unstable side show by acknowledging their haters. Finally, they almost snap right after the third, where I feel like they actually let out their frustrations in their own reality instead of in their mind as they've been doing throughout the poem/song, reaching out and grasping for a signal to guide them.

This is my roaring, roaring 20s

I don't even know me

Roll me a blunt 'cause I wanna go home

Roll me a, roll me a blunt

[One Verse of Chorus]

The part I'm focussing on in this verse is the sudden variation from the normal chorus. Instead of "Roll me like a blunt", the chorus is simply, "Roll me a blunt". I'll be using a bit of the actual song for this instead of treating it as a poem, because this chorus is particularly finale-like, with very definitive, bold beats in the melody. It seems to be the breakdown the previous verse was leading up to, with the MC sounding very frustrated wanting to be rolled a blunt to chill out and calm down in a split moment of selfishness, then maybe remembering their public image and going back to the regular chorus and feel of the song. 

So there we go. This was a huge post, so kudos to you for sticking through all of this rambling. I would love to see other people take this idea and full-on sprint with it because I'm sure it could be done much better. Unfortunately, I left this until the last moment again so I'ma go scream into a pillow.

- Shreeya