Beyond The Song: 'Invisible' by 5 Seconds of Summer

‘Invisible’ is the fourteenth track off of 5SOS’ album, Sounds Good Feels Good. The song is co-written by the band with producer John Feldmann and Roy Stride. The song is three minutes and thirty-two seconds long, with the last bit showcasing the strings symphony by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The mellow and lyrically deep song basically tell the story of people’s everyday life. It shines a light on the problems in our society. For a growing teenager, other people’s opinions are much more important than his own. This is a common scenario everywhere in the world. As much as others think this is normal, it’s not. The song shows the other side of the story from the teen’s perspective. Although it’s not exactly pertaining to a teenager, the case is very much common to the young-aged rather than the adults.

Before we get started on delving deeper into this song, we would like to state that songs are down to interpretation, and this is just one of them. The meaning we think is behind this song is not fact, and we simply would hope that you enjoy reading it; taking ideas and inspiration from it, possibly looking at the song in a different light to before.

Another day, of painted walls and football on the TV, no one sees me. I fade away, lost inside a memory of someone’s life, it wasn’t mine.

The first verse tells the typical life of an average person who isn’t the popular one or neither the nerd guy. ‘Another day, of painted walls…no one sees me.’ is the part where the life of the person in the song is being elaborated. The emotion throughout the song is dark and the last part of that sentence played it. ‘I fade away, lost inside…it wasn’t mine.’ in this part, he shares a little portion of his thoughts. It is also where the person tells the listener about why he’s feeling sad and lonely. It says that no one has bothered to pay attention to his existence making him feel as if he weren’t there at all.

I was already missing before the night I left, just me and my shadow and all of my regrets. Who am I when I don’t know myself, who am I? Invisible.

The second part shows the person’s thoughts and explains why he’s gone, or better yet, invisible. ‘I was already missing before the night I left,’ tells about how he feels like he’s already gone before he even left entirely. In the song, it didn’t literally mean leaving, physically, a certain place. It’s more of the emotions bottled up inside of the person and how it makes him feel like he was disconnected from the world. The seconds half of the part is about him questioning himself. Just like what was explained earlier, people’s opinions matter more for individuals today. And this part is the perfect example of how someone feels about their selves when they let other people decide for them. It comes to a point where the person doesn’t know where his stand is when it comes to himself. Other people’s opinions clouded his thoughts and became his entirety.

Wasted days, dreaming of the times I know I can’t get back,  seems I just lost track. Looking on, as all of life’s colours seem to fade to grey, I just walked away.

This verse is the part where he recognises where he’s gone wrong in his decisions. But also coming into the realisation that he didn’t have a second chance anymore. He accepted defeat as if he didn’t have any choice. The person let the demons that other people planted in his brain get the best of him. ‘…as all of life’s colours seem to fade to grey, I just walked away.’ is the part where he explains how he sees his surroundings. It is as if all the colours of life had been drained away by his emotions, leaving him with a dull colour of hopelessness.

Another day, the walls are built to keep me safe I can’t escape, it’s too late.

The last lyrical part of the song is where he’s admitted that he was the reason why he felt that way. He built protective walls around him made up of insecurities and fears that it became his own nightmare. The walls are so high now that even he can’t escape it anymore.

Summary

Overall, the song is lyrically deep and mirrors people’s thoughts and feelings. It is a really heavy song that teaches us that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. A person’s looks won’t determine his personality and we don’t have the right to judge anyone by it. It’s important that we think about other people’s welfare and not just our own. There are a lot who are experiencing the same thing as you are, or even worse. And you never know, you might just be able to help yourself by helping others.

What’s your take on ‘Invisible’? Tweet us @CelebMix and @CelebMix5SOS!

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