Ode To Sleep Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

“Ode to Sleep” seems to represent night and day as both the instrumentation and the lyrics seesaw back and forth between the light and the dark. The verses are riddled with a dark tone full of conflict, similarly to how Tyler describes his nights. The pre-chorus, chorus, and outro all share a light-hearted tone in which Tyler sings about conquering the night and the depression it invokes.

“Ode to Sleep” is Tyler Joseph’s favorite song to perform live, even after releasing Blurryface and touring extensively.

This track was originally featured on Regional At Best in 2011 and was later remastered for Vessel in 2013.

The reason why this is the first song on the album is that I feel like it kind of prepares the listener for the rest of the album, it almost puts them through a boot camp of what to expect… Which is don’t expect anything!

–Tyler Joseph via Rock Sound

The music video was released on New Year’s Eve in 2014. It depicts the band’s rise to fame, starting with their first show and ending with a performance at a venue holding 12,000 fans.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Why is it called "Ode to Sleep"?
Genius Answer

Tyler Joseph via Spotify:

When I was trying to name the song, we actually played it live before it was named. This was back when we had a small following in our hometown. It was small enough that everyone got to write on a piece of paper, saying what the song should be named, and put it into a bucket. One was ‘Ode to Sleep.’

What did ​twenty one pilots say about "Ode To Sleep"?
Genius Answer

Tyler Joseph has said the following regarding “Ode to Sleep:”

[Sleep] is something that is so important. For whatever reason, there’s a lot of people who struggle with finding the ability to sleep. It’s one of my favorite songs to play live…there are no rules. At least I didn’t think there were any rules when I wrote that song. If I wanted to slow the tempo down, if I wanted to rap…I thought you could just do anything. The truth is, you can do anything. Its just some people find it odd and they don’t like it very much…It’s the perfect song to have at the beginning because it lets people realize, hopefully, that this album is going to be different than anything you’ve heard.

What certifications did this track receive?
Genius Answer

“Ode to Sleep” was certified gold by the RIAA on July 14, 2017.

Why does the song experience so many transitions in its musical sound?
Credits
Written By
Recording Engineer
Synthesizer
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Percussion
Additional Production
Auxiliary Percussion
Recorded At
Rocket Carousel Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Release Date
July 8, 2011
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