Cancer

Cancer
Song by Twenty One Pilots from the album Clancy
Recorded	2022 - 2023
Released	February 29, 2024
Format	Digital
Length	3:56
Tempo	75
Key	D majore
Single	February 29, 2024
Live debut	January 17, 2017
Last played	June 25, 2017
Live count	43
Writer	Tyler Joseph
Producer	Tyler Joseph
Label	Fueled by Ramen
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Cancer is cover by Twenty One Pilots on My Chemical Romance's song.

Versions

Title	Releas	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Cancer	Clancy	3:56	2022 - 2023	17 May 2024

Background

After growing anticipation and teases for their fifth studio album, Twenty One Pilots released a video entitled “I Am Clancy” on February 22, 2024 to both recap the Dema story up until this point and tease its final chapter. Underneath the narration from frontman Tyler Joseph was a song with a German phrase that roughly translates to: “The secret island has weaponized me,” which is a reference to one of the Clancy letters.

“Overcompensate” released at noon CST on February 29, alongside a radio debut on BBC Radio 1. “Shy Away” also received a mid-day release, and a Radio 1 interview, when it kicked off the Scaled and Icy era.

Lyrics

Album version

[Intro] (Diese kleine unheimliche Insel hat mich zu einer Waffe gemacht) (Wir glauben beide—) (Cette petite île étrange a fait de moi une arme) (Nous croyons tous les deux que nous pouvons l'utiliser pour changer l'élan de cette guerre) (Esta pequeña isla misteriosa me ha convertido en un arma) (Todos creemos que podemos usarla para cambiar el impulso de esta guerra) [Bridge] Welcome back to Trench Welcome back to Trench I created this world to feel some control Destroy it if I want So I sing, "sahlo folina" "Sahlo folina" (Wait, what? Wait, what?) (Wait, what? Wait, what?) [Verse 1] Earned my stripes, three hundred tracks in my Adidas track jacket Bless your ear holes while you react, acting Gobsmacked, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate I feel like I was just here, same twitchin' in my eyes Don't sleep on a boy who can fall asleep twice in the same night And won't hesitate to maybe overcompensate [Chorus] I said I fly by the dangerous bend symbol (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate To maybe overcompensate And then by the time I catch in my peripheral (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate [Verse 2] Where am I from? I was born right here, just now Originated right in front of your eyes If you can't see, I am Clancy, prodigal son Done running, come up with Josh Dun Wanted dead or alive So now you pick who you serve, you bow to the masses Get kicked to the curb for passin' the classes Half empty, half full, save half of your taxes Then overtake your former self [Chorus] I fly by the dangerous bend symbol (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate And then by the time I catch in my peripheral (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate [Bridge] Days feel like a perfect length I don't need them any longer, but for goodness sake Do the years seem way too short for my soul, corazón Way too short for my soul, corazón The days feel like a perfect length I don't need them any longer, but for goodness sake Do the years seem way too short for my soul, corazón Way too short for my soul, corazón [Refrain] Earned my stripes, three hundred tracks in my Adidas track jacket Bless your ear holes while you react, acting Gobsmacked, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate [Chorus] I said I fly by the dangerous bend symbol (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate And then by the time I catch in my peripheral (Wait, what? Wait, what?) Mm, don't hesitate to maybe overcompensate

Lyrics meaning

Tyler Joseph explains the meaning of the song on interview for BBC Radio 1.

Interview

Host: "talk to me about I guess this this new, energy that you that you have for like... making records because you took a bit of time which I think is always good. There's no point like you know [to] bang out record after record after record. Does it feel different this time around?" Tyler Joseph: "There is some difference, obviously you know getting older I've got a family now. Trying to balance out when it was just me, and you know, no responsibilities and all I wanted to do was make music. You know my dad said like, "One day you'll grow up" and I think he was talking about my sleep schedule and my just, you know, like staying up all night and I think it's finally come around to me now. I do go to bed and I do get up in the morning now and uh, and still fit in creativity inside of that window. And in fact in some ways it's more, it's more effective, it's more efficient." Host: "Why overcompensate, um sort of I guess start this new journey with the fans?" Tyler: "There's a lyric in the chorus that talks about a dangerous bend symbol and it's a certain sign, it's like a zigzag sign that basically says, "Hey up ahead you know slow down there's a there's a sharp turn" and um, I just remember remember thinking it's kind of cheesy I guess but a bit of an analogy in in certain seasons of my life where I would just completely ignore those sorts of signs um and just you know go full speed ahead and kind of learn the hard way in some ways. So a bit of that overcompensating is, you know, overcorrecting your steering when trying to get back on, you know, on course and um you know it's interesting I think in the UK you're dangerous Bend symbols slightly different than over here in the States but just so you guys know I was thinking of the one in the UK when I wrote it. Um, and so not not here and it wasn't until afterwards I was driving in my hometown, I realized oh that's way different. That one's that one's big and yellow and the other one's kind of like... a triangle, um, it's way cooler looking. So I think you guys have cooler signs over there." Host: "I'm going to confess something to you my love, I don't know how to drive so anything you said, even my producing team was just like [inaudible], look where I grew up, I've only ever ridden a bike or walked. Like sue me, I'm looking after the planet, how about that!" Tyler: "Other than a few analogies that you can draw in your in your life that's about it." Host: "You know, um I remember during our conversation we were hanging out in Ohio and you were talking about um songs and like a theory that you know isn't it fascinating, that there's there's a certain amount of notes, and like you know it's quite interesting how just picking a finite amount can like make a song. And then there's that theory of like maybe you know you only get access to a limited amount of notes in your lifetime. [I] don't know if you remember that, that conversation. Like have you had that approach with like with this upcoming album as well? Like are you finding like a new well of notes or..." Tyler: "I describe it as um, plucking out of two different pools of infinity. The first pool is the nothing to something where there was at one point no song and now there's a song. You know the creativity is sparked, you create something out of thin air and then there's this other pool of infinity. It's the, it's how to dress it up how, to record it what's the structure. What is, you know, what instruments should be used and in communicating the song and that's the part that takes a long time, you know? I've been worked on this record for a year and there are times where I asked myself, "is it supposed to be this hard, is it supposed to take this long?" and I have to remind myself the part that actually takes really long is the how to dress it up part." Host: "Right on, and now look I know it did take a year but a year well worth it because the new album's coming in May, it's called Clancy. I don't want to ask, like, what can fans expect because obviously they're going to expect a Twenty One Pilots record but that can sound like anything." Tyler: "Clancy is um, it's kind of our protagonist, um, in the story that we've been telling and we've kind of been stretching this story out over the course of the last several records actually. Um, Clancy is the type of character who for a long time didn't know if he was a leader or not didn't really want to take responsibility for it and I think specifically this song, Overcompensate being the first song on the record, it's going to be the first song we play live when we start, you know, uh, touring. There's a bit of a confidence in it and a bit of a swagger in it that that the character really needed to embody in order to take on the new role. That, uh, the story that we've been telling and Clancy's going to kind of like, rise up as that as that person." Host: "Thank you so much Tyler for your time, and yeah let's run it again this is tonight's hottest record coming from the album, "Clancy" brand new Twenty One Pilots. this is Overcompensate, this is Radio 1's hottest record."