Level of Concern

Album: Single release only (2020)
Charted: 42 23
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph wrote and recorded this quarantine-life anthem in his Ohio home studio in April 2020 while self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The song is a simple and hopeful dance rocker in which Tyler asks his wife Jenna to ease his worries in difficult times. It connects coronavirus anxiety with the singer seeking assurance from his wife about their marriage.

    And you could bring down my level of concern
    Just need you to tell me we're alright
    Tell me we're okay


    Tyler previously visited this theme on the Blurryface track "Tear In My Heart," where he detailed the importance of their relationship and how Jenna protects him from his insecurities.
  • Panic on the brain, Michael's gone insane

    This is a reference to Michael Gibson, Twenty One Pilots' tour manager between 2011-2016. Gibson responded with an Instagram video, in which he threatened to sue Tyler for using his name.
  • "Level of Concern" is the first ever song that Tyler Joseph wrote on electric guitar. After spending a few days finishing it up, he sent a series of files to his bandmate Josh Dun, who added his drum parts.
  • Twenty One Pilots are donating a portion of the song's profits to Crew Nation, a charity set up by Live Nation to help people working in the live music industry hit by coronavirus.
  • The video, directed by longtime collaborator Reel Bear Media, shows Joseph and Dun quarantined in their homes. We also get some shots of Jenna, their baby girl, Rosie and Dun's fiancée, Debby Ryan.
  • The song originated from a suggestion Tyler Joseph's mom made to him in passing. Speaking to Sirius XM's The Morning Mashup he recalled his mother commented as all the news was breaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, "Man, I could really use an upbeat song to distract me from all this." And that, he added, "speaks to the danceability of the track."
  • The lyrics take inspiration from when Tyler Joseph first met Jenna. "I was ready to date her. I was ready to dive right in and she was a little more hesitant," he explained. "And not to compare a pandemic with the uncertainties of a relationship, but in that moment, for someone who maybe isn't getting, you know, their feelings reciprocated, in their world it does kind of feel like... starting to bubble over and become a little anxious. So I wanted to kind of pair those two stories and move them down the lane at the same time."
  • In early June 2020 Twenty One Pilots launched an interactive scavenger hunt that allowed fans to upload their own clips. On June 22, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun premiered a "never-ending" music video for "Level of Concern" using the fan-submitted footage to continually update the visual. The video reboots with new imagery every time the song restarts.

    177 days, 16 hours, 10 minutes and 25 seconds days later, the Pilots announced the end of the never-ending clip with a skit. It shows a "mini server" that keeps the footage going, being accidentally turned off when Dun unplugs it so he can light up his Christmas tree.

    After checking the stats, Guinness declared it officially the longest video of all time.

Comments: 1

  • Ryden from Somewhere In The UsaTRUE BOP

    and if you don't agree? excuse me, could you please leave??
see more comments

Editor's Picks

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Butch Vig

Butch VigSongwriter Interviews

The Garbage drummer/songwriter produced the Nirvana album Nevermind, and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.