Context
'This Is Gospel' is a song performed by an American rock band Panic! At The Disco. The song was written by Brendon Urie and Dallon Weekes, and produced by Butch Walker. It is said to have been written by frontman Brendon Urie about some of his personal experiences. It was stated by the artist himself that '''assembling philosophies from pieces of broken memories' was kind of a cool idea, where you only remember so much of your past, and then you build up who you are from those memories that you've created for yourself - but how true are they from what really happened''.
It was released as their second single from their fourth studio album 'Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!' on August 12, 2013. The music video was filmed in United States by Decaydance and Dallon Weekes.
Content
We are first introduced to the music video by a black screen, which slowly fades into the frontman's feet panning up to his face. He is seen to be laying on a surgical table with plain clothing. The music video being set in a surgery's room further suggests by the heart beating as we're being drawn upwards the figure. He is dressed simply with a white shirt and black trousers - this can help the audience bring their attention more towards the lyrics and the artist portraying a message to us. We can begin drawing conclusions about the song being based on something tragic since the singer is seen to be laying unconscious, and the incident could possibly signify the result of what he is about to amplify with the lyrics. The tragic can further be suggested in the stains on his shirt that can show his suffering.
As the artist begins to sing, he opens his eyes as if he has woken up from his current state. He is looking towards the audience to show that he is connecting with us and portraying his message towards us.
'This is gospel for the fallen ones
Locked away in permanent slumber'
The lyrics he sings already illustrates his condition as to being the fallen one. The combination of his voice and extras may sound like a mimic of gospel, just like it is stated in the title. Gospel often describes the life and death, and this relatively flows with the singer's situation; he is alive, yet laying on a surgical table, or perhaps a death bed, and with the continuous heart beats it displays that he is on the boundary between the two. In addition to that, the pulse acts as a background rhythm for the first few lines of the lyrics, so it results to a pleasing combination of lyrics and beat. The fact that the heart pulse transitions into a constant beat of a drum shows that the song has picked up the pace, and perhaps could be foreshadowing the upcoming fear that will soon be expressed by the artist due to the 'heart' beating quicker than the beginning.
The use of lighting shadows left side of his face, and this may, in addition, support the idea of him being on the boundary between life (light side) and death (dark side).
The camera is slowly zooming away from the profile before it faintly flashes to an introduction of surrounding arms belonging to surgeons. This time, his face is fully lit to give it a more surgery-like atmosphere for precision surgery as well as showing that he is going to be the focus for the entire video amongst the anonymous surgeons.
The heart beat slowly fades as the quick constant drum beating replaces.
'Oh, this is the beat of my heart, this is the beat of my heart'
This set of lyrics are less in volume, and doesn't require the artist to look towards the camera as the phrases act as a background verse. However, it does support the fact that the constant drumming is in fact been composed to the rhythm of a heart, or in this case, his heart.
The surgeons are checking up on his body to see if he is ready to continue onto surgery. Every movement is done in order, almost robotic-like manner, and this may show the control they have over his body as he is laying innocently. They are treating him like another patient, forcing his face to turn to a certain side, or opening and closing his jaw to their will, and this suggests us that the surgeons are commanding, and perhaps could act as hints of certain experiences the artist had in the past. It may be of how he was treated at the certain memories he was reminiscing. Similarly, they could be representing the cause of his bad memories because of how forceful they're handling his body.
When the surgeons finally find the target of where to focus their surgery and mark it with a red cross, the knife is gently handed over to the lead surgeon. This soft action has matched the calming tone of the voice singing over the footage. But as soon as the artist begins singing again, the camera pans up to his face; we see him open his eyes and vigorously pull off the oxygen mask. This action shows that he has returned alive without the need of oxygen supply and has grown strong again. He is once again making direct eye contact with the viewer.
'If you love me let me go'
This phrase allows him to make an emotional connection with the viewers, and brings them up to his personal level. He exaggerates on the word 'go' as he frees himself from the surgeons by forcing himself up on the table. The fact that he extends on the specific word also matches the slow motion as both footage and voice drag on in harmony. However, as he is pushed down on the table, he repeats the phrase in need of escape. He fights his way amongst the many surgeon arms that are trying to pull him down when he's fighting back. He almost seems as if he'd be acting this aggressively towards the audience, or perhaps a certain viewer that he could be focusing his song on. In contrast, he could be relying on the viewers with his constant eye contact and the fighting to be able to escape from this madness he's experiencing. This can suggest to us that his past was similar to the way he is portraying himself in the music video.
The shots of him fighting are all focused on him, yet switch from one scene to the next, which may show us that he has been fighting for a long time and the cuts have jumped from moment to moment.
As he is flipped around the table with head pointing towards the camera, we are drawn closer to the artist at an even closer personal relation before he sings additional set of meaningful lyrics;
''Cause these words are knives and often leave scars
The fear of falling apart
And truth be told, I never was yours
The fear, the fear of falling apart'
As he starts singing the first phrase of this verse, his mouth is shut by the overlapping surgeon hands, which may show that they are attempting to help him ease the pain but instead the words that have been lingering in his mind have stayed for too long and he finally gets to spit out the truth he's been thinking about all along; this is when his words break free from the hands.
Describing the words as 'knives' represent the pain they can cause, and reminding us that the wounds stay as 'scars' shows that words can impact a person for as long as eternity.
The fact that his head is placed roughly, almost dropped, shows that he is being perceived by the surgeons differently from before. This could also be representing the fall that he is singing about, and the fact that there is fear written all over his face supports his feelings towards his situation and the amplified experiences of the past.
Similarly, he could be exaggerating the 'fear of falling apart' when he's fighting against the surgeons in order for him to escape from the trapping arms that are tightly gripping him. He could be contradicting the lyrics because he is singing about the fear of breaking apart yet he is forcing himself to break loose of the surgeons.
However, this statement soon changes when he's repeating the phrase; 'The fear, the fear of falling apart'. He looks up at the audience when he's forced down the table by the surgeons once more, and paying attention to his expression we can see for a split second that he's shocked by the fact that he has been pinned down and cannot get himself to escape.
This time, the surgeons secure him onto the surgical table with bindings, which are placed in the rhythm of the artists 'Oh' singing. We are given a low angle of the artist in fear who is realising that he has actually been defeated. Once more, with the phrase 'this is the beat of my heart' being faintly repeated in the background of the music, which may remind the audience that his life is on the line, or perhaps that the meaning of the phrase slightly changes to the expectations of it before, it being the representation of the fear of his experiences that could be causing his heart to race.
Looking at his mise-en-scene, we can note that the artist is wearing Converse trainers, which may help him remain in his 'rock' sense of fashion, as well as maintaining the atmosphere of the music video as being alternative rock.
Towards the end of the first chorus, when the music gets ready to move onto the next verse, the artist is seen to be forced on an oxygen mask even if he fights it. The drugs that are injected inside his blood flow can be seen as those which put the person to sleep; this can be suggested by the change in the artist's expression as he rapidly falls asleep before the needle is taken out of his arm.
We are then shown a close up of his side profile when he's resting; the fact that his head faintly wobbles suggests unbalance or loss of control of what he was clinging onto, and may represent defeat of his suffering memories. However, when the scene changes to him being dressed up formally, it may suggest that he is at the stage of preparation for his funeral. The dark and dull combination of colour give it a miserable feel, yet the eye contact with the artist maintains the audience personally connected with him and continue to ride his journey as if he was still alive even if the mise-en-scene is portraying him as dead. The helpers who are preparing him are also dressed minimalistic to help us maintain our attention on the artist.
'This is gospel for the vagabonds,
Ne'er-do-wells and insufferable bastards'
As he sings the phrases, he once again reminds us that the gospel is about life and death, and in this situation, about a 'vagabond'. He is singing about a person who tends to wander from place to place and doesn't remain steady. He may be singing about someone certain who might've jumped from conclusion to conclusion and ended up chaotic, or in contrast, he could be singing about himself being unsure of what he should be certain of, which may be exaggerated in the distraction seen by him drawing attention from one helper to the next.
He then describes himself, or the person he is dedicating the lyrics to, as a 'ne-er-do-well' and an 'insufferable bastard'. These can have connotations of his past experiences and how he was unsuccessful and unbearable by others. He may have been a difficulty to accept, or perhaps the person he is singing about was intolerable because of their actions towards the artist.
'Confessing their apostasies
Led away by imperfect imposters'
The definition of 'apostasy', it being the abandonment of a religious belief, may suggest that in his past there were some disagreements on his thoughts between a certain someone or many people, and may suggest that they 'confessed' their abandonment to him about the fact that they cannot accept him and segregated from him. The fact that they, or him, have been lead away by a pretender ay suggested that he was guided by the wrong person who may have been a true deceiver. Within these two lines of lyrics, it reveals to the audience of the enemies the artist had to face in his past. The fact that he doesn't finish singing the lyrics in the actual video may show that the acts have killed him mentally by the choice of wording, and physically by him being placed in a coffin.
Looking at the coffin, we are shown the poor construction how the wood panels do not fully close up, which may show the poor treatment he got from others. Even if the people dressed in white shirts are nailing down the opening of the coffin, the gaps between the panels allow some bad energy to come in from his enemies.
Because of the change in scene, the camera pans inside the coffin to show our new location. The shot is taken from inside the coffin, which lets the audience feel like they are trapped inside the coffin with the artist, which continues to maintain that personal connection. It may further represent the segregation between him and the enemies he made in his past that might've felt like it pained him to death.
We see water being forcefully splashed, which tells us that eventually it will fill up the coffin. The fact that the aim is to bury the artist in water may foreshadow the pain you get in the throat when gasping for air. This may further suggest the volumes of emotion the artist has gone through that might've caused him to feel like this.
When the camera is looking at his face at a close range, it is slowly zooming out, which could be foreshadowing him breaking free. However, before he does so, he begins singing his third verse. This time, his eye contact seems much more intense, perhaps because the words he's singing are very important to him and he's attempting to get the message across to the audience;
'Don't try to sleep through the end of the world
And bury me alive
'Cause I won't give up without a fight'
The term of sleep he uses in this phrase may suggest to the person that they should not skim through every day of their lives thoughtlessly, just like the effect of sleeping - from the moment you go to bed to the very next morning you wake up - may feel like you fast-forward the moment. And when he's talking about him being buried alive could be suggesting that the person has done a thoughtless act that caused chaotic emotions for the artist, but the enemy has just continued with their day like it was nothing for them. The moment he sings about the fact that he won't 'give up without a fight' may suggest that the enemy hasn't prepared themselves for what was to come, or perhaps haven't thought about the consequences they raised. Also, the serious look in the artist's expression shows that he is serious about returning the miserable feelings he felt when he was targeted as he may have let too many enemies get away with it.
We can notice the lighting change on his face, from the right side being darkened and the left side being in light, his entire face lightens, which may show that his power or wish for revenge is building up inside him before he breaks free. It may also show that he is waking up from his dead self as if he has awoken as a new self.
When the artist goes completely under the water, the music tones down to just some quiet piano notes, which may in attempt create the effect of being underwater with the artist since sound becomes half-muted.
When he is seen singing underwater, it shows us that nothing will stop him from fighting back, even if he is at the brink of death. And as before, when he breaks out of the coffin, the extending note on the 'go' is matched with the slow motion of him breaking free of the trap along with water flying that may further exaggerate the freedom. Additionally, on the second 'go' there is footage of the coffin breaking again with gallons of water exploding together to provide that push on the lyrics and music.
The scene quickly changes to a white wall being broken by the artist, which is seen as his final obstacle. The wall could be representing something that stood in his way and may have prevented him from going on. But now, we see him overcoming it by breaking through from all these bad memories.
However, surgeons emerge from before and get a hold of him once more. This time, they open up his stomach and find a rope, which they rapidly pull out. These may be representing the emotions he has kept in his stomach since a lot of different feelings can be felt in our stomachs (e.g. butterflies when excited, stomach churning if in fear).
When the rope is being wrapped around him, they could be suggesting how these 'emotions' have trapped him and messing with his head. The fact that he is being spun could be showing that all these experiences have been making his head dizzy when burdened with all these emotions.
They also use the rope to capture him running away, and as the ropes wrap around his body, like arms and legs, it can be representing how these feelings or generally his past is clinging onto him and are a difficulty to get rid of them. They are tightly wrapped to hold him back, yet he is still seen to be fighting back, believing in himself and not giving up to escape from the past he's attempting to forget.
The use of black background again helps the artist and the rope stand out, and also allows the light to shine comfortably on the subjects without affecting the background and becoming a distraction.
However, when we are shown quick scenes of him being back on the surgical table, we also see him running towards light. This could interpret him running towards heaven, or perhaps escaping to the bright side he's been fighting for.
He is shown running forwards, and at times, in reverse, which could show the struggle for escape. There are moments when he is finally running forwards, and moments when the ropes pull him back. We are also at times pulled back to the scenes of him screaming at us back at the surgeons, which could remind us of his beginning and also contrast his ending so that we witness his achievement. Nevertheless, when we see him running from the ropes, we aren't making anymore eye contact with him, which may show that he has sent his message across to us and is now ready to run free. At this stage, the phrase 'fear of falling apart' is being contradicting to what he is doing, because we now see him running daringly into the light as if he has finally found his balance.
When he's gripping onto the ropes, we can see that he has taken control over those emotions and is fighting them rather than just trying to escape. The strong grip on the ropes can show us the revenge and that he is now feeling stronger than when previously defeated by his sentiments.
When he's sung his last line, the music fades into same heart beating as heard from the start of the song. We finally see him breaking lose of the ropes as the ropes lose their grip round him and drop to the floor. Rather than maintaining his eye contact, we watch his shadow against the light - we are given his point of view however we do not follow him as he has independently moved on. The heart beat begins to slow down, and the scenes jump to the rhythm, from him running free into the light to the surgeons pinning him down.The fact that the scenes kept switching back could be representing his past as he was defeated many times, whereas the new him has managed to free himself from all the emotions or problems he has burdened self with.
The final shot displays the artist slowly dying as his eyes close and his force for fighting back weakens. This ends the music video with the continuous 'beep' of the heart monitor, which suggests a patient passing away, however this shot fades into the bright light with his silhouette running towards it; this, in conclusion, could show the true him that he has created from the past that he remembered.
