This next song, Guns for Hands⊠I donât dive too specifically into the lyrical content just because, one, I obviously want it to be something to someone and wouldnât want to ruin my definition of it, but also, you know, itâs very close to me, you know, sometimes itâs hard to talk exactly about what it is I was going through in that moment and try to explain the songâs lyrics, I just want to listen to the song. I mean, Iâm saying exactly what Iâm trying to say in the song, for me to explain what Iâm trying to say in a different setting is kind of weird for me. But, Guns for Hands specifically, I like to talk about what that songâs trying to say. There was one show in particular that this song was inspired by. I was playing a show in Cincinnati, Ohio, and itâs just this kind of a barn full of kids, and after this show, more than usual, thĐ”re was kind of an unusual number of kids came up to mĐ” and felt inclined to share with me what it is they were going through. You know, a lot of their struggles, a lot of their, you know, whether that be depression or suicidal thoughts, a lot of stuff along that vein. And I just thought, I was like wow, I mean Iâm â am I just in a hotbed of kids going through stuff, I mean is this just kind of like a crazy ratio of everyone struggling with this thing? And then I remember not too long after that, I was in New York, and I was â I think I saw like a pizza shop or something and I saw a magazine that was you know at the entrance of the pizza shop, this big article about this specific town in New York that has a lot of kids, you know, high school age, going through a lot of the same stuff. And I realized you know, this isnât just a â itâs not just an isolated event, itâs something that thereâs a lot of kids throughout the entire country â even the world â that are struggling with the questions that they have, you know, âwhatâs the point?â, âwhatâs my purpose?â, âwhy am I here?â and when you donât have the answers to those questions, sometimes it can lead you to do something that you ultimately shouldnât do.
So, Guns for Hands is talking about I wanna tell you that I know you have the ability to hurt yourself. You do. You have that ability. I feel like a lot of the older generation when they hear about someone struggling with it, their first reaction is like, âNo, youâre not, youâre not struggling with that. Donât think about that, you know, think about something else, you know, youâre just trying to get attention.â But this song was really trying to say like; âListen, I know you have the ability to hurt yourself. I recognize that, but letâs take that energy and letâs point it at something else, letâs divert that, letâs kind of shift that momentum and look at something like art, or something like this music specifically, or even point it at me, you know, just point it anywhere, but donât point it at yourself.â And so thatâs what that songâs saying and that song will always be important to me. And Iâm not a professional when it comes to this topic, but I write songs, and I feel like someone should say something about it.