Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Little Blue Pills” by Jeff Rosenstock
Jeff Rosenstock’s ‘Little Blue Pills’ is a highly introspective and emotionally charged song. Through the clever use of metaphors, the song explores the idea of addiction, and specifically the reliance on medication to take away negative feelings. Rosenstock’s heavy subject matter is made more palatable by his catchy, upbeat pop-punk sound.
Rosenstock starts off with the line, ‘Took one of those little blue pills, and it took me away,” revealing the singer’s temptation to self-medicate to escape his feelings. He speaks of using these “little blue pills” to ease the pain of his emotional turmoil and difficult situations, yet also as a form of numbness, taking away all positive and negative feelings. While he alludes to a more serious issue of addiction, he remains lighthearted throughout the song, singing of his love for the pills and the way they make him feel.
Rosenstock brings us back to reality as he sings of the consequences of taking the pills, noting the way they help him numb himself from facing his emotions and difficult experiences. The line, “We can’t take the world away, never any peace with love,” reflects the singer’s bleak outlook that ultimately he will just have to face life’s hardships even if he has the pills as a crutch.
In the bridge, Rosenstock’s plea to the pills changes from love to desperation. He projects his innermost feelings of sadness and pain onto the song as he asks the pills to “wake him up.” He emotionally implies that his reliance on the pills is no longer a form of numbness but a need for warmth and comfort.
As the pills pull him out of his state of despair, the song approaches its end in a more hopeful and uplifting light. Rosenstock realises his need for self-care, and whilst “the little blue pills” may have numbed him from his feelings, he could still find comfort and hope in times of sorrow. These brief moments of hope, no matter how fleeting, are necessary to move on from his past and current struggles. The song ends as it began, with a further reminder of the power medication holds, but now in a more positive and accepted light.