Lane Boy

In an interview with Alternative Press, Tyler Joseph said he wrote the song wanting to talk about what he was feeling and his frustrations, as opposed to something artistic and added that, "I remember showing that song to some people and they said, 'I don't think you want to say that...'" Consequently, Josh Dun, the band's drummer, told him to "say it."[6] Joseph also stated during an interview with Fuse that the song was "that song on the record where you kind of break that fourth wall and you can look into what it's like to really be a normal person in our position."[7]

“Lane Boy” is a hip hop song infused with reggae that runs four minutes and thirteen seconds.[11][10][15] The musical composition has textures containing an unorthodox mix of styles including dubstep, jungle, dancehall, reggae rock, ska rock and EDM.[12][16][14][17][18] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 160 beats per minute.[15] "Lane Boy" is composed in the key of A minor while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and four notes from a low of F₄ to a high of C₆.[15] The song's breezy instrumentation maintains a distinctive Caribbean groove, which is underscored by a plucked melody and Dun's drumming.[19][20] The track's instrumental pauses during the middle to accommodate for an urgent dubstep breakdown replete with pulsating electronic dance music.[17][14] It transforms roughly halfway as grizzly synths are introduced alongside robotic voices, distorted bass and two-step drumming.[20] At its close, the musical composition exhibits electropop aspects.[21]

Lyrically, "Lane Boy" is a scathing indictment of narrow-minded music industry practices.[17][19] The song acts as an exploration of the band's experience working in the contemporary music industry and defiant defense of their experimental musical approach.[22][21] Joseph delivers his lyrics in a hard, staccato style of rapping over a kaleidoscopic mixture of bouncy reggae rock rhythms, electronic beats and chattery programming.[19][17][11][14][23] With a frenetic vocal style, he both raps in double-time and belts melodic lines as the composition meanders into dub-inspired passages before entering a drum'n'bass section.[13][21][20] They convey the conviction of his personal nonconformist spirit.[17] Joseph raps, "Honest, there's a few songs on this record that feel common / I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin.'"[13][16] The song harbors something of a mission statement.[10] During its chorus, a languid vocal tone commands, "You should stay in your lane, boy."[20] Joseph continues by singing, "They say, 'Stay in your lane, boy' / But we go where we want to".[10]

Billboard's Garrett Kamps compared "Lane Boy" to the work of Jamaican sound engineer King Tubby while labeling the single "especially schizoid."[13] Jason Pettigrew for Alternative Press remarked, "'Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless,' warns on the furious reggae/jungle/dubstep hybrid 'Lane Boy.' And he's absolutely right; great art is rarely made by normal people."[12] He cites it as "the most attitude-laden track in the TOP songbook."[17] Kerrang!'s Sam Law opined, "'Lane Boy' pips 'Ride' by dent of its richer lyrical treatment. Cruising on that breezy instrumentation, we get wave after wave of attitude as Tyler unloads on music industry narrow-mindedness ... before showcasing the mercurial best of the TØP sound with a barrage of tongue-twisting staccato rap and explosions of EDM/dubstep colour. A song to overtake to."[19] Rolling Stone Australia writer Rod Yates deemed the song "a defiant defence of their genre-hopping."[22] Madison Desler of Orange County Register quipped that the song's refrain, "may be the best explanation of their genre-busting approach.'"[24] Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer opined, "the ending of 'Lane Boy' evokes the best electropop aspects of Vessel.[21] Going further, Smith stated, "It's far from being a flawless song -- and that’s the whole point."[25]

The music video for "Lane Boy" is slightly shorter than its album version, and shows Joseph walking in the forest at nighttime with two men behind him in hazmat suits while Dun plays at a concert; he (Joseph) finds a floral shirt (which he puts on) and joins Dun on stage, before long, the crowd crouches down along with Joseph, afterwards jumping at the same time he does after 2 minutes within the video. The music video ends with Joseph performing a short dance and then bowing to the crowd.

"Lane Boy" has since become a crowd favorite at live concert venues.[24][23] Twenty-One Pilots performed "Lane Boy" during a concert held at Comerica Theatre on in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona October 14, 2015. The deo began their performance with video effects of men in hazmat suits and gas masks dancing before shifting to live stage performer dancing in hazmat suits and gas masks, all  while in keeping with the songs lyrics.[26]    They performed the song an at the Forum in Inglewood, California during their Emotional Roadshow World Tour, placing emphasizing the reggae beats and rhythms during their arena performance.[23] 

While still on the tour the duo provided a live rendition at the Honda Center in Anaheim on February 15, 2017. The concert was a spectacle, featuring two stages and a giant hamster ball.[24]

Twenty One Pilots performed "Lane Boy" before an audience at sold-out concent at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 5, 2019.[11] "Lane Boy" was among the tracks the duo performed during a medley for a concert held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on their Bandito Tour. Joseph performed wearing a scarf over his head while smoke filled the stage as men with gas masks sprayed more down onto the crowd.[27]

• Tyler Joseph – vocals, ukulele, synthesizers, bass, programming, guitar, keyboards
• Josh Dun – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Ricky Reed – bass guitar, programming

• "Lane Boy" Music video on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics