History TearJerker / ImagineDragons

* "Real Life" is about someone Dan loves dearly spending far too much of her time worrying about and fearing a cruel world. He admits he has none of the reassurance or answers she wants for why everything is so fucked up and all he can do is beg her to enjoy what she has now.

* The animated video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXZkm9p_zY "Birds"]] which will hit ''anyone'' in the feels for either of these two things: either being ostracized/bullied for being different or [[spoiler: losing a parental figure in your life.]]

* "Bad Liar". It's bad enough on its own as a song about the failure of a relationship, but it also has heavy FridgeHorror for "Start Over" and "I'll Make It Up To You" from the previous album, implying that Dan's promises of mending his relationship were just lies. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_kfi-WeZCw stripped version]] makes it even worse by stripping away the electronic flourishes and leaving it as weak and hopless.

* ''Smoke and Mirrors''. The entire album has a very dark, self-loathing bent. Special note goes to Dream, in which Dan realizes that reality is harsh and his perfect world was just a dream.

* "Bad Liar". It's bad enough on its own as a song about the failure of a relationship, but it also has heavy FridgeHorror for "Start Over" and "I'll Make It Up To You" from the previous album, implying that Dan's promises of mending his relationship were just lies.

* Smoke and Mirrors. The entire album has a very dark, self-loathing bent. Special note goes to Dream, in which Dan realizes that reality is harsh and his perfect world was just a dream.

* The entire video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txlk7PiHaGk Next To Me]]". The song itself is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation Dan's bemusement that after everything he's done wrong,]] [[UndyingLoyalty the person he is singing to is still sticking by him]]. It is much HarsherInHindsight after Aja Volkman, Dan's wife, divorced him.

* 30 Lives definitely counts. It almost definitely has something to do with death, and the chorus is essentially begging for forgiveness.

* The entire video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txlk7PiHaGk Next To Me]]". The song itself is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation Dan's bemusement that after everything he's done wrong,]] [[UndyingLoyalty the person he is singing to is still sticking by him]].

* Dan's very solemn message on Twitter against bullying and harassment on July of 2017. [[Music/LinkinPark Guess]] [[AuthorExistenceFailure why]].

* The entire video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txlk7PiHaGk Next To Me]]". The song itself is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation Dan's bemusement that after everything he's done wrong,]] [[UndyingLoyalty the person he is singing to is still sticking by him]].

* The entire video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txlk7PiHaGk Next To Me]]." The song itself is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation Dan's bemusement that after everything he's done wrong,]] [[UndyingLoyalty the person he is singing to is still sticking by him]].

* "I Bet My Life" sounds a little like this and a little like a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, as it has Dan Reynolds remember making life decisions his parents didn't agree with, then try to assure his parents that he still considers them important.

* "Clouds" sounds like someone having a ''really'' hard time recovering from the loss of a loved one.

* 30 LIVES!! The tempo, the lyrics, ALL OF IT!!

* "Clouds" sounds like someone having a ''really'' hard time recovering from the loss of a loved one.

* "Monster" could be interpreted as someone berating himself for struggling to meet society's standards of normalcy. When Dan Reynolds sings it live, he repeats the phrase, "It keeps getting stronger" so many times, it sounds almost like the singer's failing to escape what's inside him.

* "Monster" could be interpreted as someone berating himself for struggling to meet society's standards of normalcy. When Dan Reynolds sings it live, he repeats the phrase, "It keeps getting stronger" so many times, a listener might think that the singer's failing to escape what's inside him.

* "Monster" could be interpreted as someone berating himself for struggling to meet society's standards of normalcy.

* "Demons" is about a person protecting someone they love during a dark period of time. The music video takes this a bit further, showing how hard some people have it. The music video also ends with a memorial to teenage fan Tyler Robinson, who died of cancer. The song sounds even sadder when Dan Reynolds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN78DOE8Z18 sings it live, in a lower key]].

* "Demons" is about a person protecting someone they love during a dark period of time. The music video takes this a bit further, showing how hard some people have it.
** The music video also ends with a memorial to teenage fan Tyler Robinson, who died of cancer.
** The song sounds even sadder when Dan Reynolds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN78DOE8Z18 sings it live, in a lower key]].

* "Clouds" sounds like someone having a ''really'' hard time recovering from the loss of someone dear.

** The song sounds even sadder when Dan Reynolds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5H1WGVsSyk sings it live, in a lower key]].

** The music video also ends with a memorial to a teenage fan who died of cancer.

* "Bleeding Out" gets pretty depressing when you realize what's being said could be interpreted as a suicide note or maybe even a final speech after a HeroicSacrifice.

* "Bleeding Out" is pretty depressing when you realize what's being said.

* "Bleeding Out" is pretty depressing due to its lines about needing to protect someone else from the death of innocence.