Emalee Schneider

ENG 102
16 February 18
Final Draft

Kings and Queens

In this day in age, people have choice of how they can live their life. There is an

opportunity for everyone to be the kings and queens of their own world. Thirty Seconds to Mars

is an American rock band who came out with the 2009 hit, “Kings and Queens”. This song

challenges the topic of how people can reach their full-potential. Everyone is destined to

accomplish something in life, no matter what they believe in. “Kings and Queens” by Thirty

Seconds to Mars develops a message of how people are rulers of their own life and how they

navigate themselves to a new beginning.

Throughout the entire song, there are various musical elements to reflect the tone and

mood. To start off “Kings and Queens”, the sound of a wild hawk is rendered. Having a symbol

of a hawk represents the idea of freedom and the want of being as free as the wild hawk. One of

the instruments utilized in the song is a violin; which is used as a delicacy to reflect the peaceful

protest to become independent. Being an Alternative Rock song from 2009, there was a play of

different tempos represented through the exchange of soft piano work to hard hitting drum work.

All of these musical elements helped share the importance of individual freedom through the

softness flow of instrumental dialogue.

The artists of Thirty Seconds to Mars created an earthy tone within their song “Kings and

Queens”. Promoting an earthy tone into the song brings the urgency to have freedom. During this

time in 2009, people were starting to reach out of their pre-determined life. Equality protests

started to become more serious. Gender neutrality started to take form. Religions were free for
anyone to believe in. This was a new time in the world were humans could have the life they

want. A verse that releases this idea is “We stole our new lives” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009)

because it explores a new opportunity for human possibilities. By stealing a new life, there is an

urgency to start a new way of life and make this new life meaningful. Although there was still

pressure and judgement to be different, “Kings and Queens” challenges the vanquish of tradition

and transition into and independent decision making world.

When listening to the song, the voice of Jared Leto is very distinctive. His timbre is very

rough but yet very smooth. Between each chorus, his tone of voice softens and when the chorus

starts, his tone becomes rough. Leto has a very unique voice because whatever he vocalizes

sounds realistic. It is important for an artist to have a realistic voice because it get the message

across very well. When Jared Leto sings “These lessons that we’ve learned here have only just

begun” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009), it is like he is telling a story. Whatever the plans these

people have for this recycle of life, it is only the start and when there is satisfaction then that’s

when it’s the end of the fight. With Leto’s voice, he makes the situation of breaking free and

being independent relatable. Another verse that is used in the song is “In defense of our dreams”

(30 Seconds to Mars, 2009); which also represents the effort and power to keep the dreams of

being independent alive. The raspiness of Leto’s voice is clearly articulated with every word

sung; which also contributes to the message of “Kings and Queens”. Jared Leto ranges is voice

from low to high repeatedly to emphasize the momentous message of following own personal

dreams. Along with the change of ranges, the tone also changes. It is like a story: the idea is

formed, the desperation for change, the decision to change, and finally the actual change.

“Kings and Queens” has many different lyrics that are significant and bold. For example,

the repetition of “We were the kings and queens of promise” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009) in each
chorus reminds the audience that we are rulers of our selves. Also in the chorus, “victims of

ourselves” was repeated as another reminder that the only thing standing in the way of change is

us. This entire song is about trying to confront the problem of being locked up in a set society

with any say and breaking free from being afraid to take charge. Repeating the exact chorus

throughout the song emphasizes the idea that there does not have to be an arranged way of life.

Jared Leto sings multiple verses where he carries out words which puts attention on the verse

itself. When he vocalizes “lesser God” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009), it is expresses that there is no

faith needed to follow dreams. The repetition of verses, lyrics and choruses helped highlight the

importance of the fixation of starting a new life. It explores the triumphant feeling personal

accomplishment.

Thirty Seconds to Mars came out with a music video for “Kings and Queens” that had a

good typify of individuals becoming into their own new self. The music video showed the inter-

mixing of races, ethnicities, genders, etc. riding on bikes down the streets of LA. The site of LA

was perfect for this song because of how many different people are located there. Symbolically,

the roads that were being used by the bikers represented the many different paths and

opportunities for a new life. It was almost as if everyone were coming together to reach the goal

of freedom. The significance of this music video was showing how people confront their

problems and how they navigate themselves to fix what needs to be fixed. There are many

connections between the music video and the song itself. For instance, the change of mood/tone

in the music video is when there is a car accident with a biker; which is when Jared Leto sings

“The age of man is over” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009). This scene was extremely visual and

spine-chilling because this was when everyone came together to fight for each other’s dreams. At

the end of the song, “We are the kings, we are the queens” (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009) are
repeated to signify that there has been change and commitment to navigate through a new life of

independence.

Imagining a life where there is no judgement or pressure to be someone you are not is

still a goal today. This song “Kings and Queens” is a great reminder that there should be natural

decisions in a persons’ life. It is a new day in age and people should be accepting of other

people. Being a king or queen usually refers to a higher class, or ruler of everyone else; but in

this case, people are the ruler of their own life. Unfortunately, there are still people out in the

world who do not understand the freedom people have to express themselves, which is why more

songs should emphasize the importance of individual freedom. A person should be able to

explore the triumphant feeling of personality and become either the king or queen of their life.