"You say the ocean's rising like I give a shit; you say the whole world's ending, honey it already did. You're not gonna slow it, Heaven knows you tried... got it? Good, now get inside." This is probably the part of the special that hits me the hardest. This nihilistic feeling that everything's fucked and you've already done your best to fix it... it works so well.

Bo is the modern definition of a “Sad clown” it’s honestly so upsetting

Don't you think it's interesting that when he says "are you feeling nervous?" all whilst staring at us, makes us feel uncomfortable but imagine how he felt in person with thousands of people doing that exact same thing to him. Perspective.

Pretty sure the laugh track is meant to be ironic… it’s intentionally sadistic, he’s talking about how the audience made him panic but by adding laughter to this clearly private performance he’s showing how he can’t live without it

"i'm sure that more things went over my head i'm sorry". Honey don't apologize, you're literally the first reaction I've watched that actually understood the meaning and depth to this song. Thank you for your reaction

I think the song is his depression finally getting a real voice. It's such a big part of his life and the special and it finally gets to really speak, inviting Bo into a warm embrace of sadness. Telling him there's nothing to be done, just accept that the world is ending, and his world as well.

You say things go over your head but many reactors miss that the "funny thing" that happened was the pandemic and having to go into quarantine after those 5 years he was out of the public eye. You were spot on. You get a "like" for that alone.

He also sang about this in his Can't Handle This song on his special Make Happy, there was a line in the song "You can tell them anything as long as you make it funny, make it rhyme and if they still don't get it then you run it one more time" essentially calling out the ignorance of the audience because they have no idea what the message of the song really is.

I have never cared about reaction videos. Ever. But with this song, just this one, I've been desperately seeking people to relate to when hearing it. It's the only thing I've ever deliberately looked up reactions to because I felt somewhat alone in my emotional relation to the lyrics. So many people listen to this song and actually laugh along with the tracks. When he said "and then the funniest thing happened.." people go "what happened?" They don't understand and they're not emotionally paying attention. You got it. You understood. You paid attention and opened yourself up to the message he's really putting out. Thank you so much for being a person others can relate to in their grief over the state of the world.

The lyrics, the music, the tone, the lighting... Goddamn.

He wasn’t exactly sitting on his ass during his break from performing. Check out the film he wrote and directed in 2018 called Eighth Grade. It’s fantastic and got 99% on rotten tomatoes.

The laugh track is just a small comedic bit on the entirety of the song. If you look at the big picture, the song is essentially his depression singing

One thing I just noticed upon watching this was that in the last chorus, as he's asking everyone to "put their hands down and pray for him", he has the audience begin to cheer louder and louder in the background. Just a further example of the whole "no one is really listening to what im saying" theme he has throughout the song.

Honestly, this was the best breakdown/reaction I've seen/heard/ You nailed alot of stuff that folks don't notice on the first time through, like the allusions to Covid. Thank you for sharing your time with us!

You're the only reactor I've seen that referred to his reaching for the camera as "aggression." I agree completely. All of the rest of the songs are dark, deeply funny, disturbing... this is the only one that felt... violent, to me.

If you watch the Special on Netflix this song hits different

Yeah, that "Honey it already did" line really hit a lot of us hard enough to be brought to the point of tears. It's always good to see so many reactors feel this, it shows that so many are empathetic and caring of others. A valued trait to have especially in these times.

This song makes me cry. For suicidal victims who survived, This will hit you hard. You made it. All the time off you need to change yourself and your mind and start over. All the emotions hit you. It is okay now... Don't be scare, I was too. Don't be embarrassed, I was too. You are really not alone... I was once one, like you... I am not giving up anymore. I will live on with my new family and have them acknowledge my existence by embracing my pain. Breathe.

you´re the first one I´ve seen reacting to this who actually got the message and I thank you very much for that

"He was quarantined for 5 years", that is shockingly insightfull in my oppinion. he locked himself away for so long, then when he tried to approach the world, the world locked him out through the quarantine, what does that do to a person desperate to go out? All he can do is do it from inside. it is such a subtile way to bring into words what it is actually like to suffer from depression and anxiety, and then when he is ready to get past it, the world shut him down in the most brutal way.. No wonder he portrayed aggression at the end when he realized the audience was not there to respond.

The sad, sympathetic head bopping is me every time I listen to this. Like it's a great jam but the meaning behind it and they way you can't help but to just want to hug Bo, is such a mixed bag of emotions. I hope Bo amd anyone else with these feelings finds peace...

His “We think we know you” bit is a blast and really well done. You’d like it

Yeah, I teared up at the "Honey, It already did" part.

Honestly almost every bo song has other meanings during it, no need to beat yourself up over missing something. An amazing artist sometimes you have to rewatch or re-listen to a few times in order to really get ut

I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but the part where he yells “get the f*ck up” is a direct reference to what Kanye said to a man in a wheelchair at his Sydney concert in 2014 (Kanye didn’t realize the guy was in a wheelchair). It was a thing. There were articles all over the internet about it. And Bo used to be (and perhaps still is) a big fan of Kanye.

I think you nailed it. Great reaction! Brings a tear to my eye every time.

Just the fact that he breaks down sobbing right before this song in the special makes it so much tougher to watch. I just hope that all the attention and praise this special got can help him to get out of the mental rot he is in. Noone deserves depression but Bo that spent his life making others laugh really does deserve the best mental state there is.

You should do “that funny feeling”

Yes one if my favorites from him glad you reacted to it

You actually really nailed this song with your thoughts. There's lots more that someone *could* say about it for sure, but it would all be about deeper or specific meanings on the themes you talked about. As a side note, I also felt like crying in this song, and I also was hit *very* hard by that set of lines: "You say the ocean's rising like I give a shit, you say the whole world's ending, honey it already did".

I really like your takes with this one! The way I interpret the aggression near the end is that he's just become so frustrated pretending to perform in front of an audience of nobody, it's like his frustration erupts from him for just wanting someone to finally listen to him and his words. It's like he mentions in another song "try making a joke with no one laughing in the background" except in this one he's trying to confess his true feelings, yet it still feels like it's falling on deaf ears. Such a powerful and sad song...

This was one of the most empathetic and insightful reactions I've seen to this song. You truly got it. Bravo.

You should watch “can’t handle this” again after seeing all eyes on me. I think you’ll understand it a bit better

Love your insight! That's a really great point about how the song feels calming if you're not paying attention to the lyrics and then suddenly it turns violent and chaotic. That strikes me as a metaphor for how people who are depressed can seem fine and calm, even though inside they're in turmoil and they may even talk about it openly with people, but then those around them are shocked when they have a breakdown / self-harm "out of nowhere."

Eye contact doesn’t make me uncomfortable, I actually LOVE it

I'm sure some other commenter has already mentioned it, but the laugh there after he talks about quitting because he was having panic attacks is right after he "tries to lighten the mood" (as it were) by putting in a joke about how on stage "isn't a great place to have [panic attacks]". It's definitely the kind of thing a lot of people would laugh kind of uncomfortably at if it were a live show, not entirely sure if it's cool to laugh or not.

Out of all your reactions to Bo, this was by far the best. You were spot on with this video on most of what you said, and im glad you were able to ride this emotional rollercoaster , the way Bo intended it. The only thing you might have missed is that you can also consider the fact that the song was being sung by the perspective of his Actual Anxiety, singing to Bo himself. Everything from "its almost over , its just begun" , "jump on in the waters fine", and his constant use of the word Inside, meaning inside of himself ("got it? Good, now get inside"). Meaning he was always retreating back into himself, but also literally meaning inside his home during quarantine. The song is quite sad and beautiful the more you rewatch it. Thanks for the content.

Honestly a great reaction. Haven’t seen many people notice or mention the purposefully awkwardly placed laugh track

In the song Goodbye from this special, he sings the line “Does anybody want to joke when no one’s laughing in the background?” I feel the laugh track he uses in this song and a few others is almost meant to represent this “safety blanket” of sorts, and how unsure and insecure he feels of himself when there’s no one there to laugh at his jokes. I think it’s also why he gets so aggressive when he picks the camera up. I think it’s an expression of the frustration he feels that there isn’t an actual audience there when he was FINALLY ready to start performing live again.

"Got it? good, now get inside" was the first thing i noticed when i listened to it the first time and i replayed it like 5 times and once ithe meaning sunk in it almost ruined me. the way he can portray meaningful and important topics is just on another level. ive been listening to him since his first videos back in the day when i was still in middle and highshchool school iand to watch him evolve over the years has just been crazy.

He wasn't quarantining for 5 years. He was still out. He made a movie. He stopped live preforming

This was actually such a really good reaction and analysis imo, I love how you got into it. I’ve seen others just listening to the music and singing along without really listening to the lyrics. Loved this video 💙

I find it really telling that he said “Heads down, pray for me”. He knows he isn’t well, and he doesn’t know what to do. He’s begging somebody, anybody to help. Even asking them to pray to a God that he himself doesn’t believe in. That’s a real show of vulnerability. And you know what? I think I will be praying for him. He needs it.

The way he just randomly throws “pray for me” in between the generic “get your fuckin hands up” is such a stark contrast. I didn’t know whether to laugh or just be like “wtf” the first time I watched it. This is such a cool concept for a song.

I know this reaction has been out for a while, but you're the first person I've seen who really nailed a lot of the messages Bo was trying to give, despite saying most of it would go over your head. I've always interpreted the song as being a message of his frustration of the quarantine - like you said, he quarantined himself for 5 years, and when he was finally ready to perform and interact with his fans again, the world literally shut down. This is the performance he would have wanted to give live, but he couldn't. He's talking to us, sitting at our computers and watching our televisions, and telling us to join him, like we'd be doing at a live concert.

this is still, in my opinion, the best song he created for Inside. its a masterpiece. with the idea of this song basically trying to mimic to the idea of a live concert. all the stuff he did is stuff you see performers doing during concerts. with the background projector instead of a big screen for the audience to see him, the audience laughter and cheers, even grabbing the camera at the end is a very concert thing to do. but it also perfectly show that even the most serious topics a "comedy" show ends up being a joke cause if nobody laughed it would just be depressing but thats the point. it is all a depressing topic, its not supposed to be funny.

Out of all the reactions to this song I’ve watched thus far, you seemed to get it the most (he says as though he knows any better than anybody else), which is impressive on first listen, given how much he packs into the few words in the song. I really appreciated your reaction. Thank you.

The humor was in him saying that having panic attacks on stage is not a good place to have panic attacks. Which is very true. He placed the laugh at the right spot.

This was an excellent reaction. I've seen a fair few, because 'Inside' has been... one of the most powerful pieces I've seen in my life, and some reactions do a great job of analysis which is interesting, but your reaction and connection to the emotional content just felt very true.

Ya she seems to grasp this song better then most that react to it. Its always nice when they dont miss the point and just laugh or go on about the jokes

The end there is Bo actually getting another panic attack.The maniacal laughter followed by the abrupt ending. Really hits it home.

That ending reminds me so much of Heath Ledger's Joker when he films and ultimately murders the fake Batman. Same near hysterical laughter, same spinning camera.

In all honesty, this was probably the most genuine, and spot on reaction I’ve seen to this song so far.

I take the line "You say the whole world's ending. Honey, it already did." as referring to the idea that the world ended 50 years ago when oil companies first figured out that climate change was happening and decided to do nothing about it. And in the face of that, how could WE ever expect to stop it?

The way he says "they say the world is ending, honey it already did" also shows how, to him, his world died the second said world itself shut him out as soon as he was ready to re-enter, being in his room feeling like some sort of limbo to him.

The algorithm suggested this video because of My love for this song…and you pretty well nailed it. Even the nuances like “are you feeling nervous” as locks eyes and makes you feel a little uncomfortable. And the laugh tracks being used to actually convey his panic/anxiety and sadness. Bravo.

Finally! Someone who understands the song even without watching the full special. Love your reaction!

the laugh at the very end of the song is stuffed with so many different emotions.. sums up in part of a second what the last 3 years have felt like

I really appreciated your thoughtful analysis here. This is obviously a very emotional song for Bo. The "you say the whole world's ending, honey it already did" line always wrecks me. When he "picks us up", I saw him longing to have an audience again, doing his best to pretend he's on stage as he dances alone in his room with his camera.

My impression of that aggressive "Get the fuck up!" at the end before he picks up the camera is that we (the collective "we") have a tendency to be able to hear calls to action in songs, whether it's something as simple as to "get your fuckin' hands up," etc., or something more meaningful, and to agree with those calls to action in our heads, but then not actually heed those calls to action. How many protest songs or environmental songs have we listened to, agreed with their calls to action, but then moved on to the next track and not done any of the things we just agreed with doing? I think that "get the fuck up" is a way of kind of breaking the trance that we get into as we hear these songs by breaking the rhythm and running up, saying, "No, actually, fucking DO THIS!" Even if it's something as simple as getting up and putting your hands up. You can't be a part of something just by agreeing with it -- you have to actually do it. I dunno, that's what I take from it. And I gotta say, the first time I watched "Inside" and saw that part, when he said, "Get up. Get up! I'm talkin' to you -- get the FUCK UP!" I almost jumped out of my chair. It actually startled me, and I felt for just a split second like he was actually gonna reach out and grab me.

I feel that his line 'Get the F*ck Up' is him talking to himself...his literal fight with his own demons. Bo Burnham is brilliant...and I enjoyed your reaction to his video, thank you.

You really nailed this. I think some people laugh when they are uncomfortable as well. So sometimes when he is talking about serious topics people don’t know whether to laugh or to stay quiet or what. Keep doing more reactions of him! Literally anything. He’s an incredible dude.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned regarding the aggression at the end is: Who is the advice he's giving for? What is the lyrics saying? - Get your hands up, get off your seat, *all eyes on me, all eyes on me* That fits perfectly for someone who's trying to get through a panic attack and get on with the show. Not to mention that he often held his hands up in his previous specials while singing and performing. - Are you feeling nervous, are you having fun, it's almost over, *it's just begun* Again, the show is nearly over, but the panic claims it's just begun. Alternatively, the panic attack has just begun. - Don't overthink this, look in my eyes, don't be scared, don't be shy, come on in, the water's fine Then you have the advice, which fits perfectly to someone talking to themselves in a mirror trying to psyche themselves up to doing a show despite having panic attacks. It's also not about all eyes being *on* him, but to look *into* his eyes, ie not being observed but trying to get someone to focus on what he's saying. - Get up, get up, I'm talking to you, *get the fuck up* Then, after all of that you have the end where he gets aggressive, but continues with the same earlier "advice" to get up and get going, and he ends it by literally forcing the viewpoint to get up. Is it what he meant? Who knows, but it fits the story of the song perfectly. It doesn't cover the water theme though, the overlays of him dancing in a blue light gives the whole song a water vibe, combined with the line about how the water's fine.

He is just staring into a camera and sings "do you feel nervous". But the lyrics previous is about "all eyes on him". We get aware how much we can view movies and performers without any need to do any appropriate expression back of appreciation. We can pick our nose and whatever. But at that moment he enlightened us about this. How we can deep dive into every wrinkle of someones face while still being anonymous. An impressively unengaged person can study you without judgement as soon as you stream your own face

My thoughts on the sudden aggression is from some of the other songs he's done. In Art Is Dead, he touches on how attention is a drug and he's an addict. He alternates between "Put your hands down, pray for me" and "Put your hands up, get out of your seat" like he can't decide whether he wants to be left alone to recover or indulge himself in seeking attention, even though he knows it's been bad for him. I think the sudden aggression is probably about how intense that addictive need is.

Something that was brought to my attention by someone who has severe panic attacks is that in the last few seconds you can hear him laugh suddenly and hear he almost sounds out of breath. That is apparently a very common thing that happens to people moments before they pass out from a panic attack. That would explain the abrupt ending.

I've seen insude 3 times in the last 6 months and saw countless reaction videos. I just realized that his special, with its trivial, funny and heartbreaking content is in some ways like a "White Woman's Instagram"

I think you nailed this analysis, very perceptive. I would posit that the aggression at the end of the video is his frustration at having been isolated so long and, when finally strong enough, being told he must keep isolating. He is reaching through the screen trying to pull us to our feet and get us moving rather than sinking into the stupor so many succumbed to in the early pandemic days. Grabbing the camera the way he does suggests physical contact or at least his desire for physical contact, and that he ends that way is not insignificant, I think.

In a lot of Bo’s work that deep auto tuned voice is his subconscious or maybe even mental health kinda checking in. For the WHOLE song to be in that voice to me feels like he’s stuck. Rutted in a deep anxiety or depression that will never end. But then it does.

The final moment -- "I'm talking to you, get the fuck up!" -- and how he goes after the camera is Bo talking to himself. As a person who suffers from depression and anxiety, sometimes you have to force yourself to get up and do things. The agression is not directed st the audience, it's at himself, and the dancing with the camera is indicative of his own mania.

He did write/direct a movie (8th Grade [2018]) during the five-year break so he wasn’t completely shut off from the world but yeah, to your point, if anyone really listens to the lyrics, this is definitely not a cheery song

I think the reason it's so emotionally resonant is because it's important. And it's important, because it's real. We get to see a real part of Bo, at least a sliver, through this song. He's so good at using his humour as a vehicle to deliver deep, serious topics. And dark humour is often a coping mechanism for people with real issues. I honestly think Bo is one of this generations great artists. Every generation, there's a bare handful of people who are able to just perfectly articulate their deep, human truth to others. Other examples of this off the top of my head would be Van Gogh, who shared his pain and mental anguish through his painting. Or Heath Ledger, who drew so much onto deep human dysfunction when he played the joker. Or Kurt Kobain, and the level of honestly he put into his work. Or Robin Williams, and how accurately and intimately he could connect with and communicate sadness. Unfortunately, what often goes hand in hand with these abilities is a deep emotional damage. All of these people were astounding artists, but all of them had horrible mental struggles they were dealing with. Same with Bo. And while we couldn't protect those other 3, we can still protect Bo.

Normally I'm pretty negative about these reaction videos, but at 5:00 you actually make a really good point. Bo had already been under a kind of self-imposed quarantine for 5 years; I can't imagine how demoralizing it must have been to finally feel ready to get out and then to have the real quarantine drop down.

“The laugh tracks are put in after…right?” Man nothing gets past you!

loved this!! I’ll add to the other comments, would love to see you react to the full special (maybe cut it into segments for posting?). It’s truly amazing.

3:30 yeah you're spot on. He's done interviews before where he's clearly uncomfortable because people are laughing at what he's saying even though he's talking about some heavy stuff. People are just so used to him being "the funny guy". The laugh tracks is there because he knows that this is exactly how a lot of the audience would respond.

i've been seeing a lot of reactions to this lately and your is one of the best, for sure... i think you relly got the message. This song is really fucking sad but i've seen so many people laughing while hearing his story... i think he put those laugh tracks for a couple of reasons, first to lighten the mood a little bit since this is a """""comedy special""""", but most importantly to mock the way people laugh at anything a comedian will say just because he's a comedian. Also, when he get's angry with the camera i view it as him trying to entertain the audience (get your fucking hands up, get on out of your seats) and getting frustrated that he's talking to literally no one because he's alone in that room. He wants us to feel good, to laugh, he wants to do comedy, but he can't because of the pandemic. He is trying to make us have a good time, but he can't because we are not there with him, so he gets frustrated and ends up mad, dancing with the camera and revealing to us that he is in fact in an empty room. It is really fucking sad and i just hope everyone who ever felt like he felt is ok.

Bo put into words what so many of us feel, and haven't been able to express. I've felt like I was drowning in my depression, but I hid it for years. I can honestly share that I watched Inside 3 times in a row and sobbed the entire time. He is a very deep and caring human, and I truly hope he is at peace now. Thank you for doing this react.

ELLIEROSE MY GIRL

You missed the "got it, good, now get inside" theme. The show is called "Inside". I'm sure you've watched the whole thing by now, so hopefully you've noticed that the word "inside" is repeated in a lot of the songs. The show plays with the various definitions of "inside", and, as one would expect, the converse "outside" connotations. Here is one example (from Welcome to the Internet), just because KZfaq mobile formatting is getting weird, so I can't pick out every "inside" reference in the entire special: "you, you, insatiable you. Your time is now, your inside's out Honey, how you grew, And if we stick together, who knows what we'll do..." "Your inside's out" refers to how social media culture has taught us that oversharing is the new intimacy. "You inside is out". That literally means that you've placed what's inside you on the outside, which is what we do with social media, isn't it? We put our insides...out. And the whole "Inside" show plays with the idea of what the wotd "inside" means.

I think it reached you guys a little more quickly than it did in the US. We were fine in January 2020, and COVID didn't really hit us until March. By April, everything was shut down.

I've seen a handful of people react to this, but somehow you're the first one to recognize him staring at the camera in an interactive way "Are you feeling nervous"; the look into the camera was meant to entice that feeling :) good stuff

every time i listen to the lines about the oceans rising and the world having already ended i start tearing up a bit, it feels like some kind of permission, to stop trying to fix things for a minute and just take a break for a bit, its incredible how well he commands our emotions

Also one thing many people miss is the battery life dying. I think that's his anxiety kicking in. We introverts discharge while doing social stuff and recharge when inside and by ourselves

You know, an idea that I've seen thrown around that I really agree with about Bo's choice of lyrics to fill most of the song's runtime -- "Get your (fuckin') hands up", "Eyes on me", "Heads down", etc. -- is reminiscent of commands issued by a police officer when they're about to arrest someone, so that choice of lyrics for most of this song about Bo trying to deal with his anxiety and panic attacks while performing for a crowd that has all their eyes on him is like how he's feeling arrested (like, seized, taken control of) by his anxiety.

Yo you dont give yourself enough credit. I've watched a ton of these things for this video and you understood ALOT more than most. When you pointed out that he says dont be nervous as he looks into the camera is fucking brilliant, never even thought of that but its very true.

girl honestly. Whoever not broke down completely mentally when the lines "you say the ocean's rising like I'd give a shit, you say the world is ending, honey it already did." hits, is probably not a human living in this chaos after already 2 years of isolation, while climate change is around the corner. All of this is scary already but what makes it terrifying is the fact, that we know how to stop it, we just don't do it because of politics, money and influence. We just live everyday trying our best while knowingly going towards the end of the world as we know it. This is endgame shit. I am having Weltschmerz-anxiety attacks just from going outside and seeing people living as nothing is happening. Bo captures all this madness in only two lines. So cry, if you want. Cry with all of us together.

what is amazing is he did everything himself, from the music to the videography/editing

Don't know why, the ending gave me chills and a flash thought of: when he said 'im talking to you, get the f up', and the fact hes depicting himself in his room, my thought it is that hes portraying his anxiety, which he spoke about when he was on stage live having panic attacks, and depicting himself as his Anxiety...i dunno. :)

The first time I watched the special and this song was playing when he said ‘are you feeling nervous’ and made eye contact the first time I almost threw my phone lmao

"You say the ocean's rising like I give a shit You say the whole world's ending, honey, it already did You're not gonna slow it, Heaven knows you tried" As someone that has dealt with and still does deal with clinical depression and anxiety, these lines break me every time.

I struggle with anxiety and this song hits me like a brick to the head. I can't listen to this song without crying and yet I want to rip my lungs out screaming it to the whole world.

I swear he was having a panic attack at the end of this video when he dropped the camera. The slight laugh and breaths in while he was holding the camera was so sad in a way. He had gotten over his anxiety and panic attacks then covid hit and forced isolation and he lost it all over again. I feel it will be awhile before we see him again.

The reason he picked up the camera was pretty much everything you mentioned it might be. Bo is LAYERED. I wanna go see him live so bad. I wish I could go back in time and see his NYC special, which I thought was his magnum opus, then he comes out with Inside and it's like "OH MY GOD THIS GUY HAS SOMETHING EVEN BIGGER" he just doesn't stop.

The thing is I really love that he talks about his life and what he went through

“Ending the illusion” was a perfect description. That line about the world ending kills me every single time.

You are one of the people that sat down and actually listen to him pour his heart out and, for that, I have respect.

People tend to laugh when they're uncomfortable. It's not that they find something funny, it's just a way to release the sudden influx of emotional stress. I tend to find this more common in group setting (like an audience) when they all hear something uncomfortable but react in a way that "lightens" the mood. Showing genuine emotion is seen as a vulnerability and being around people you're not familiar with or in a situation that is uncomfortable to show emotion in, people tend to resort to more pleasant responses when faced with a situation that would otherwise prompt an empathetic response instead. If you keep this in mind, you'll start to see it everywhere.

Love your growth. I almost always cry when I'm watching Bo. Sometimes a small laugh.. But he is so fn real, it hurts. #giveboahug

He performed it live on camera in quarantine triggering the laugh tracks through his sound board