“From Yesterday” by Thirty Seconds to Mars

First off, it should be noted that Jared Leto, lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars and co-writer of this track, has stated that it is open to interpretation by the listener. The intended effect was for it to be a “very cinematic” and “very visual song”. And in that regard, it has achieved its purpose, even outside of the fact that its music video is considered to be the first by an American band to be filmed exclusively in China.

“From Yesterday” is centered on a character who appears to be eccentric, to say the least. His main characteristic is avarice, as in being on an incessant quest to obtain “a fortune”.  In addition there “is a map of the world” “on his face”, implying that he is willing to go to the ends of the earth in his search for wealth.

In the second verse, he is described as someone who lives a reprobate life. This includes preying on the innocent, including by taking lives.

This individual is also influenced by some type of entity emanating “from yesterday”. It induces a feeling of fear in him. As such, it can be said that he is motivated by both greed and dread.  However, the way the song plays out, this can also be symbolic of something to the effect of justice, as in the sins of the past catching up with him, in addition to him being unable to shake this feeling.

The end of the song insinuates that the subject of the track is indeed a real person. And this piece is more or less intended as a “message” to him. However, he will be reluctant to actually give it a listen.  So at the end of the day, even though the song is not intended to have any hard meaning behind it, it is clear that it still follows a distinct storyline.