This is a breakup song disguised as a desperate attempt to prevent one. The speaker begs their partner to preserve something they both know is already dying, turning physical objects (words, hearts) into things that can be saved when the relationship itself can't. All the frantic commands to keep it alive only prove they're watching it end in real time.
Don't make me say it out loud / Realize I wanna see you again
The speaker commands silence while literally confessing out loud. This contradiction is the whole song: the plea for silence IS the confession they claim they can't make.
Better to burn out than to fade away / We knew the crash was coming anyway
They invoke the classic rock cliché about burning out, but the whole song is them begging to NOT let it end. The speaker wants the romance of inevitable destruction while also frantically trying to stop it.
Take, take, take my words and, baby / Keep, keep, keep 'em alive
Words and hearts become physical objects to be collected and preserved, like specimens. The speaker thinks if their partner just holds onto these pieces, the relationship survives, even when the feeling doesn't.
Keep, keep, keep it alive
The frantic repetition sounds like a heartbeat or CPR compressions. The speaker doesn't believe their own command anymore. This is mourning disguised as prevention.
By the end, 'keep it alive' has been repeated so many times it stops sounding like a command and starts sounding like a eulogy. The speaker would be shocked to learn that all this begging reveals they already know it's over. They're not trying to save the relationship. They're trying to decide how to remember it.