In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Some people call them terrorists
These boys have simply been misguided
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Day after day innocent people are being deported, interrogated and tortured, put through the third degree
Fundamentalist forces are undermining the integrity of liberal and democratic political structures
Radical anarchists, fascists and terrorists are responsible for the violence
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Out societies are saturated with bloodlust, sensationalism and violence as a result of alienation from oneself's reality
How much longer do we tolerate mass murder?
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Handcuffs and shackles won't frighten us. Neither cattle-prod nor electrical whip will silence us. We shall use all peaceful means to overcome tyranny
Presistant and march on. They can't use our shame against us
Regardless of race, social status or gender, we're all affected
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
These boys have simply been misguided
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Day after day innocent people are being deported, interrogated and tortured, put through the third degree
Fundamentalist forces are undermining the integrity of liberal and democratic political structures
Radical anarchists, fascists and terrorists are responsible for the violence
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Out societies are saturated with bloodlust, sensationalism and violence as a result of alienation from oneself's reality
How much longer do we tolerate mass murder?
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
Handcuffs and shackles won't frighten us. Neither cattle-prod nor electrical whip will silence us. We shall use all peaceful means to overcome tyranny
Presistant and march on. They can't use our shame against us
Regardless of race, social status or gender, we're all affected
I tried to keep my faith alive
I'm close enough to trip the wire
I cannot keep my hate inside
I'm gonna set myself on fire
I get closer beat by beat
To get the thing I really need
I'm fucking terrified
Will you be ever satisfied?
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Great version of a great song,
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“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
During the last week of April 1999, the KMFDM website ceased all traffic except for a message from the band condemning and thoroughly distancing themselves from the shootings that had occured at Columbine High School on April 20th. News organizations had been repeatedly printing stories about how the two murderers involved in that shooting were fans of industrial rock including Rammstein and KMFDM. The news specifically mentioned a line from this song that Eric Harris had been very fond of: "I cannot keep my hate inside / I'm gonna set myself on fire."
The initial shock of the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado left parents, teachers, and pundits scrambling for a reason. Were these two being preached to by bands with violent lyrics? Unfortunately, while many ultimately accepted that music likely had very little to do with the troubled youths' actions, very few ever analyzed the rest of the lyrics of the song.
This song, and this entire album, is clearly an anti-violence mantra. The "set myself on fire" is likely a reference to self-immolation performed by Buddhist monks in Vietnam and Tibet in non-violent protest of oppressive government practices. Other lines, such as "How much longer do we tolerate mass murder?" speak for themselves; the line "We shall use all peaceful means to overcome tyranny" couldn't be more straight forward. Clearly, if any music is to blame, it was most definitely not "Terror" by KMFDM.
i love this song too. of course i had the cd thrown at me because some one else didn't like it which made me love this song more since it is about misunderstanding which causes us to fear pointlessly and make irrational decisions against people who are innocent out of fear.
i cannot get enough of this song...i think this has to have the greatest chorus, in terms of melody, that i know
it gets stuck in my head for hours
Yeah, this song is great. I was hoping there'd be more people talking about it.