The End's Not Near

The intensity of this version is amazing. When he sings, "That's why hell is underground / Like a reclaimed part of town / We don't want to lose our souls / We're the saints who don't want to be found," it feels like he's wrenching the words out of himself and out of the listener.

He knows he's right in his view of the world, but those who control it and monitor it (satellites) disagree. It's all about hiding from the majority, and moves a bit into self-righteousness, not that it ruins the song in the slightest. Being a subculture of one and prophet to yourself never goes out of style, does it? Especially when others can relate to it.

I love this song. I wrote what I thought it was about under The New year's version.

This version is much better. Definitely. Band of Horses' arrangement is so well put together. (They play much better). More so than the original. If my guess is correct on what the song is about (on the other version's page).. then Band of Horses portrays that feeling and attitude extremely well. Again, more so than the original.

The other guys just seem like they're afraid to sing loud and evoke any sort of emotion, because the lead singer can't hit notes or something. I don't know. I haven't heard any of their other stuff, and I don't really want to.. unless Band of Horses remakes another one.

i totally love this song...first heard it on "music from the o.c."...

I don't think Band of Horses play it better at all. I still like this cover, but it feels so predictable. The New Year's version has a slow, almost resigned quality, which I think works really well with the lyrics.

I see this as being about how he thinks the "world's decaying" - well, has already decayed actually! The end of life (as he thinks it ought to be) is already here. Everyone had all this hope and optimism about the new millennium and saw it as a new start, when the world would be great, but he can't see that there's anything out there worth caring about. He thinks everyone's "lost their souls" - perhaps he blames it on technology ("the satellites" etc. being a distraction and no one thinks about other people or communicates) or maybe it's just the lifestyle in general - he seems scornful "watch them throw a party like there's something worth celebrating."

Does he see himself as a martyr? Maybe he thinks he could have the ways to "stop the world decaying" but no one would listen to him, not even those who pretend to be pious and good. He feels like he's one of the only people who can see what's wrong with the world - everyone else parties. Anyway, for him, the end is here. There's nothing he can do as an individual to change things so he's just going to be hiding.

That's just my opinion, feel free to tear it to shreads!

very powerful lyrics.at first i didn't pay attention to the lyrics.. after all it appeared in teen drama show.. this video stunned me: youtube.com/watch

I LOVE EVERY BIT OF THIS SONG!!!!

What I really miss in this version is the guitar part after the 3rd verse. In the original (by "the new year") that part is just epic in it's own, simple kind of way. Good cover, though

I recently rediscovered this song and I think the lyric might be "Watch a million Aryans throw a party for a thousand years..." As in Aryan people, or people from the northern European countries so synonymous with the super white race. I don't know for sure at all, but the song seems to have vague themes of racial unrest and division. It's almost saying, watch the "powerful" or "those most benefited" celebrate while the underclasses continue to suffer?? I don't really know, and that's the glory of these sorts of songs - you can find meaning in them without the whole story just being given to you.

It's definently millenarians. "Millenarian groups claim that the current society and its rulers are corrupt, unjust, or otherwise wrong. They therefore believe they will be destroyed soon by a powerful force."

Definently fits into the song.

It's pretty much talking about the hipocrisy of the so-called "pious" people, when in reality their actions are only done for reward (you won't see the pious praying - when the world ends). The end of the world is referring to the rapture I believe. Similarly, martyrs think that their actions are going to bring better ways, when in reality they are destructive.

Then it goes into how the people who actually do good, the real saints don't want the rapture to come (the saints who don't want to be found).

Not 100% sure about the last stanza but i'd interpret it two different ways:

1) Although their actions are good, because they aren't the so-called "pious" people they will go to hell and thus they don't want to be found and lose their souls

or

2) The entire idea of the rapture and heaven seems to be something that removes your soul (your identity, freedom etc.) and thus they don't want to be found.