This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now
You were there impossibly alone
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now
You were there impossibly alone
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
You build up hope but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20
Iridescent Lyrics as written by Chester Charles Bennington Brad Delson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Hayalperest
Hayalperest
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
It's about letting go and moving on. It's pretty straight forward if you ask me.
According to one interpretation, the entire A Thousand Suns album is about nuclear warfare. Take, for example, The Radiance, which outright quotes J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" due to being the head scientist of the Manhattan Project.
Also, Burning in the Skies could refer to the aftermath of a nuclear war, while The Catalyst is a plea for help and a warning against what could happen. (God save us everyone, when we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns...)
Lastly, Fallout could easily refer to the radioactive fallout or psychological fallout of a nuclear strike.
I think that this all strongly suggests that Iridescent is about a survivor of the nuclear war feeling remorse, sorrow, and remembering the moment the bomb exploded.
"And in the burst of light that blinded every angel/ As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars"
That stanza refers to the detonation of the bomb. The entire song is remembering life before the war, and the nuclear strike.
It almost seems like the song reflects what is going through the singer's mind as he dies. He remembers the war that resulted in his death, and going to a place where there is no war, no death, no pain.
His dying words are "let it go" it being the life of suffering he endures after the nuclear war. It's a powerful, sad and yet uplifting song.
Seems like it'd play out very well live.
To me this song is about a person or people going through a really bad time and building up hope then falling again then the band just telling them to forget it and get through it,,, please correct me if I'm wrong or if you have anything to add
I'm going to write this as if I was explaining it about me or about you.
I(You) wish or hope for something in life(hoping or planning) for a certain thing to happen in my(your) future. Sort of like achieving a destiny. I(You) plan for this destiny of mine(yours) and I(you) hope or wish for, I(you) fail at it and then I(you) just turn to my(your) sorrowness or mistakes for help. This song is trying to make me(you) remember the mistakes I(you) made, but to let go of it, move on from it and learn from it.
Bottom line: Don't let the negative things in life bring me(you) down, let go of it. I(you) will just keep hurting myself(yourself) over and over again, sort of like holding onto pain. Let the pain go away and move onto whats pleasing.
Basically, this song is about the aftermath, or the course of, a nuclear war. The first line sways toward the aftermath while the 11-15 sways toward the middle. The entire song is about nuclear warfare that was a looming threat not so long ago. I know some people who doubted that they would live to 50 because of the looming nuclear threat. Anyway, almost every song has SOMETHING to do with it. "The Requiem" for the world. "The Radiance" of "A Thousand Suns" "Burning in the Skies" (A nuke going off). "Empty Spaces" (what's left). "Waiting for the End" (what people do before). "Wretches and Kings" (revolt against those who are responsible BEFORE they do it). "Wisdom, Justice, and Love" (what could solve it) and "Iridescent" (glow of either wisdom, justice, and love, or the glow of the nuke going off). "Fallout" (obvious). "The Messenger" (God saving us from our fate, maybe?).
Speeches:
Oppenheimer's speech (The Radiance) Mario Savio's speech (Wretches and Kings) Martin Luther KIng Jr.'s speech (Wisdom, Justice, and Love/ Iridescent)
Lines:
Falling into empty space God save us every one, will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns Lift me up, let me go The blood of innocence burning in the skies We the animals take control I'm holding on to what I haven't got There ain't shit we don't run when the guns unload You were standing in the wake of devastation Love keeps us kind
Overall: Nukes are bad so Destroy those who will destroy us but Love must live
You forgot "The Catalyst", the person in power.
I was listenin to this song the other day,I love wen it builds up and Rob really lets loose on the drums,its gonna go off wen i see them in 2 days :) but it sorta made me think after payin attention to martin luther king jrs speech that it could kinda be about someone feeling really sad and lost or wateva,maybe someones perspective from WWII and then everything gets nuked,coz i bet that the burst of light from a nuke goin off would prob blind an angel if their real and looking at it,also the word iridescent means wen u look at somethin from different angles the colour changes,i reckon the light from a massive explosion prob would change at different angles,Chesters part i found inspiring all the stuff bout letting go and watnot,coz i just went through a shithouse break up,and i was like u know wateva fuck u bitch we could get nuked anytime,im not gonna waste anymore time worryin about u
I've got it!
I've been studying the holy hindu text, 'The Bhagavad Gita'. This song is about the Bhagavad Gita! The words 'In a burst of light that blinded all angels, as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars' is actually in the translation I own. And Mike Shinoda himself said in an interview that some elements of 'A Thousand Suns' are based on the Bhagavad Gita.
ahhh this song is so beautiful :) but there's a slight mistake in these lyrics xP instead of: "As if the sky had blown the heavens into stone" it's suppose to be: "As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars"
so powerful!!! I can really relate to this in my life right now