This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I have my mother's dreams
I have my father's eyes
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try
The crescent city sleeps
While giants in the sky
Preparing to unleash
Let loose a mighty cry
Can nobody save us?
Will anyone try?
The bayou is burning
The cypress has died
And all along they're saying
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
One by land, two by sea, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
Five thousand feet below
As black smoke engulfs the sky
The ocean floor explodes
Eleven mothers cry
My bones all resonate
A burning lullaby
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try
She says that's a shoreline
With hands in the air
Her words pierce the dark night
Does anyone care?
And all along can say it
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Hold my hand, to help see, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Choking on the black gold
Upon which we here rely
We keep axes in the attic
To see cameras in the sky
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
We were told, just to sit tight
'Cause somebody will soon arrive
Help is on the way
They never came
They never came
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
One by land, two by sea, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
On the way
I have my father's eyes
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try
The crescent city sleeps
While giants in the sky
Preparing to unleash
Let loose a mighty cry
Can nobody save us?
Will anyone try?
The bayou is burning
The cypress has died
And all along they're saying
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
One by land, two by sea, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
Five thousand feet below
As black smoke engulfs the sky
The ocean floor explodes
Eleven mothers cry
My bones all resonate
A burning lullaby
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try
She says that's a shoreline
With hands in the air
Her words pierce the dark night
Does anyone care?
And all along can say it
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Hold my hand, to help see, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Right here
Choking on the black gold
Upon which we here rely
We keep axes in the attic
To see cameras in the sky
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
We were told, just to sit tight
'Cause somebody will soon arrive
Help is on the way
They never came
They never came
Help is on the way (They said they said)
Help is on the way (They said they said)
One by land, two by sea, right there in front of me
Help is on the way
On the way
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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This song has a very clear and not as an interpretive meaning than most other of Rise Against's songs. This is pretty much directly about the Oil Spill in the gulf. Some things that support this interpretation are: Crescent city - Crescent city is a nickname for New Orleans "Five thousand feet below, as black smoke engulfs the sky, the ocean floor explodes" - the sky being a metaphor for the ocean surface, and the black smoke is the oil. "Choking on the black gold, upon which we rely" - Black gold is a term for oil, and which we rely is referring to how we use oil on a daily basis.
The whole chorus about help never coming is a reference to how BP always said they'd deal with the spill and clean it up, but they took forever to do so.
yea totally agree with this but is also about hurricane katrina. When it says help is on the way it can also mean that the american government said they were coming to help all of the american people that were there but never did because it was too much money and america values its money more then its citizens, i have seen many videos and interviews with Tim and Rise Against about this song because it is just an amazing song
You're both right! I recognized the Gulf oil spill reference as soon as I heard it, but I didn't know about it also being about Hurricane Katrina until I looked up the song. The chorus about help being on the way definitely reminds me of New Orleans in the days and weeks following the disaster.<br /> <br /> This is an incredible song.
When the song comes to the part 'It never came!' I feel blazing and bitter fury.
100% agreed.
@KatieDementie Me too. Me too. Such a chilling song/video. Definitely my personal favorite from the band.
"the ocean floor explodes 11 mothers cry"
For those unaware, 11 people died when the oil rig exploded in the gulf. Hence this line.
This is the best I could do, message me on here if you want to mp3 or you have changes to the lyrics :) awesome song.
A few suggestions on lyrics here:<br /> <br /> While giants in the sky => watch Ions in the sky (planes)<br /> My bones are resining => My bones all resonate<br /> she says that's a sure line => she says that's a shoreline<br /> And it's always 'in front of me' in the chorus, it doesn't change into 'inside of me'
Personally, it makes more sense as "While giants in the sky are preparing to unleash and let loose a mighty cry" It also sounds like "The severence is dying" And I also believe it isn't she says it's a shoreline, it sounds more like "She stands at the shoreline" which would make more sense as well. We won't know the official lyrics until Rise Against releases them, so until then we can use our ears to decipher their poem.
Personally, it makes more sense as "While giants in the sky are preparing to unleash and let loose a mighty cry" It also sounds like "The severence is dying" And I also believe it isn't she says it's a shoreline, it sounds more like "She stands at the shoreline" which would make more sense as well. We won't know the official lyrics until Rise Against releases them, so until then we can use our ears to decipher their poem.
Here's the definite version:<br /> While giants in the sky<br /> She stands at the shoreline<br /> till I see (second chorus, replaces to help see)<br /> My bones are (sounds like resonate with an -ing ending)<br /> But it never came/ It never came (Instead of They never came/ They never came)
Actually, it might not be "hold my hand till I see" it might be "one by land, two by sea" like that's where the help is coming from
The line is not "we keep actions in the attic" but "we keep axes in the attic." This is quite literal. Many people in New Orleans keep an ax in the attic in case the water rises that high. People take refuge in the attic and then get trapped as the water rises. (New Orleans native.)
Oh, also, it's not pyre and severence, it's<br /> "the bayou is burning<br /> the cypress has died"
The first part seems to refer to Katrina:
"The crescent city sleeps/While giants in the sky/preparing to unleash"
Because Hurricane Katrina caught us (I llive in NO) completely off guard since we all thought it was just going to dissipate after it hit Florida. The second part is quite obviously referring to the oil spill but the first part stuck out from that so I thought I'd mention.
I think its actually "She stands at the shoreline, with hands in the air" "her words pierce the dark night, does anyone care?" Meaning, that This girl (presumabally stranded) is yelling and screaming and waving her arms to try and get the attention of one of the supposed "rescuers"
it still is a problem commander. there still is oil in the gulf just the media isnt talking about it anymore
exactly, the media is NEVER an unbiased source, they blame everyone but themselves for everything. they can be a cause for some of these events too
the media doesn't talk about it because the general population lost interest and i think this song speaks on that saying the help never came because people lost interest and no one is fretting over it anymore thinking "oh its no big deal, the news hasnt said anything so it must be all better now"
same thing with Haiti, the media had a field day over it but then lost interest
I find it very interesting to listen to the tone of voice used in the song.
You start with a statement that eventually works it's way into a desperate cry. Immediately followed by the chorus saying "Help is on the way".
I find this interesting because after the chorus if repeats, starts with a calm statement then back to a desperate cry for help.
Almost as if when you ask for help and it is offered, you can never really fully rely on anyone else but yourself.
I think it has more to do with direct action then anything else.
It's really:
choking on the black gold upon which we rely we keep axes in the attic to see cameras in the sky
The first part is addressing the oil spill, but the second part is about Katrina. They told us to keep axes in our attics so if the water rose too fast you could still get out. I'm not completely sure about the "cameras in the sky," I think it might be about all the helicopters flying around video taping all the people on the roofs.