| Bad Religion – Pride and the Pallor Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is the first song on Dissent of Man that really jumped out at me. There is no question in my mind that this song is about alcoholism. People who have grown up in homes affected by alcoholism will agree. Several lines speak to me as an adult child of an alcoholic, who was himself and adult child. Alcoholism is a family disease and this song speaks to that. When he was a kid he was treated just the same so he hid his feelings from the family. Lost as an island out at sea, resistant to the gentle waves of empathy. One of the hallmarks of growing up around alcoholism is the inability to express emotion, generally because displaying true emotion uncovers the lie that's told to make the family seem normal from the outside. My dad was, and still is, an "island out at sea, resistant to the gentle waves of empathy." Papa and the family always on parade Telling the story is important from the early on. You must maintain the veneer of normalcy, a parade for friends, family, coworkers and schoolmates. What they created was a family story no one will tell. It's a photo album too terrible. Many people will not talk about the distress they were put through growing up. It's difficult to come to terms with a childhood where the needs of the family always superseded those of the child. It is just not something one wants to relive, it's the story nobody's telling and memories too traumatic to re-experience. "Get me out of here, someone's got to save the day." The children are reminded to do it for the daddy's sake. And happiness is ever so far, far away. This line brings tears to my eyes. A kid looks to be protected and that's not an option in a family dealing (or worse, not dealing) with addiction. Happiness is something for other people, not you. You have to keep the lie going because you dad would be embarrassed. The family image should never be an issue the child has to deal with, but in many cases, they are forced to. |
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| Bad Religion – Sinister Rouge Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Without a doubt, the first verse is about witch hunts and the inquisition. In the book "Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity" there is a short discussion about the need for a lifetime's investment on research on what really happened during the inquisitions. This song is mentioned specifically. | |
| Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Throughout the song Graffin mentions famous authors; Hemmingway, Kerouac and Wolfe. All three were noted for writing about normal people. The examples that come to mind immediatly are Hemmingways Nick Adams stories. They are simple stories about a young man going to war and coming home. Throughout the song Graffin compares these 'normal' stories written by some of the greatest authors of the 20th century to what you read in the news. Child abuse (first and second line), lovers quarrels turned deadly, unexpected suicides, homelessness, drug abuse and alcoholism. Graffin is saying that some of the news stories you hear sound like they are written by an amateur fiction writer because they are almost unbelievable. |
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