| Linkin Park – Runaway Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Perhaps I might be reading too much into it... but in my perspective, the lyrics of this song portray the internal conflict that the individual faces when dealing with society and the state at large, leading to growing discontent with the oppressors in power. In the first verse, 'graffiti decorations' reflect the vigor of human expression and the desire to rebel within a suffocating atmosphere of monotony and conformity, hence 'the sky of dust.' The 'wave of tension' represents the various forms of defiance and civil disobedience used to address the 'broken trust' for tyrannical state authority. Lastly, the individual realizes the 'lessons' taught to him/her were merely methods of indoctrination to mold him/her into the ideal citizen. The pre-chorus details the cognitive dissonance that the individual feels when the core ideals that he/she identified with are being challenged, feeling that accepting a lifestyle of illusory goals and values makes him/her part of the problem ('guilty by association'). However, the individual realizes the danger and ridicule that comes with making these realizations, and the ostracism from society that is a consequence of this type of thinking. The chorus outlines the immediate desire for the individual to escape the from the psychological grasp of a conformist society, and the state that looms over it. In doing so, true understanding of the world will follow in opening up the mind. The second verse emphasizes on the reluctance to make the final break from society by pointing out the anxiety (paper bags - heavy nervous breathing) and judgmental ridicule from conformist citizens (angry voices). The 'tension' continues to build up in the individual, just as much as it does within the mob mentality of the rebellious counterculture in the first verse. The individual has self-doubt (all my talk of taking action...), and second guesses his true motives, but realizes again the failure of responsibility of one's own true goals by just going along with everyone else. As the song reaches the bridge, and ends with a repetition of "open up my mind," the individual has decided to go through with his/her escape from the closed walls that is society. I believe that such an interpretation holds great importance and relevance in our day and age, and it must be realized where exactly we're headed if we continue to passively accept the prejudices of society and the tyranny of an oppressive state as 'normal.' It's time to wake up. |
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