| The Gaslight Anthem – Say I Won't (Recognize) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Actually, it's from Bruce Springsteen's song, 'Southside Johnny', I believe. | |
| The Gaslight Anthem – I Coulda Been a Contender Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Wasn't "I coulda been a contender" The line from a movie? I forget which one, but was it? | |
| Rise Against – Kotov Syndrome Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Where the hell did you come up with that? | |
| Foo Fighters – The Pretender Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I agree 100%. | |
| Rise Against – Historia Calamitatum Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Another great song. There are many meanings inside this song, so I won't dwell on the obvious line, "Like a child unborn". The beginning verses sound like a person who's waiting for death, how it says, "Our time has almost come, we're all overdue." Then it sounds like the person is looking for somewhere to go, somewhere to be safe; a home. We can assume that they are lost, or never had a home. "We toe the line...we go along...to you now." sounds like they're following a set path to another person, or trying to reach the same place as they did. This place may not be a physical location, though. In the verse, there is a commonplace phrase that has a distinct meaning in the song. The phrase is, "When it rains it pours", which is used to describe someone who has no small problems. So it's pretty safe to say that it's a big problem that causes the person's solitude. The river spilling over and flooding the city is a result of the large rain, the translation being that more issues have accumulated because of the one problem. How "The people laughed and swore that they's restore the city piece by piece" is suggesting that they thought of it as many small issues (piece by piece) instead of the one major one that it is. And the line "The clouds opened up as if to agree" is ironic in the sense that it's essentially saying that the clouds are letting loose more rain, but somehow agreeing with the people. For this, I'm at a loss for translation. The second part is hinting that that person from the first part is trying to discover something, perhaps his real life. The lines "The life that we once owned, first bought then sold" reinforces this theory. He's comparing his journey to naval explorers. Then the next stanza talks about What I interpret to be how the people had a plan for the storm, but it failed and now they just want to leave. Then it compares the experience to three things: A Saint reborn, a rose in a storm, and a child unborn. A Saint reborn is refering to the great deal of holiness involved, as sSaints can give people spiritual rebirthings. "A rose in a storm" is saying how the person is delicate and beautiful, but they're being put through a massive test, or problem, that will either cause it to stay firmly rooted or snap. The child unborn part does not necessarily refer to abortion as a political statement, but perhaps to the general sadness of the ordeal. The next three lines compare the situation to a coin being tossed into a well, which is money spent on wishes and dreams that won't come true. Then it flat-out says that it's a "misfortune that we could not fortell". The last one really stands out because it contradicts the theme of the storm being the problem. "A dry spell". This might be saying that the rain is not the only problem. Anyway, that's my take on it. |
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| Rise Against – Elective Amnesia Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| To me, this song is one of RA's more easily interpreted songs. I think it's about our modern dependance on synthetic remedies for natural things, like taking a pill to lose weight. It basically states that we use them "Like a crutch", and therefore lose conttrol of our lives without them. That's what I think Tim means by "We can't let go...To lose control". Also, he makes tghe connection between "right and wrong" and "convience and life", as if modern conviences limit life, which in a way they do. This song also contains side effects of our overdependance, such as lack of sleep, mentioned twice. The main effect is what I see to be death. The lines "Disconnect, cut the cord, lights are dead". This entire message can be summarized into the line, "Now they'll know, with everything comes a price." This one line is pretty self-explanatory. It's an old proverb that says the truth that there are always going to be negative effects. Another great song. | |
| Rise Against – Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag cover) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Wooo! First Comment...? It's a little harder than RA normally does, but it's Ok. I think it's about someone who's trapped in a lifestyle that is monotonous and they are about to go insane because there's no spontaniety. He seems just a breath shy of being crazy and he's already showing it. | |
| Rise Against – Generation Lost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Honestly, I don't see where you guys are coming up with a war. I interpret this as a call to be aware of the homeless people and to do something to help. How it says, "Getting trampled under the boots of progress" is reffering to the government's attempts to solve the poverty issue by plowing right over it and calling it progress, ironically. "Ignore the pleading of the nameless faces" is obviously an example of streetside beggars being ignored by people who can help and just don't want to. The next line is "With our backs against a wall, how long till we fall?", meaning how they are being oppressed and rejected by society, how much time will it take for them to collapse. "Do away with all the underprivleged" ties into the next line, "Their demographic doesn't fit your image". Combined, these lines mean that we as Americans are trying to diminish the homeless population through wrong methods because homelessness should'nt be an image of America. Now, "Turn your blind eye when duty calls" is saying how we like to say we make a difference, but when it's time to actually do something we ignore our obligation to do it. The verse is, in my opinion, the best part of the song, because that's where the song really explains why we should change. I think the door they talk about in "Cuz now they're tearing down our doors" is actually the closet door of America, where we like to keep our less desirable aspects of our country; and how they're "breaking it down" and therefore becoming more prominent. The woman screaming out the window in the next lines is America, and she's afraid of how bad things will become. The next section is talking about how we couldn't care less about how companies are trying to profit from these peoples homelessness. After that is the line, "Throw them out and call it relocation; Lower-income-housing quick solutions", which I interpret to mean how the government is trying to use so-called 'solutions' to 'help' these people, but it doesn't help anything so they try to disguise it. For example, both Obama and Bush had plans for decreasing homelessness, but have any of your own city's beggars gone away or disappeared? But still, they both claimed it was doing something, but to only an extent it was. The title line "Generation Lost" is the most important part of the song, because it can be understood different ways. One interpretation is that it's reffering to this generation's regular citizens, who can only look on while other people suffer, therefore being morally lost. Or, it could mean the homeless people whose generation is lost in the sense that it can't contribute to society. What if there were homeless geniuses out there who had the potential to solve America's real problems? The next section, "Now...Minutes" is saying how we always put off doing something to help, and not even caring about their lives. The section "Now...Free" puts the song in the perspective of a homeless person, and how he's begging for just a little care and human decency while the rest of the world ignores him. The final lines, "Let's...over" puts another person with the homeless man from the previous few lines. This person is seeing it righteously, trying to talk with the man and believing that previous ideas of homeless people should be discarded and replaced with understanding that homeless people are still humans. If you read through this top to bottom, thank you. Anyway, that's my take. | |
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