In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
What s your reason for existence?
Do you believe in anything?
Or does your lifestyle contradict
The words you write the songs you sing?
Are you happy in your work
As you protest abut the unemployed
You don t wanna work but you need the money
The reality you can t avoid
But do you wanna work for the money?
Do you wanna work for the system?
Are you happy as you vote
To keep the parasites alive?
You don t want to vote but you think you should
They said it was right and you never asked why
But do you wanna vote for your conscience?
Do you want to vote for the system?
Are you happy signing up
In the army just to get some pay?
Fighting a war without a cause
Can you manage to ignore your self-decay?
But do you wanna fight for your country?
Do you wanna fight for the system?
You re their reason for existence
They use you to finance their state
The words you shout with such conviction
Is it the only way to express your hate?
Do you believe in anything?
Or does your lifestyle contradict
The words you write the songs you sing?
Are you happy in your work
As you protest abut the unemployed
You don t wanna work but you need the money
The reality you can t avoid
But do you wanna work for the money?
Do you wanna work for the system?
Are you happy as you vote
To keep the parasites alive?
You don t want to vote but you think you should
They said it was right and you never asked why
But do you wanna vote for your conscience?
Do you want to vote for the system?
Are you happy signing up
In the army just to get some pay?
Fighting a war without a cause
Can you manage to ignore your self-decay?
But do you wanna fight for your country?
Do you wanna fight for the system?
You re their reason for existence
They use you to finance their state
The words you shout with such conviction
Is it the only way to express your hate?
Lyrics submitted by x_melancholy_x
Reason for Existence Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © TUNECORE INC, TuneCore Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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this song is all good and dandy in expressing hatred for "the system" and criticizing people who work for the system in one way or another even though they truthfully feel the system is wrong. BUT!!, it poses absolutely NO suggestions as to how to unite to bring down the system. So unless some leadership is shown, this song is a bit redundant... I do like Subhumans though, I just feel you can't completely rag on someone fairly if you don't pose a solution to them.
Im kinda in that situation right now, i need money so that i can survive but im afraid ill get stuck in the system if i get a job, all the alternatives (squatting,crime,the woods) will just leave you deprived even if you are "free". i dont know any communes and i have little or no skill to sell. the system was not made for people like me, it was made to take me and morph me into a productive source. on top of that it seems like any alternative is discouraged by force (economic or social) and there is no one to turn to for advice, certainly not the Subhumans (good music tho ha!). flat out fucked as they say.... yeah i know people are dying in Haiti and wars rage in the middle east... but that changes absolutely nothing for me, my life still sucks!