He certainly did earn that reputation.
You just can't relax,
And you can't rely,
On anyone for anything,
So you make your complaints,
And all everyone's let you down,
You just can't,
Ever win,
Convinced there's a war on,
It's always everybody versus you,
Convinced that your critics are watching,
And you've always got something,
You've always got something to prove,
So tie the noose,
And raise the cross,
The martyr's arrived,
A desperate plea for sympathy,
It's all you'll need,
A laundry list of problems,
Doesn't make you interesting,
And never getting help doesn't make you brave,
Not listening to reason doesn't mean that you have faith,
Your just cutting off your nose to spite your face,
So tie the noose,
And raise the cross,
The martyr's arrived,
A desperate plea for sympathy,
It's all you'll need!
And you want it all
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all.
And you can't rely,
On anyone for anything,
So you make your complaints,
And all everyone's let you down,
You just can't,
Ever win,
Convinced there's a war on,
It's always everybody versus you,
Convinced that your critics are watching,
And you've always got something,
You've always got something to prove,
So tie the noose,
And raise the cross,
The martyr's arrived,
A desperate plea for sympathy,
It's all you'll need,
A laundry list of problems,
Doesn't make you interesting,
And never getting help doesn't make you brave,
Not listening to reason doesn't mean that you have faith,
Your just cutting off your nose to spite your face,
So tie the noose,
And raise the cross,
The martyr's arrived,
A desperate plea for sympathy,
It's all you'll need!
And you want it all
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all,
You want it, you want it all.
Lyrics submitted by BrandNew1208
Sympathy for the Martyr Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Show Me a Little Shame
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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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.
So to upset the people that hate it when connections are made between Straylight Run/Taking Back Sunday songs even more:
"So please, please, I'm running out of sympathy"-"A desperate plea for sympathy."
I mean, you can just hear the desperation in Adam's voice in "Great Romances" so I think that's a likely connection. If not, I still say this song is about Adam. No, I'm not one of those people who thinks every Straylight song is about TBS and vice versa, but I do think this one and "Another Word For Desperate" are. I think TBS wrote far more songs about the split than Straylight Run did.
Regardless, this song is easily related to, and has a universal meaning to it, as well as John's personal intentions. That's the beauty of the SR/TBS diss songs: how subtle they are. Well, not "There's No 'I' In Team," but even that has a universal theme.
Also, to add to thechemicalkidd's statement: this song is not literally about martyrs. It's more a tongue in cheek thing... ya know, sarcasm, people. The subject of the song thinks there's "a war and it's always everybody versus" him. So it's saying he plays the victim... but he thinks of himself as a 'martyr.'