"As I raise my head to broadcast my objection
As your latest triumph draws the final straw
Who died and lifted you up to perfection?
And what silenced me is written into law

I can't believe where circumstance has thrown me
And I turn my head away
If I look I'm not sure that I could face you
Not again, not today, not today

If hatred makes a play on me tomorrow
And forgiveness takes a back seat to revenge
There's a hurt down deep that has not been corrected
There's a voice in me that says you will not win

And if I ignore the voice inside
Raise a half glass to my home
But it's there that I am most afraid
And forgetting doesn't hold

It doesn't hold
Now I don't believe and I never did
That two wrongs make a right
If the world were filled with the likes of you
Then I'm putting up a fight
Putting up a fight
Putting up a fight
Make it right
Make it right

Now love cannot be called into question
Forgiveness is the only hope I hold
And love, love will be my strongest weapon
I do believe that I am not alone

For this fear will not destroy me
And the tears that have been shed
It's knowing now where I am weakest
And the voice in my head
In my head

Then I raise my voice up higher
And I look you in the eye
And I offer love with one condition
With conviction, tell me why
Tell me why
Tell me why
Look me in the eye
Tell me why


Lyrics submitted by cerph

Final Straw Lyrics as written by Michael Mills Peter Buck

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Final Straw song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

14 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is against Bush. It was offered as a free download on R.E.M.'s website for a while to help spread it around until the label objected. At the time, I knew what the event was (downing street memo?) - but forgot. There's been so many. The song was really about everything piling up beyond Bush's excuses. I don't know how active Stripe was before, but in 2003 he became very active touring against Bush for the 2004 election. I love the way he refers to love being the weapon.

    aikanaeon November 04, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.