Our Swords

I think this song is about someone who has committed a faux pas and done something bad (among their friends or family or maybe even in public, if they are famous) and is now facing the consequences. The narrator is advising them to apologize before it is blown out of proportion.

(Out on the wall sounds of banging's constant coming from your head And desperate the calls came then ringing from those wanna wring your neck Your neck)

The person in the song is banging their head against the wall, beating themselves up for doing something so stupid. Meanwhile, they are starting to get phone calls from people who are angry.

(And open your mouth sounds of breathing foulness spilling from your face You'd best to beat them to the humbling traffic stomping on your name)

The foulness reference is the description of the person responding badly to the friends' outcry (or it may be a reference to the original faux pas). The narrator tells them that their best course of action is really just to beat the others to the criticism- to admit their own guilt and weaknesses before everyone else can point them out.

(Count on us all falling on our own swords tonight)

I imagine that the narrator is somehow affiliated with the protagonist in a group (family, maybe)- and he explains that in order to get past the ordeal, they'll all have to 'fall on their swords,' a Samurai way to avoid dishonor by not surrendering- instead killing yourself with your own sword. Basically, in order to preserve their honor/reputation, and not surrender to the anger of their friends, they'll have to sacrifice themselves, injure themselves publicly (by slandering and injuring their own names/ admitting guilt). Only then can they preserve their honor and continue on with their lives.

(And chilling walk home down the portions of roads there leading straight to your place It looked like the tin can would swallow the kitchen plugging up your space)

I think the chilling walk home may refer to the loneliness of life after the apology, the time still in the friends'/family's/public's disapproval. I think the tin can reference is a metaphor for how big the problem seems. One tin can cannot plug up an entire space, nor can it swallow the whole kitchen- this one incident is not going to swallow up and destroy the protagonist's entire life; it just seems like it at the time.

(Count on us all stepping on our own toes tonight Count on us all stepping on our own toes Count on us all falling on our own swords tonight)

I think the 'stepping on our own toes' reference might mean that throughout the whole debacle, they're still going to make mistakes, occasionally say the wrong thing while they try to mend the situation (or it might be a reference to walking on tip-toes, being hyper-cautious and conscientious in order to be less offending to the public/their friends). Once again, he repeats that they'll all have to fall on their swords- just suck it up, admit guilt, and apologize no matter how painful it may be.

I think foulness spilling from your face means that he is disgusted at the words someone speaks, like he things they are full of shit to the point it's spilling out, but foulness also meaning words.

I hear "count on us all falling on our own swords tonight"

I certainly agree that it's "falling on our own swords tonight," but to 'fall on your own sword' is an expression that means to kind of humble yourself, often to apologize, and to take ownership of your own mistakes. So I don't think it's about suicide.

And I don't think it has anything to do with drugs, even if that fits. Drugs don't always tear you apart.

Roman soldiers, when they knew they had been defeated in battle but hadn't yet been killed, would fall on their own swords. It was an act that admitted defeat but also salvaged their diginity and honor.

The lyrics therefore seem to paint a story of someone that has made a very large mistake and upset a good deal of people. Basically, they've been socially defeated. People "want to wring [his or her] neck", and are "stomping on [his or her] name". So this person should be caounted on to "fall on their sword," so to speak. Whatever that means in a social context. Resignation? Self-destrcution? Apology? Who knows?

The lyrics ARE clipped and cryptic, but far from insipid, they are actually poignant and insightful. I believe they refer to a classic seemingly inescapable angst-filled environment (teenage rebellion, rock and roll band lifestyle, jilted lover; could be any/ many of these) and a corresponding inability to rise above the dishonor and disgrace that is fully expected of them and, not merely co-incidentally, fulfilled. Just like the song, Factory, from their newer release, the singer does a very good job of self-deprecation with wit and wordplay that invites, in me, far more sympathy than pity. A bit like reading dark and disturbingly realistic Russian literature ... I love it!

I think this song is about more than "humbleness" or "suicide" because if you listen to the rest of the song, "Out on the wall sounds of banging is constant coming from your head And desperate the calls came and ringing from those wanna wring your neck" probably means a you are fighting a constant battle with people but no one else besides you seems to care, "traffic stepping on your name" like they're bypassing him/her not even noticing the problem. And no matter how bad your life is you try and keep your head high, but struggling "Stepping on our own toes tonight" "Falling on our own swords tonight" probably also means that no matter how many people your in a conflict with your still struggling with yourself over all, whether you succeed or not.

i love this song so much. his voice is so amazing and sweet!

It is definitely "falling on our swords" ie: suicide.