This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Turn my mic up louder
I got to say something
Lightweights stepping aside
When we come in
Feel it in your chest
The syllables get pumping
People on the street
They panic and start running
Words on loose leaf
Sheet complete coming
I jump on my mind
I summon the rhyme I'm dumping
Healing the blind
I promise to let the sun in
Sick of the dark ways
We march to the drumming
Jump when they tell us
They want to see jumping
Fuck that, I want to
See some fist pumping
Risk something
Take back what's yours
Say something that you know
They might attack you for
'Cause I'm sick of being treated
Like I had before
Like it's stupid standing for
What I'm standing for
Like this war is really just
A different brand of war
Like it doesn't cater the rich
And an abandon the poor
Like they understand you
In the back of the jet
When you can't put gas in your tank
These fuckers are laughing their way
To the bank and cashing their check
Asking you to have compassion and to have some respect
For a leader so nervous
In an obvious way
Stuttering and mumbling
For nightly news to replay
And the rest of the world
Watching at the end of the day
In the living room laughing
Like what did he say?
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen
In my living room watching
But I am not laughing
'Cause when it gets tense
I know what might happen
The world is cold
The bold men take action
Have to react
Or get blown into fractions
Ten years old is something to see
Another kid my age drugged under a jeep
Taken and bound and found later under a tree
I wonder if he thought the "next one could be me"
Do you see?
The soldiers they're out today
That brush the dust from bulletproof vests away
It's ironic
At times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday
There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads
Inside your markets, your shops, your clothes
My dad, he's got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that show
My brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spine
In the back he hand wrote a quote inside
When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die
Meanwhile, the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling
For nightly news to replay
And the rest of the world
Watching at the end of the day
Both scared and angry
Like what did he say?
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
I got to say something
Lightweights stepping aside
When we come in
Feel it in your chest
The syllables get pumping
People on the street
They panic and start running
Words on loose leaf
Sheet complete coming
I jump on my mind
I summon the rhyme I'm dumping
Healing the blind
I promise to let the sun in
Sick of the dark ways
We march to the drumming
Jump when they tell us
They want to see jumping
Fuck that, I want to
See some fist pumping
Risk something
Take back what's yours
Say something that you know
They might attack you for
'Cause I'm sick of being treated
Like I had before
Like it's stupid standing for
What I'm standing for
Like this war is really just
A different brand of war
Like it doesn't cater the rich
And an abandon the poor
Like they understand you
In the back of the jet
When you can't put gas in your tank
These fuckers are laughing their way
To the bank and cashing their check
Asking you to have compassion and to have some respect
For a leader so nervous
In an obvious way
Stuttering and mumbling
For nightly news to replay
And the rest of the world
Watching at the end of the day
In the living room laughing
Like what did he say?
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen
In my living room watching
But I am not laughing
'Cause when it gets tense
I know what might happen
The world is cold
The bold men take action
Have to react
Or get blown into fractions
Ten years old is something to see
Another kid my age drugged under a jeep
Taken and bound and found later under a tree
I wonder if he thought the "next one could be me"
Do you see?
The soldiers they're out today
That brush the dust from bulletproof vests away
It's ironic
At times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday
There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads
Inside your markets, your shops, your clothes
My dad, he's got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that show
My brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spine
In the back he hand wrote a quote inside
When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die
Meanwhile, the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling
For nightly news to replay
And the rest of the world
Watching at the end of the day
Both scared and angry
Like what did he say?
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
With hands held high
Into a sky so blue
The ocean opens up
To swallow you
Lyrics submitted by theDrunkPianist
Hands Held High Lyrics as written by Chester Charles Bennington Brad Delson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Jump when they tell us they want to see jumping. Fuck that, I want to see some fist pumping. Risk something. Take back what's yours. Say something that you know they might attack you for -You have to be obedient and do what your superiors say, but he's saying that's not what matters, it's what's important to you that matters. So what if there are consequences? If something has meaning to you, do something to protect that.
Cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before. Like I'm stupid standing for what I'm standing for. Like this war's really just a different brand of war. Like it doesn't cater to rich and abandon poor -People discriminate and insult you if you stand up for what you say, if it's not something that everyone else believes in. I believe this part refers to the war in Iraq; we try to justify our actions for entering the war, but so what? War is war. War helps the rich and generally hurts the poor as prices go up; the poor struggle to survive while the rich benefit even more from this because war stimulates economy.
For a leader so nervous in an obvious way Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day In their living room laughing like, "What did he say?" -Our leaders, an example being Bush, are just stupid and ignorant and they barely know what they're saying, only repeating what they're told to say. People question what he says because he obviously has no idea what he's talking about.
Amen x6 is referring to prayer obviously, saying that with such corruption and so many flaws in our country, we need to pray, hoping that these problems are solved.
In my living room watching, But I am not laughing. 'Cause when it gets tense, I know what might happen. The world is cold, and bold men take action. Have to react to get blown into fractions. 10 years old is something to see, Another kid my age drugged under a G, Taken and bound and found later under a tree, I wonder if he thought, "The next one could be me." -We enter war, and soldiers (bold men) step up and protect the country, risking their lives every day. "10 years old is something to see" it's surprising people can live past 10 (not exactly, this is an exaggeration) because of all the crime and corruption. People are killed left and right, and you'll never know when you could be the next target of a crime and wind up dead.
Do you see? The soldiers that are out today. That brush the dust with bulletproof vests away. It's ironic. At times like this you pray, But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday. -We pray for the soldiers to be safe, but it's ironic that we pray for them because religion is what started this war. Muslims and Christians have been clashing for over a millennium now, and this is what has brought us back to war.
There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads, Inside your market, your shops, your clothes, My dad, he's got a lot of fear I know, But enough pride inside not to let that show. -A threat looms everywhere, as we are told. We are never safe, even in our houses. The fear the constricts the nation is used as a tool by political leaders to encourage the war. People are scared but have too much pride to show their fear.
My brother had a book he would hold with pride, A little red cover with a broken spine. In the back he hand wrote a quote inside, "When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." -Someone stands up for their beliefs, and this ties back to what is said the first time.
Repeats...
With hands held high into a sky so blue, The ocean opens up to swallow you. (x6) -We hope that someone, maybe even God can get us out of this whole mess. This catastrophe is too much for us to handle, so in our desperation we turn to a figure greater than ourselves to solve our problem.
Basically, I believe the song is about how people are attacked and insulted just for being different. We are all fearful; fearful for speaking for what we stand up for, fearful of threat. We try to justify going to war with another country, but we truly can't justify it. War is war, and we're waging it for a similar reason.