Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)

Thios song is about what it means to be a Christ Figure, giving up your life for someone else. Similar to what Paul says about love in 1st Corinthians, I believe all of us can live with passion and conviction in our lives, but if we stray from our first love and what we are called to be, we are nothing. Hence, true love would compel us to step out of nothingness and die for a higher cause, a living truth that binds all of us together in fellowship. If you think this is too Spiritual, realize that it is a Christian song, though Anberlin is technically not a Christian band. You can't give up your life for yourself, that is impossible. Yet it cannot be foreshadowed other than foretold to be true that in all casses of essence in what is meant to be that in dying we are born to eternal life. Always the opposite is lived to achieve the greater.

yeah i agree with thhe above. our life should mirror christ's life.. and his was a life of sacrifice. we should be willing to sacrifice our time, our patience and whatever else to help others and show them christ.. what good is our life if we save it all for ourselves? will it save us? no. will it save someone else? no. this life's not about me. i need to be reminded of this everyday... im so selfish... luckily i listen to every anberlin song everyday ;]

I really like this song, especially the Live; I wanna live inspired. Die; I wanna die for something lines and their variations. I think this song is about someone nearing the end of this life (All I know spins out of control. Wonder what's next for heart and soul. Nothing I have can save me now. Here in what maybe my final hour.)

They are facing the unknown with a bit of fear and anticipation. Part of this song is about regretting time spend on mistakes and foolish things, while the other part is very hopefully and talks about making the most of the time we have left and living like Christ.

I also love this line "Racing towards the heavens" 1 Cor. 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

"In the past, my humanitarian efforts would rarely inspire my lyrics, but on New Surrender, it became a very prominent topic. "Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)" is about the regrets of a person going down in an airplane crash and wishing that he had spent more time concerning himself with the affairs of humanity as a whole as opposed to selfish green and gain."

from the February 2009 issue of AP Magazine

Hahaha. I love how everyone jumps to the Christian explanation and it ends up not being the case at all.

woc2oom - I like how you were able to take a song with ambiguous lyrics and decide for yourself that it had no Christian meaning at all just because someone pulled a quote from AP. Did it ever occur to you that the singer may have been toning down the purpose of a song as not to bias or categorize the song topics?

I've noticed that a lot of the most talented artists can take lyrics that have a Christian undertone, and yet still write them to appeal to non-christian listeners.

This song is a perfect example. The basic idea of the song is to live your life to the fullest, but not for yourself. Sacrifice is the greatest gift you can give. Yet, the funny thing is that that is a major idea throughout Christianity.

Even if Christian wrote the songs with a focus on helping under privileged people, again you hit a idea that originated with Christianity. Christians are "supposed" to help one another including the sick and less fortunate.

Don't close your mind down.

does this have any relation the the Switchfoot song Burn Out Bright? cause the titles are kinda the same. just a thought..

I'm not Christian but I have defilitely identified with these lyrics... they are just like my life right now, recovering from depression, realizing that life is about helping other people and having a good time and finally finding your soulmate (or God)

@emmad123; It's definitely not a song about regret, everythign in is the present of future tense, they about changing your outlook on life and having a positive attitude.

also i think the last stanza chorus is

Live; I wanna live on fire. Die; I wanna burn out brighter. Brighter than the Northern Lights. Wanna live to feel the daylight. The more I GIVE I see, this life's not about me.

I agree with fdillich. I've listened to the last line a number of times and I'm pretty sure it is:

"The more I GIVE I see, this life's not about me."

Which fits with the theme of the song, really. Also: LOVE this song.

I just imagine this guy sitting in his seat, watching the engines on fire as his plane screams toward the ground, and for one moment realizing how pretty it would look from the ground if it weren't tragic---and then thinking that THAT'S how he'd like to live---on fire, with no hesitation and no regrets.