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Godspeed Lyrics

It's January, 1970
Do you remember me?
You put me on a boat across the sea
In the name of victory
But much to my surprise when I arrived
There was no welcoming committee

Instead there was a man for me to kill
And now I see how this is all too real

Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran toward him, he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life, he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade
He whispered softly

Godspeed this letter
Away from here
I've sealed it with my tears
And stamped it with my fears

And Godspeed this letter
Away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you

And in his pocket there
I saw the picture of his children and his family
And I began to realize this person I despised
In actuality, was not much different from myself
We probably could have taught each other many things

And now I know it's much too late
Although I couldn't hesitate
I checked his gun
And his chamber was empty

Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran toward him, he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life, he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade
He whispered softly

Godspeed this letter
Away from here
I've sealed it with my tears
And stamped it with my fears

And Godspeed this letter
Away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you

We know not what we've done
And, oh, we know not what we've done

Godspeed this letter
Away from here
I've sealed it with my tears
And stamped it with my fears

And Godspeed this letter
Away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
Song Info
Submitted by
andrewoath On Jan 25, 2009
21 Meanings

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Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

Skyphoenix that is extremely shallow. This is a song of how this soldier gets an epiphany of how this war is for nothing and that the enemy and himself are more alike then he thinks, and that the enemy was never going to fight back. Pathetic is a person who can't see past his own ideas of how things, i.e. music, is supposed to be. Seriously come out that shell you seem to live in and be open minded.

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

The Vietnam war ended in 1970. It was a long and unfavorable war so Ronnie sings:

"It's January, 1970 Do you remember me? You put me on a boat across the sea In the name of victory" The war was fought in the name of victory, or Capitalism. The U.S. was afraid if communism spread to

Vietnam it would spread throughout the entirity of Asia.

Then Ronnie recalls the memories of the soldiers and how after he killed a man he looked through his personal belongings and found out there was not much different between the two.

The Vietnam war ended due to the fact American soldiers were questioning why they were there in the first place.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

i actually loooove this song. but i think its:

"i've sealed it with my tears and stamped it with my fears"

fist makes more sense.. but fears is what i here..

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

what are you talkin' about skyphoenix, this is great stuff. Granted it is different to 'Don't you fake it' but it's still damn good

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

What war are they talking about. Good song liking the new album

It's the Vietnam War.

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

I love this song. It sure is different from their other stuff, but its lyrics are powerful if you really listen to them and understand them. It helps if you know about the Vietnam War, too. But just imagine being in war, standing there with an empty chamber, and having someone running toward you about to take your life. That takes courage.

I get really into songs haha

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

Wow TitoC11 The song is based on the Vietnamese War as laurenmaureen pointed out. And musicians can write about something they have never been through, if they couldn't, music would be pointless. Music is the greatest instrument to express feelings and deep emotions through metaphors or literal stories within songs. Maybe Ronnie's grandfather was in the Viet War, how will you ever know?? This song is simply amazing, it almost made me cry when I first heard it, it has such meaning and beautiful lyrics. Good job on this piece RJA.

In an older interview Ronnie says he likes to have lyrics that are personal to him or someone he knows, so although he may not have been in the war he may have had a family member or someone he knew go through something like this

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

I hear "i've stamped it with my FEARS." too.

yeah i think the beginning is about the vietnam war and of course he hasnt been in it but that doesn't mean he didnt know someone personally who was in it. i think the whole song has to do with war in general.

so, TitoC11, don't say that Ronnie had nothing to do with it when you do not know.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

This song could also have a deeper meaning (Obviously). Some bring up the fact that he was not in the war, thus how could he tell a tale about it...

But what if Ronnie is telling a story about "what could have been."

When we meet people, we judge them immediately, whether it be subconsciously or not. "And I began to realize this person I despised In actuality, was not much different from myself We probably could have taught each other many things"

I feel this way about many of the people I interact with. If you approach someone with an open mind, there wouldn't be so much hatred between one another.

"And now I know it's much too late Although I couldn't hesitate I checked his gun And his chamber was empty"

Usually it's too late for us to go back and change what we have done. Ok, so nobody died as a result of our actions, but this is an exaggerated example of "killing" a friendship or an opportunity that may have been.

--But that's just my interpretation of the song... You may have another. And that's the beauty of all lyrics.

Cover art for Godspeed lyrics by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The

until i started reading the lyrics on the net, i actually heard "...and stuffed it with my fears..."

also, "...i checked his gun and his chamber was empty..." made me think that his enemy had fired his gun as well...

 
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