Do you know what's worth fightin' for
When it's not worth dyin' for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocatin'?
Does the pain weigh out the pride
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins

One, twenty-one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty-one guns
Throw up your arms
Into the sky
You and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins

One, twenty-one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty-one guns
Throw up your arms
Into the sky
You and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins

One, twenty-one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty-one guns
Throw up your arms
Into the sky
One, twenty-one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty-one guns
Throw up your arms
Into the sky
You and I


Lyrics submitted by bfg1024, edited by otislover

21 Guns Lyrics as written by Billie Joe Armstrong John Edmund Andrew Phillips

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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21 Guns song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    Though not intended, this song can be interpreted with a Christian perspective. It addresses one who has been fighting for the secular ways of life but has been beaten up by it in time. It encourages that person to "give up the fight" and "lay down their arms" and surrender their life (to God). One 21 gun salute is sufficient enough which could represent God's one and only son (Jesus) who carried the sins of the world by dying on the cross.

    dlc12bon August 13, 2009   Link

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