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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  • 0
    General Comment

    i think the whole religion thing is way off i agree with "wintonas" its a grave stone hes asking forgiveness from but its not literal its a simile for intense regret for his actions and their consequences.

    if you look at the 3 lines before u can understand it better:

    "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"

    If u take the anti-war line, the house and home represents the institution of the united states or the constitution or whatever, any ethical system really. He thought he was upholding its values but he burnt it to the ground unknowingly. Of course living without some structured ethical system to believe in (living on your own) simply doesn't work. Now its all well and good to say he was doing the right thing from a distance, but when ur the one burning the house down u realise how misguided u really have been. you get burned also because ur too close (this ties in with the whole "your in ruins" line, referring to his broken spirit and soul). Finally he compares his remorse to asking for forgiveness from a gravestone, which is of course futile and besides it is far to late to reverse the outcome or change the past.

    edtoasteron August 24, 2009   Link

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