The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
And on that day, they'll tell you
That life hummed on with no clue
The warning signs were all dismissed or shouted down
So it goes
The kings all failed to tell us (ooh)
The madmen failed to sell us (ooh)
On what would then befall the only life we know
Were they burning signal fires
To guide us to the fields?
Or building funeral pyres?
The outcome of a final appeal
The city lines are down
The kerosene's run out (ooh)
The fracturing of all we relied upon (ooh)
Let's shed this unclean skin (ooh)
And start to feel again (ooh)
'Cause all the shoulders (ooh)
On which to cry are gone
The paranoia gripped us
The rain turned engines to rust
The panic set in like a cancer to our hearts
Spreading through
We bet on finite genius (ooh)
Or prayed for gods to save us (ooh)
But there was no antidote
Disease tore us apart
We left bodies in the fields (bodies in the fields)
So numb that we forgot how to feel
The city lines are down (ooh)
The kerosene's run out (ooh)
The fracturing of all we relied upon (ooh)
Let's shed this unclean skin (ooh)
And start to feel again (ooh)
'Cause all the shoulders
On which to cry are gone
He looked at the fields, and then his hands
"All I need is what I have"
Then fell a tear of happiness, ooh ooh
She watched the world crumble away
"Is this the end of yesterday?"
"Lord, I hope so," is all he said
All gone are the old guards (gone are the old guards)
Gone are the cold, cold wars (gone are the cold wars)
Weightless, we go forth (weightless, we go forth)
On wings of amnesty
All we relied on now
The city lines are down
The kerosene's run out
The fracturing of all we relied upon
Let's shed this unclean skin
Let's start to feel again
With no more shoulders, shoulders to cry on now (wooah)
The weight that we once felt is gone
No more, no more, no more (wooah)
No more, no more, no more (the weight that we once felt is gone)
The weight that we once felt is gone
That life hummed on with no clue
The warning signs were all dismissed or shouted down
So it goes
The kings all failed to tell us (ooh)
The madmen failed to sell us (ooh)
On what would then befall the only life we know
Were they burning signal fires
To guide us to the fields?
Or building funeral pyres?
The outcome of a final appeal
The city lines are down
The kerosene's run out (ooh)
The fracturing of all we relied upon (ooh)
Let's shed this unclean skin (ooh)
And start to feel again (ooh)
'Cause all the shoulders (ooh)
On which to cry are gone
The paranoia gripped us
The rain turned engines to rust
The panic set in like a cancer to our hearts
Spreading through
We bet on finite genius (ooh)
Or prayed for gods to save us (ooh)
But there was no antidote
Disease tore us apart
We left bodies in the fields (bodies in the fields)
So numb that we forgot how to feel
The city lines are down (ooh)
The kerosene's run out (ooh)
The fracturing of all we relied upon (ooh)
Let's shed this unclean skin (ooh)
And start to feel again (ooh)
'Cause all the shoulders
On which to cry are gone
He looked at the fields, and then his hands
"All I need is what I have"
Then fell a tear of happiness, ooh ooh
She watched the world crumble away
"Is this the end of yesterday?"
"Lord, I hope so," is all he said
All gone are the old guards (gone are the old guards)
Gone are the cold, cold wars (gone are the cold wars)
Weightless, we go forth (weightless, we go forth)
On wings of amnesty
All we relied on now
The city lines are down
The kerosene's run out
The fracturing of all we relied upon
Let's shed this unclean skin
Let's start to feel again
With no more shoulders, shoulders to cry on now (wooah)
The weight that we once felt is gone
No more, no more, no more (wooah)
No more, no more, no more (the weight that we once felt is gone)
The weight that we once felt is gone
Lyrics submitted by WillCreary, edited by hincognito, Zansky, Tserra
Endgame Lyrics as written by Joseph Principe Brandon Barnes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Great version of a great song,
I would have to say doomsday/the apocalypse anyone else feel this way?
Yeah sort of. Its the end of this way of life. The end of what Rise Against see as a failed system. No one sees it coming, until the end of it all befalls us.
Its also a new beginning: "he looked at the fields, and then his hands all i need is what i have"
Its definately talking about the end of days but its making fun of the world in a sense. The start of the song its like saying how we apparently didn't see it coming but the tone of the lyrics seems really sarcastic like its saying the warning signs are there how can we miss them.
Its also got that stereotypical take on what will happen when it is announced that the world is going to end. Chaos sets in and panic is everywhere. A good visual example of this 2012 or even the Knowing. The overwhelming tone of the song up until after the second chorus is so saddening but by this next verse the shift in tone shows happiness. It puts a bit of a happy twist on the worlds destruction. It gives everyone a second chance to make things right and to do things differently. Even the chorus shows this with the line "I shed this unclean skin" which shows how we have a chance to start again and do things correctly
you have a lot of the lyrics wrong these are the correct lyrics from the album booklet
On that day, They'll tell you That life hummed on with no clue The warning signs were all Dismissed or shouted down So it goes The kings all failed to tell us The madmen failed to sell us On what would then become The only life we know
Were they burning signal fires To guide us to the fields? Or building funeral pyres? The outcome of a final appeal
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of all We relied on upon
Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again Because all the shoulders On which to cry are gone
The paranoia gripped us The rain turned engines to rust The panic set in like a cancer to our hearts Spreading through We bet on finite genius Or prayed for god to save us But there was no antidote Disease tore us apart
We left bodies in the streets So numb we forgot how to feel
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of all We relied on upon
Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again Because all the shoulders On which to cry are gone
He looks at the fields And his hands "All I need is what I have" Then shed a tear of happiness
She watched the world Crumple away "Is this the end of yesterday?" "Lord, I hope so" Is all he said
Gone are the old guards Gone are the cold, cold wars Weightless we go forth On wings of amnesty
All we relied on now
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of all We relied on upon
Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again Because all the shoulders On which to cry are gone
No more, no more No more, no more No more, no more No more, no more The weight we once felt is gone
Tim is singing about the result of the choices we've made over the past 100 years coming happening. Our whole governmental system is falling apart, we ran out of the will to go on (Kerosene symbolism for nothing left to burn, also literal meaning). But then it takes a sudden turn.<br /> <br /> He looks at the fields<br /> And his hands<br /> "All I need is what I have"<br /> Then shed a tear of happiness<br /> <br /> She watched the world<br /> Crumple away<br /> "Is this the end of yesterday?"<br /> "Lord, I hope so" Is all he said<br /> <br /> Gone are the old guards<br /> Gone are the cold, cold wars<br /> Weightless we go forth<br /> On wings of amnesty<br /> <br /> The speaker realizes that now that teh sytem of life we once had is gone, so are all of it's problem. It's time for a fresh start. No more religions, wars, no more burden of apocalypse. Let's just hope we dont fuck up again.<br /> <br />
Whoops didn't mean to put that in a reply
Should be "There was no ANSWER, SO disease tore us apart."
It's definitely about the fall of society, like in the movie Book of Eli or Post-Man. But I think its also addressing two different responses to the end of a broken society: first there is the boy "He looked at the field and then his hands. All I need is what I have." He is resilient and he is happy for a second chance. He is looking to the future and what he can make for himself. Then there is his partner , the girl. "Is this the end of yesterday?" while the boy is looking to the future and hope, the girl sees her past life and lifestyle breakdown and collapse. She is filled with trepidation and fear of what's to come.
Lyrics according to album booklet:
And on that day they'll tell you That life went on with no clue The warning signs were all dismissed or shouted down So it goes The kings all failed to tell us The madmen failed to sell us On what would then befall the only life we know
Were they burning signal fires To guide us to the fields Or building funeral pyres The outcome of a final appeal
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of all We relied upon Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again 'Cause all the shoulders on which to cry are gone
The paranoia gripped us The rain turned engines to rust The panic set in like a cancer to our hearts Spreading through We bet on finite genius And prayed for gods to save us But there was no answer, so Disease tore us apart We left bodies in the fields So numb that we forgot how to feel
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of We relied upon Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again 'Cause all the shoulders on which to cry are gone
He looked at the fields, and then his hands "All I need is what I have" Then fell a tear of happiness Oh, she watched the world crumble away "Is this the end of yesterday?" "Lord, I hope so" is all he said Gone are the old guards Gone are the cold, cold wars Weightless, we go forth, On wings of amnesty.
All we relied on now
The city lines are down The kerosene's run out The fracturing of all We relied upon Let's shed this unclean skin And start to feel again With no more shoulders, shoulders to cry on now
No more, no more No more, no more No more, no more The weight that we once felt is gone.