Paramedics brave and strong
Up before the break of dawn
Putting poker faces on
Broken bodies all day long
The neighbors heard a fight
Someone had a knife
It must have have been the wife
Husband's lost a lot of blood
He wakes up screaming
"Oh my God, am I gonna die?
Am I gonna die?"
As they strapped his arms down to his sides
At times like these they'd been taught to lie
"Buddy just calm down, you'll be alright."
Several friends came to his grave
His children were so well-behaved
As the priest got up to speak
The assembly craved relief
But he himself had given up
So instead he offered them this bitter cup
"You're gonna die, we're all gonna die
Could be twenty years, could be tonight
Lately I have been wondering why
We go to so much trouble to postpone the unavoidable
And prolong the pain of being alive"
Up before the break of dawn
Putting poker faces on
Broken bodies all day long
The neighbors heard a fight
Someone had a knife
It must have have been the wife
Husband's lost a lot of blood
He wakes up screaming
"Oh my God, am I gonna die?
Am I gonna die?"
As they strapped his arms down to his sides
At times like these they'd been taught to lie
"Buddy just calm down, you'll be alright."
Several friends came to his grave
His children were so well-behaved
As the priest got up to speak
The assembly craved relief
But he himself had given up
So instead he offered them this bitter cup
"You're gonna die, we're all gonna die
Could be twenty years, could be tonight
Lately I have been wondering why
We go to so much trouble to postpone the unavoidable
And prolong the pain of being alive"
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Bazan wanted to relay this story as a song. After writing the first verse, he felt this was to be the best song he'd ever written. While writing the song, he felt the events and story were too personal, and came up with what he described as a "cartoony" ending.
In the same sense, the priest is also aphetic. He has given up all hope. The friends of the husband are craving relief. However, the priest is tired and tragically has put on his poker face. “You’re gonna die, we’re all gonna die” he says. He has lost the faith. He wonders why we “postpone the unavoidable”. Bazan has never been dishonest about people of faith. They are also prone to lose hope. This priest who could have been the shining character in the story is tragically not. Society has also lost hope. Bazan is not done, though…
It also is a great conclusion to the story of the album.