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.
We're lowering the standard in a process selective.
The formulas to thin.
But it takes more than one person.
So everyone jump on.
I'll miss you when you're just like them.
I remember back then thinking:
Easy comes but doesn't stay, what comes easy never stays.
But the politics need means.
And Business never leaves.
You better sing now while you can.
Imitate and water down.
Until we crash I'll write it out:
Selection breathes on its own.
Make them open the request line and let selection kill the old.
Turn off your radio.
The formulas to thin.
But it takes more than one person.
So everyone jump on.
I'll miss you when you're just like them.
I remember back then thinking:
Easy comes but doesn't stay, what comes easy never stays.
But the politics need means.
And Business never leaves.
You better sing now while you can.
Imitate and water down.
Until we crash I'll write it out:
Selection breathes on its own.
Make them open the request line and let selection kill the old.
Turn off your radio.
Lyrics submitted by cprompt
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i think a lot of people need to look closely at this song. and other jew songs. because they just dont get it.
this song rawks! i believe that jim is talking about the corruption with record labels and radio stations. he is trying to show how everything is for money and not for the heart in the record biz nowadays. it's like he's saying that music for a band is almost like the side project compared to their image and cd, ticket and merchndise sales. it's very sad that he is true. but you can hear in the lyrics that he wants to change something about that,likehe wants to be a rock & roll star but on his own terms. mad love to him and his band for kickin' ass and writing good songs like his one.
Uh, god. I love Jimmy Eat World and I always have...but why can't they just stick to what they believe in. The song, like elroy said is about...wait, do I hear "Bleed American"...<turns off the radio>...how the radio makes the music less about...Where do I hear "The Middle"...ugh, <turns off the TV>...music and more about a profit...
the song i have doesn't follow these lyrics at all...
theres two versions...theres a slow one and i THINK that was the original and then they changed it for clarity. If yours goes: FOR YOUR TIME ITS WRITTEN OUT, WORK MEANS NOTHING BY ITSELF...that's the first one. If not, you have the wrong song.
thanks VIX i downloaded the slow version, but it's this one on my clarity cd. i guess i never noticed lol anyways, i added the slow song lyrics to here
Now VIX, about the whole radio thing, bands really don't have much control on how much their songs get played on the radio. They're sticking what they beleive in if they don't sell out...like they're all over MTV and TRL and forget about their fans...Jimmy hasn't done that, and I hope they never will. That's great that people love Jimmy's music...everyone in the world should have a copy of their cd's, but it's when they're all about themselves and not their fans is when we need to start worrying. Sure, fans that have liked Jimmy from the begining hate it when little teeny boppers start listening to their music because Carson says it's cool, but you have to realize that the cd's they're buying are supporting the band and helping to keep them around longer so that when those same teeny boppers leave them for something "cooler", Jimmy can still make awesome music for us die-hard fans. So just deal with it in the meantime...I believe they won't sell out...I have faith in these guys...if they keep up what they're doing, they'll do fine and you'll have nothing to worry about.
well tracie, jew is all over mtv. i've always liked them and it really painsss me to hear " middle" on the radio. i hate to say it but they have seemed to sell-out in a way. no offence to all you new coming jew fans of course
well watchmefall it would appear like that at first but if you look at what they play nowadays it's all clarity album stuff with a some bleed american mixed in. considering the fact that you have to make a living doing this the fact that "the middle" is their only breakout song it is remarkable how true to the fans they still are. Im an old JEW fan and I have no trouble adjusting to their new stuff.
Oh, I know JEW is on MTV...I'm just saying that they haven't really sold out until it starts getting to their heads, ya know? When it starts to be ALL about the money and the MTV apperances and they forget about the fans, the people who put them in that position, it's nothing to be proud of. I also cringe when I see little 12 year old girls yelling "Jim is so hot" on TRL or the local pop DJ raves about the new JEW song, but it's something we, as true fans, need to deal with. It will soon all pass and JEW will be ours again. Just hang in there.
watchmefall, i think you're mistaken. JEW created Bleed American on their own dollar, WITHOUT label support. they created the album the way THEY wanted to, not the way some exec told them to. they are in a business, so what if the songs they create get popular. who the hell cares, if you dont want to know about it, dont listen to the radio or watch mtv, i dont and i think i have a better appreciation of music because of it. get over this "my favorite band is only for me" mentality. its childish. Bleed American is one of JEWs best albums, and the way the music industry is right now. any 'rock' song can be popular. so get over it.