Ok kids, here we go: this song is not about a relationship. I'm not sure how you do it, but every song on this forum has at least one person who has translated the lyrics into their personal high school crush/emo/whatever thing, hence the posts stating "I think it's about a girl." Just stop, really.
This song is not about the nonexistence of God. It doesn't fit Rise Against's lyrical agenda.
We all know that Rise Against is from Chicago, right? Right. This song is about The Great Chicago Fire, which happened in the late 19th century.
There was a drought before the fire, and no one really knows how it started, which explains the chorus. (Worlds colliding is a reference to the mayor of Chicago having to ask for help from surrounding communities, which would have been quite a culture shock for people from the small towns surrounding the big city.) The fire covered roughly 2000 acres, destroying Chicago's water system, thus rendering the city's fire department unable to do anything. This explains 'the water's gone, but the fire still rages'; and also 'the me shrugged their shoulders and left'.
The time frame of the fire was during the industrial revolution, which explains the reference to sleeping upstairs, as living conditions were cramped into high rise apartment buildings.
The fire burned itself out when rain began to fall, three days after it started.
The line about swallowing your lies is most likely about the first suspect/scapegoat, Catherine O'Leary: a woman, and catholic (who weren't very popular at the time). Being that women had very few rights at the time, there would have been no social consequences for framing her for the fire.
The rest is just artistic filler meant to convey the trauma and panic that something like this would cause.
@artificialrapture haha right?!? Your first paragraph is 100 percent on point.. Their lyrics are so much more than relationships but it seems like most girls who listen to RA turn their words into juvenile nonsense! It's okay though, that's what makes a good song..
Anyhoo, Did you read something that explained this interpretation from the band? If not, you really did a great job interpreting what this song could very well be about. kudos....
@artificialrapture haha right?!? Your first paragraph is 100 percent on point.. Their lyrics are so much more than relationships but it seems like most girls who listen to RA turn their words into juvenile nonsense! It's okay though, that's what makes a good song..
Anyhoo, Did you read something that explained this interpretation from the band? If not, you really did a great job interpreting what this song could very well be about. kudos....
Ok kids, here we go: this song is not about a relationship. I'm not sure how you do it, but every song on this forum has at least one person who has translated the lyrics into their personal high school crush/emo/whatever thing, hence the posts stating "I think it's about a girl." Just stop, really.
This song is not about the nonexistence of God. It doesn't fit Rise Against's lyrical agenda.
We all know that Rise Against is from Chicago, right? Right. This song is about The Great Chicago Fire, which happened in the late 19th century.
There was a drought before the fire, and no one really knows how it started, which explains the chorus. (Worlds colliding is a reference to the mayor of Chicago having to ask for help from surrounding communities, which would have been quite a culture shock for people from the small towns surrounding the big city.) The fire covered roughly 2000 acres, destroying Chicago's water system, thus rendering the city's fire department unable to do anything. This explains 'the water's gone, but the fire still rages'; and also 'the me shrugged their shoulders and left'.
The time frame of the fire was during the industrial revolution, which explains the reference to sleeping upstairs, as living conditions were cramped into high rise apartment buildings.
The fire burned itself out when rain began to fall, three days after it started.
The line about swallowing your lies is most likely about the first suspect/scapegoat, Catherine O'Leary: a woman, and catholic (who weren't very popular at the time). Being that women had very few rights at the time, there would have been no social consequences for framing her for the fire.
The rest is just artistic filler meant to convey the trauma and panic that something like this would cause.
@artificialrapture haha right?!? Your first paragraph is 100 percent on point.. Their lyrics are so much more than relationships but it seems like most girls who listen to RA turn their words into juvenile nonsense! It's okay though, that's what makes a good song.. Anyhoo, Did you read something that explained this interpretation from the band? If not, you really did a great job interpreting what this song could very well be about. kudos....
@artificialrapture haha right?!? Your first paragraph is 100 percent on point.. Their lyrics are so much more than relationships but it seems like most girls who listen to RA turn their words into juvenile nonsense! It's okay though, that's what makes a good song.. Anyhoo, Did you read something that explained this interpretation from the band? If not, you really did a great job interpreting what this song could very well be about. kudos....