This song is unbelievably deep and shows that LP can make a symbolic masterpiece even with heavy instrumentals. (some of the lyrics above are incorrect and i will fix them in my analysis)
My interpretation is as follows:
(The entire song is from the perspective of civilians in a democracy)
Chorus/Hook
"No control- Citizens feel they have no say in their government
/No surprise-They arent surprised that...
Tossed the keys to the kingdom- ...their power in government ("keys to the kingdom") has been weakened or undermined/completely overlooked because...
Down that hole in my eye!- ...their views on how they should be governed (eye) have been destroyed or disregarded (hole) by the government in favor of the government's own views of how they should operate; therefore, it's not surprising that the citizens power is overlooked and they have no say in how they are governed.
I'm my own/casualty- The citizens are the reason for their loss of control and power in government because...
I fuck up everything I see-...they are the ones that cause the issues that need to be addressed by government in the first place; why would leaders listen to those that cause the problems anyway?
Fighting in futility"-Citizens will argue, bicker, debate, etc about which political party is better or which vision for the government is better, but it doesnt matter; they will have no say in the government no matter what,simply because the government thinks they know what is best for their people.
Verse 1:
"We start the final war- People tend to make a big fuss over elections and such; therefore, the "War" over who should lead the nation is "final", but not final as in the last of something, rather as in something permanent. Whoever is in charge of a government makes changes that have a permanent effect on the nation in the future, which is why the struggle over who should win is final...
Tell me whats worth fighting for-...however, why should the citizens argue over who governs them when...
When we know there's nothing more-...they have no real say in how they are governed anyway; there's nothing more after the election of the leaders that they can do that will impact how they are governed.
We take the hand or fist- Citizens throughout history have had a tendency to try and make an impact on the government peacefully (the hand) through means such as peaceful assemblies/protests or violently (the fist) in ways such as assassination or death threats to leading officials....
Just to sell ourselves for this-..but even though these changes are attempted, the citizens will still go straight back to following the government because...
The path we least resist."- following the leader is the easiest way to live.
(epic chorus again)
Verse 2: Mindset of citizens/Mike's own perspective (slightly ambiguous)
Uh, I give ya what ya came for- the citizens have the solutions to the governments' problems; citizens trying to get their say in government.
This is not the same though-the citizens have different ways to tackle problems than the government does
Got a different method but I still can bring the pain so...- even though the citizens' solutions to problems may seem unconventional, they can still be effective
Ya'll all got the same flow/I got that insane flow- every government leader has the same ideas in the eyes of the people, while the people have a vast amount of unique ideas (insane flow)
High as ya'll can get you're never really in my range though- the best the government comes up with is never as good as what the citizens do.
Yes, I'm half anglo/half fried panko- (Mike's heritage) Every citizen is unique and should not be ignored because they differ from the government leaders.
All prime time rhymer/let the bass bang low-(Mike is referring to himself as a successful person and that his ideas are unique and should be considered too)
All you fuckin lames go- citizens are telling the government officials that...
Aimin at my name know;-have been ridiculing their ideas...
Careful what ya shoot for cause you might hit what you aim for.-...to take their hate somewhere else (go) because the citizens are not afraid of them and will retaliate.
(chorus)
(epic glorious guitar solo and chorus)
Such an amazing song by such a talented group of musicians. Linkin Park's songwriting gets better and better with each new album, and I thought Minutes to Midnight, A Thousand Suns, and LIVING THINGS would be hard to beat in the lyrical meaning and symbolism department.
This song is unbelievably deep and shows that LP can make a symbolic masterpiece even with heavy instrumentals. (some of the lyrics above are incorrect and i will fix them in my analysis) My interpretation is as follows:
(The entire song is from the perspective of civilians in a democracy)
Chorus/Hook "No control- Citizens feel they have no say in their government
/No surprise-They arent surprised that...
Tossed the keys to the kingdom- ...their power in government ("keys to the kingdom") has been weakened or undermined/completely overlooked because...
Down that hole in my eye!- ...their views on how they should be governed (eye) have been destroyed or disregarded (hole) by the government in favor of the government's own views of how they should operate; therefore, it's not surprising that the citizens power is overlooked and they have no say in how they are governed.
I'm my own/casualty- The citizens are the reason for their loss of control and power in government because...
I fuck up everything I see-...they are the ones that cause the issues that need to be addressed by government in the first place; why would leaders listen to those that cause the problems anyway?
Fighting in futility"-Citizens will argue, bicker, debate, etc about which political party is better or which vision for the government is better, but it doesnt matter; they will have no say in the government no matter what,simply because the government thinks they know what is best for their people.
Verse 1: "We start the final war- People tend to make a big fuss over elections and such; therefore, the "War" over who should lead the nation is "final", but not final as in the last of something, rather as in something permanent. Whoever is in charge of a government makes changes that have a permanent effect on the nation in the future, which is why the struggle over who should win is final...
Tell me whats worth fighting for-...however, why should the citizens argue over who governs them when...
When we know there's nothing more-...they have no real say in how they are governed anyway; there's nothing more after the election of the leaders that they can do that will impact how they are governed.
We take the hand or fist- Citizens throughout history have had a tendency to try and make an impact on the government peacefully (the hand) through means such as peaceful assemblies/protests or violently (the fist) in ways such as assassination or death threats to leading officials....
Just to sell ourselves for this-..but even though these changes are attempted, the citizens will still go straight back to following the government because...
The path we least resist."- following the leader is the easiest way to live.
(epic chorus again)
Verse 2: Mindset of citizens/Mike's own perspective (slightly ambiguous) Uh, I give ya what ya came for- the citizens have the solutions to the governments' problems; citizens trying to get their say in government.
This is not the same though-the citizens have different ways to tackle problems than the government does
Got a different method but I still can bring the pain so...- even though the citizens' solutions to problems may seem unconventional, they can still be effective
Ya'll all got the same flow/I got that insane flow- every government leader has the same ideas in the eyes of the people, while the people have a vast amount of unique ideas (insane flow)
High as ya'll can get you're never really in my range though- the best the government comes up with is never as good as what the citizens do.
Yes, I'm half anglo/half fried panko- (Mike's heritage) Every citizen is unique and should not be ignored because they differ from the government leaders.
All prime time rhymer/let the bass bang low-(Mike is referring to himself as a successful person and that his ideas are unique and should be considered too)
All you fuckin lames go- citizens are telling the government officials that...
Aimin at my name know;-have been ridiculing their ideas...
Careful what ya shoot for cause you might hit what you aim for.-...to take their hate somewhere else (go) because the citizens are not afraid of them and will retaliate.
(chorus)
(epic glorious guitar solo and chorus)
Such an amazing song by such a talented group of musicians. Linkin Park's songwriting gets better and better with each new album, and I thought Minutes to Midnight, A Thousand Suns, and LIVING THINGS would be hard to beat in the lyrical meaning and symbolism department.