Lyrics for Against The Grain as interpreted by M4R5

Against The Grain Lyrics
Three thousand miles of wilderness overcome by the flow,
A lonely restitution of pavement, pomp and show,
I seek a thousand answers, I find but one or two,
I maintain no discomfiture, my path again renewed,

Against the grain, that's where I'll stay,
Swimming upstream, I maintain against the grain,

Here labelled as a lunatic, sequestered and content,
There ignored and defeated by the government,
There's an oriented public whose magnetic force will pull,
But away from the potential of the individual,

Against the grain, that's where I'll stay,
Swimming upstream, I maintain against the grain,

The flow is getting stronger with small increments of time
And eddies of new ideas are increasingly hard to find,
You need all that the other has, it's your right to seize the day
But in all your acquisitions you will soon be swept away,

Against the grain, that's where I'll stay,
Swimming upstream, I maintain against the grain,

There's a common consensus and an uncomfortable cheer,
A reverberating chorus that anyone can hear,
It sings 'leave your cares behind you, just grab tenaciously,'
This lulling sense of purpose will destroy us rapidly,

Against the grain, that's where I'll stay,
Swimming upstream, I maintain against the grain,

Against the grain, against the grain,
Against the grain

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ThE GlOWiNg?
06-20-2002

Rated 0 
what does everyone think this song is about, i think its about the flow twoards modern society and evelutionogenic regress

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weaselfierce
08-05-2002

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The way society is straightjacketing people into popular beliefs and how individuality and the need to question and rebel is becoming lost in mainstream trends.

I think :)

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FatWreckedDice
08-27-2002

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I think basically the song speaks for itself. Don't just believe what is force-fed to you. Find out from your own experience instead. It's conforting to conform, but it's not a good way of understanding true human-nature. Going against the grain of tradititional beliefs can reveal the pure truth of our existence.

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wrinkledPhole
04-17-2003

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I agree with all of you, but its also anthem that encourages free thinking. It's a great song, while on one end it provides some social commentary, on the other end it inspires listeners to think for themselves.

Always question popular beliefs.

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punkrawk3
04-19-2003

Rated 0 
I also agree with all of you. I think that it's saying that you should not follow popular beliefs and go your own way... GREAT Song ^_-

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punkrawk3
04-19-2003

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I also agree with all of you. I think that it's saying that you should not follow popular beliefs and go your own way... GREAT Song ^_-

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WouldItBeYou
10-12-2004

Rated 0 
feel free to repeat yourself

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JoE][BoXeR
11-23-2004

Rated 0 
Amazing..Amazing song, my personal favorite Bad Religion song, so deep and so true,
There's a common consensus and an uncomfortable cheer,
A reverberating chorus that anyone can hear,
It sings 'leave your cares behind you, just grab tenaciously,'
This lulling sense of purpose will destroy us rapidly,

I love that verse.

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mywrldsinsanity
01-08-2005

Rated 0 
this song kicks ass! it reminds me of the poem the mason. its about how the the government is structured so carefully and well that no matter what u do u must conform to survive. we are being brain washed with "slow increments of time" so its extremely hard to ever even realize that ur being brain washed.-The flow is getting stronger with small increments of time
And eddies of new ideas are increasingly hard to find,
You need all that the other has, it's your right to seize the day
But in all your acquisitions you will soon be swept away, - since most others are brain washed when u voice ur ideas and thoughts they think ur crazy or paranoid -Here labelled as a lunatic, sequestered and content,
There ignored and defeated by the government,
There's an oriented public whose magnetic force will pull,
But away from the potential of the individual,

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gofuckyourself
02-09-2005

Rated 0 
It's about being a punk (AGAINST THE GRAIN), and Greg's experiences as a kid. When he was young he was outcast, and even more so when he got into punk rock, and when he had released the first Bad Religion 7 inch. He was beat up for it, because it wasn't the kids idea of music, which was music about sex, rape, and getting wasted, but still he remained against the grain, and thank god otherwise BR wouldn't exist, or atleast with Greg (a frightening thought).

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modern man
04-06-2005

Rated 0 
This song kind of reminds me of the book 1984 made in 1949 it predicted what 1984 would be like if we continued on our path. In the book individuals are extremely hard to find and the society is "conform or die". Anything that could start individuality is eraced from the society and the language is dumbed down. This song describes how society as a whole rewards people who go with the flow are commonly accepted and how the people in this society have become the same way, rewarding conformity.
"And eddies of new ideas are increasingly hard to find"
I always loved that lyric, eddies being breaks in water that go against the current...

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deathtohippys
01-18-2006

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Greg will stay opposed to the pressures of society (against the grain, swimming upstream), despite pressure to fit in.

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swollen uvula
03-24-2008

Rated 0 
It's about shaving. Durr.

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badreligionsanity
09-19-2008

Rated 0 
I think it means that it's more difficult these days to do the right thing. As time goes on, we are governed more and more by unnatural forces, politics and corporations. But the laws of nature remain unchanged and to follow them requires going against the grain.
Read more at http://www.badreligionsanity.com/against-the-grain-album/against-the-grain-song/

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yankblan
10-01-2008

Rated 0 
You need all that the other has, it's your right to seize the day
But in all your acquisitions you will soon be swept away

We are being drilled in consuming so that the economy will roll on and on, and people will compete in a series of "that, a lawnmower? look at mine!" And this mindset and way of living will mean that the bubble will burst and the rug pulled from under us (see wall street today and the 700G Bush plan)

It sings 'leave your cares behind you, just grab tenaciously,'
This lulling sense of purpose will destroy us rapidly

Don't worry bout a thing, just follow us and live your life the we say with blind confidence and have faith and never let go of your patriotism, we are right.

Some paragraphs could refer to the environment and how free enterprise and blind consumption will lead to its destruction, when nature will take back its place with great vengeance;ie natural disasters. Still actual after 20 years.

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pinkfade
02-19-2009

Rated 0 
The two parts of the song that stand out to me are as follows;

here labelled as a lunatic, sequestered
and content;

pretty straight forward, if you even dare question the way we all think,(based on the way we'v all been told to think) youl be labelled as a lunatic. Sequestered means withdrawn in seclusion; he's saying that outlet is content. The lonely restitution of pavement; the path he apparantly paves out of restitution for the path forced upon all of us- is a lonely one; Iv come to find; But Il be happier in the end.

there's an
oriented public who's magnetic force does pull, but away from the
potential of the individual;

most clear cut and true parse; though we have this potential lying alive within us; its dismantled by the flow forced upon us to live the way we are told. This flow has gotten bigger and bigger over the years its more of a nile. myspace especially, television; now internet/celllphones/technology/mass media accessability getting the job done now better than ever.

more or less; nobody knows whats going though greg or bretts mind. hetson should right more simple songs like frogger!








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