Reconcile to the belief
Consumed in sacred ground for me
There wasn't always a place to go
But there was always an urgent need to belong, yeah
All these bands and all these people, all these frieds and we were equals
But what you gonna do when everyone goes on without you

To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end

Started in '87 ended in '89, you got a garage or an amp, we'll play anytime
It was just the four of us, yea the core of us ,too much attention unavoidably destroyed us
Four kids on tour three thousand miles in a four door car not knowing what was going
Years it would turn out like this
Hell, no no preminition could have seen for

To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end

My friend came from far away, from New Orleans into the East Bay
He said this is a Mecca
I said: "This ain't no mecca, man, this place is fucked"
Three months go by he had no home, he had no food, he was all alone
Matty said: "Fool me once. shame on you"
He said: "Fool me twice, he went back to New Orleans"

To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end
To the end, to the end, I'll journey to the end



Lyrics submitted by Kpizzle


Journey To The End Of The East Bay song meanings
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36 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Sick Fuckin Song. One of their best IMO. Sweet riff, nice bass line, fast rhythm. Heartfelt lyrics. Real ass punk.
    Flag convinceon August 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is about the east part of sf bay and its talking about a band that started then split up then the last part is talking about how you have to love it or leave it because it is a shitty place to be
    Flag caliskaterz01on November 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Ok, that comment made by that guy was made years ago but for anyone who thinks Tim is a hypocrite...

    You're an idiot. All the reasons stated above and also:
    I know this song is old, very old but The East Bay was a lot more different now (And even in 95) than it was in the late 80s/early 90s. Back then no band was able to go mainstream. It's like a parent pressuring their kid into being a doctor or lawyer when they want to be in a band or something. OPIV was under so much pressue. No one wanted heaps of people to like them but many people liked them. So they broke up.

    However, it was Green Day who broke the rule of going mainstream and The East Bay punk scene went crazy. But after that everything changed. Going mainstream did lose some fans but it wasn't as badly frown upon. Besides also, Rancid didn't get big as fast as Operation Ivy and by the time they did punks got over hating mainstream stuff, and it was handed over to the indie kids.
    Flag FashionZombieson September 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song has a sweet bass line.
    Flag Motorheadacheon June 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about the break up of Operation Ivy, he says that even though they are no longer a band, they are still good friends. Operation Ivy were a HUGELY popular band around the East Bay, they were so big that the record label 'Lookout' was formed solely for them to realise an album. I wrote a 600 word essay solely about this song lol.
    Flag elliot81on April 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Pretty much everyone is correct. This song is most definitely about Operation Ivy. However, it's also about Gilman, or 924 Gilman St, which was the punk rock venue that pretty much every east bay punk band (Green Day, Crimpshrine, etc.) at the time was a part of.

    "Consumed in sacred ground to me," refers to Gilman.

    The thing about Gilman was that they only (to this day) allow underground acts. Technically they did not allow anyone on a major label, but as bands began to grow and gain momentum nation wide the resentment could be felt by the local Gilman fans. "Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us," the line refers to exactly that. OpIvy was experiencing a huge amount of conflict between pursuing a musical career and staying true to it's "Gilman Ethics."
    Look at Green Day's song 86 for further insight on this.

    Last thing, "Matty" is not Matt Freeman. Tim is talking about someone else to illustrate that the East Bay was seemingly a mecca but was very very cold to those who it turned it's back on.
    Flag jhxetcon March 22, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I get chills when I hear the bass riff in the beginning of this song, its beautiful.
    Flag thekingof7on January 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I do believe that Matt started Rancid to keep Tim off drugs, which he fell heavily into after Op Iv's break up. The band was too fast, they were too young and inexperienced to handle it. That's my take on it, I wasn't even born when Op Iv was around and I live across the country anyway, though I wish I coulda been there.
    Flag cobalt26on October 10, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Omg Lawrence Livermore(Founder Of Lookout! Records) Cryed After Hearing This Song For The First Time
    Flag Soldername1on August 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm pretty sure these lyrics are way off, but good song nonetheless.
    Flag RighteousAngeron May 27, 2006   Link

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