Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
You spend your days counting the hours you're awake
And when night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same
It's a burden you've been burying in spite of all your prayers
As the light turns off inside your heart do you remember
What it's like to care
Knees are weak, hands are shaking, I can't breathe
Give me the drug, keep me alive, give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breath
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go
The trail of crumbs you left somehow got lost along the way
If you never meant to leave then you only had to stay
With the memories that haunt us, I cherish just the same
As the ones that bring us closer to the sky, no matter how grave
Yet I fall through these clouds and she's screaming
Give me the drug, keep me alive
Give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breath
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go
This grip loosens but it never breaks
We carry nothing but a name you will forsake
Your words are always there to break my fall
And now I find the comfort to see through it all
Guide me through uncharted waters
Before we lose our way again
Will you be my compass
Until forever, until forever ends
Knees are weak, hands are shaking
I can't breathe
Give me the drug,keep me alive
Give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breathe
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go (Repeatx3)
And when night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same
It's a burden you've been burying in spite of all your prayers
As the light turns off inside your heart do you remember
What it's like to care
Knees are weak, hands are shaking, I can't breathe
Give me the drug, keep me alive, give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breath
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go
The trail of crumbs you left somehow got lost along the way
If you never meant to leave then you only had to stay
With the memories that haunt us, I cherish just the same
As the ones that bring us closer to the sky, no matter how grave
Yet I fall through these clouds and she's screaming
Give me the drug, keep me alive
Give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breath
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go
This grip loosens but it never breaks
We carry nothing but a name you will forsake
Your words are always there to break my fall
And now I find the comfort to see through it all
Guide me through uncharted waters
Before we lose our way again
Will you be my compass
Until forever, until forever ends
Knees are weak, hands are shaking
I can't breathe
Give me the drug,keep me alive
Give me whats left of my life
Don't let me go
Pull this plug, let me breathe
On my own I'm finally free
Don't let me go (Repeatx3)
Lyrics submitted by mouis, edited by sfudgie1985
Track duration: 03:19
"Injection" as written by Joseph Principe, Timothy Mcilrath, Brandon Barnes, Christopher Chasse
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
"You spend your days counting the hours you're awake
And when night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same"
being alive loses its meaning, there's no joy,no hope,just fear and depression
"It's a burden you've been burying in spite of all your prayers As the light turns off inside your heart do you remember What it's like to care"
all the good things that happened, all prayers that got answered, there was always his anxiety disorder and now this person starts to think that at this point it does't make no differents,he stops caring, becomes nihilistic, starts to think about suicide
"Knees are weak, hands are shaking, I can't breathe"
anxiety disorder
"Give me the drug, keep me alive, give me whats left of my life "
this person starts thinking about taking drugs, the only hope for a better life, a bearable life
"This grip loosens but it never breaks "
there are times when he thinks his disorder got better, but it's never gone
"Guide me through uncharted waters Before we lose our way again Will you be my compass Until forever, until forever ends "
he found someone that takes his hand and guides him through this life,makes him want to life again
"Do you spend your days counting the hours you're awake?"
This is a common way of describing depression.
"It's a burden you've been burying in spite of all your prayers. As the light turns off inside your heart do you remember what it's like to care?"
People suffering from depression can try to hide it all they want and smile on the outside, but they can't keep it from spilling out.
Knowing my interpretation, the chorus is quite obviously outlined. However, as with many songs, this song could have a multitude of accurate interpretations. That's what makes Rise Against such an amazing band when it comes to lyrics.
This song always struck me personally, being a person with abandonment issues, and then one day while somewhere in the midst of reading Tim 'O Brien's "The Things They Carried", I paused and realized how relevant it was.
"The Things They Carried" is a VERY open-ended story about the Vietnam war, (which was a civil war in vietnam that the US just HAD to get involved in). Many of those in the Vietnam war were drafted and did not agree with the war and in this particular story they were extremely young. Ages 18-22, for vietnam war survivors, it was one of the worst wars in American history emotionally and many young people came back forever changed and mentally altered for the worst.
Do you spend your days counting the hours your awake?
And When night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same.
Not only was the war experience traumatizing but, when troops returned they were not supported in their endeavors, in fact many Americans chastised them. Called them "Murderers" and "Baby Killers" as they were forced to kill men, women, and children, soldiers and civilians alike. Which fits the lines
"As a burden you've been buried,
in spite of all your prayers.
As a light turns off inside your heart can you remember what it's like to care?"
as well as
"We carry nothing but a name you will forsake."
Many young soldiers turned to drugs as their escape from the things going on around them.
"The trail of crumbs you left somehow got lost along the way, if you never meant to leave then you only had to stay." serves as an allusion to wartime and how many friends were made and lost to the war. "but the memories that haunt us are cherished just the same as the ones that bring us close to the sky." Goes to say that even though they faced inconceivable hardships and the memories of it haunted them for the rest of their lives and times where they almost died (brought them closer to the sky), they were also cherished as a time they could never forget with people that became like family to them but in the end, no matter what, it wasn't enough...
"No matter how grey, yet I fall, through these clouds, reaching, screaming, GIVE ME THE DRUG!"
...it wasn't enough and they always turned back to drugs, to guide them through the war, to find their way back home with as much sanity as humanly possible.
I know the vietnam war is extremely specific and was a long time ago, and this song could easily be about drug addiction in general but considering that Rise Against's M.O. is rising against oppression and often oppression involving US policies it kind of clicked and set in my mind as being about the Vietnam war. Not to mention the desperate tone of the song.
A few examples:
Do you spend your days counting the hours you're awake?
And when night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same
//drug addicts are always biding their time until their next fix
There's a burden you've been bearing in spite of all your prayers
There's a light turned off inside your heart, can you remember what it's like to care?
//the only thing drug addicts care about is getting high
Knees are weak, hands are shaking, I can't breathe
So give me the drug, keep me alive
Give me what's left of my life
Don't let me go
//I want to have the drugs and your love. Love, no matter how great will not beat addiction. The addict, not being themselves, will always rationalize drug use over hurting loved ones, but realize it is tearing their family apart. The are still helpless at this point.
The trail of crumbs you left somehow got lost along the way
If you never meant to leave, then you only had to stay
//I know you tried to help and given up on me, because I let you down.
But the memories that haunt us are cherished just the same
As the ones that bring us closer to the sky, no matter how grey
Yet I fall, through these clouds, reaching, screaming
Give me the drug, keep me alive
//I still love you and remember how things used to be, but I will always go back to the drugs.
This grip loosens but it never breaks
//I still feel normal, but never will be.
We carry nothing but a name you will forsake
//everyone will eventually give up on me.
Your words are always there to break my fall
In them I find the comfort to see through it all
//You are helping but it is not the help that will get me off the drugs.
Guide me through uncharted waters
Before we lose our way again
Will you be my compass
Until forever, until forever ends?
//will you get me help and never leave.
On a personal note, you may think i'm crazy, but I have lived with and been around drug addiction and I have seen that intervention show quite a bit. Just my 2 cents
He basically is saying " Pull this plug and let me breathe, on my own I am finally free"
Just like a little kid asks his mother to go out with friends for the first time perhaps.
It is also about worrying about living so much that you forget to spend the time actually living your life and doing what you want, you're so afraid of dying that you don't want to and you ponder on it all the time while you could be doing something fun.
As for my meaning: I was born with a terminal disease called Cystic Fibrosis which affects the nutrient absorption from all foods, I have to take pills with every meal I eat. And it affects the lungs, like super hardcore. (People compare it to breathing through a straw) Yeah, that's what it's like to breathe for someone with CF. So it's pretty crazy, 2 breathing treatments a day, over 8 different kinds of medicines a day. Please don't think I'm trying to ask for pity, I absolutely HATE when people pity me, I can do all things anyone else can do because I keep myself healthy. I'm fortunate to not have as bad of CF as some others do. ANYWAY! Back to the song. This song reminds me of myself.
"So give me the drug, keep me alive
Give me what's left of my life
Don't let me go"
Reminds me that I need all my medications to survive and live a healthy life. In order for me to do all the things I love I have to do all the treatments and medicines. These drugs keep me alive.
"Pull this plug
Let me breathe
On my own
I'm finally free
Don't let me go"
I love this life and I want to live it as much as possible, I don't want The Big Man Upstairs to take me anytime soon, but when I go it's my time. These lyrics are like me saying at least I can breathe up in heaven with no pain and no medication. I'm ready for that day, but don't want it to come anytime soon.