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A shadow of a man
I'm nothing less
I am holding on, Still holding on
And every now and then life begins again
I am holding on, Still holding on
I'm not like you
Your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart
Your black dead eyes
I'll make it through, but not this time
Your hope is gone, and so is mine
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, Blind
Love left behind
And i wont live, your weak wicked lie
You pull me in, I'm one step behind
Show me where it hurts
And I'll make it worse
Are you holding on?, keep holding on
Dilated eyes shine for one last time
Are you holding on? Keep holding on
You're not like me
Your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart
Your black dead eyes
I'll break you in, and let this die
Your hope is gone
And so is mine
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, blind
Love left behind
And I wont live your weak wicked lie
You pull me in, I'm one step behind
I'm becoming a monster, Just like you
After it all you'll try to break me too
Falling forever, Chasing dreams
I brought you to life so i can hear you scream
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, Blind
Love left behind
I wont live your weak wicked lie
You pull me in
I'm one step behind
I'm one step behind
I'm one step behind
I'm nothing less
I am holding on, Still holding on
And every now and then life begins again
I am holding on, Still holding on
I'm not like you
Your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart
Your black dead eyes
I'll make it through, but not this time
Your hope is gone, and so is mine
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, Blind
Love left behind
And i wont live, your weak wicked lie
You pull me in, I'm one step behind
Show me where it hurts
And I'll make it worse
Are you holding on?, keep holding on
Dilated eyes shine for one last time
Are you holding on? Keep holding on
You're not like me
Your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart
Your black dead eyes
I'll break you in, and let this die
Your hope is gone
And so is mine
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, blind
Love left behind
And I wont live your weak wicked lie
You pull me in, I'm one step behind
I'm becoming a monster, Just like you
After it all you'll try to break me too
Falling forever, Chasing dreams
I brought you to life so i can hear you scream
Live, Fight
Crawl back inside
Sick, Blind
Love left behind
I wont live your weak wicked lie
You pull me in
I'm one step behind
I'm one step behind
I'm one step behind
Lyrics submitted by pastachickennugget42
Track duration: 03:59
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Someone else suggested whoever he is singing to is dying; I think I agree, here. The "black dead eyes" could simply be a reference to evil, but "your weak, dead heart"? Wouldn't it be a cold, dead heart if it wasn't talking about death itself? I assume the singer is either torturing, killing, or sitting beside the death bed of whoever this evil person is (the first two would fit with the slowly darkening singer theme, as torturing and killing aren't the most moral things to be doing to one's once mentor/student/father/mother/lover/whatever, especially when this verse is taken into account: Show me where it hurts/And I'll make it worse/Are you holding on?, keep holding on/Dilated eyes shine for one last time/Are you holding on? Keep holding on), and he's cursing they're living breath away, letting them know he will fight the stain they left on his heart with every fiber of his being.
He is holding on - still holding on - to all he wants to be, even as the other pulls him in.
The line 'Your weak, dead heart' could just be that the person's heart is emotionless and defenseless?
But otherwise, great review! :)
I think this song is about fighting addiction. 'A shadow of a man I am nothing less' is a rephrased statement 'I am nothing less than a shadow of a man'. Nothing less than' = completely, exactly, surely. So a person realizes that he is truly a shadow of a man. 'A man' here can be a generic term, and it can be a man that this person was a while ago, before the addiction started or mental trauma occurred. So the addiction can be perceived by this person as another man (from the point of view of the man prior to the addiction) or he disassociates the addicted/traumatized body and himself thus making it possible to fight the addiction by fighting his 'evil' self. He is talking directly to the “bad” man: ‘I'm not like you Your faceless lies Your weak dead heart Your black dead eyes’.
"I am holding on" means that the person has not yet given up still tries to fight the addiction. ‘And every now and then life begins again’ indicates that from time to time the person can feel good and be happy during the periods of recession.
“I'll make it through, but not this time”, “Dilated eyes shine for one last time” and “I brought you to life so i can hear you scream” indicate the times when he engages in the destructive behavior. First time he realizes that he is addicted and makes a decision to fight it, but he is helpless and cannot resist the “evil” man. The second time he tries to fight the addiction, probably by hurting himself, but nevertheless the “evil” takes over (or he allows the addiction to take over for what he thinks is the last time). During the third time he has realized that he cannot become the man he was before the addiction, as the evil left unrepairable damages and cannot be “killed” without leaving anything. So by trying to eliminate the evil inside he realizes that he can only “merge” these two entities into one, in a sense becoming a monster. Or he realized that to kill the monster, he has to become a monster himself, as the evil fights back and tries to “break in” the good man = continue being an addict or traumatized person. “I brought you to life so i can hear you scream” can also be a reference to suicide.
It’s interesting to see the difference in tone between the first verse and refrain and the second. The first verse sounds like he tries to understand himself and the problem. In the first refrain he compares his “good” self with the addicted (“I’m not like you”) and it seems that he sees the world through the eyes of an addict. The second verse describes the struggle or battle between the two and the second refrain shows improvement (“you’re not like me”) which indicates the “good” self is now dominating a bit. However, the third verse shows that the struggle goes on without a foreseeable end, or that he decides to kill himself.
You're not like me
Your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart
Your black dead eyes
i think this is describing his comedown and realizing everything he has fucked up while on the drug.
Show me where it hurts
And I'll make it worse
Are you holding on?, keep holding on
Dilated eyes shine for one last time
Are you holding on? Keep holding on
and these lines showing the inner battle with himself with the drug.
I'm becoming a monster, Just like you
After it all you'll try to break me too
Falling forever, Chasing dreams
I brought you to life so i can hear you scream
and this could be the battle of trying to quit the drug but not being as easy as it seems.
this coming from experience and i know the lead singer has had same battles
This song is about love between two people, (sometimes things are exactly what they seem)and whomever the person singing this song is, lets say the 'main character', the one who keeps getting burned. That person truely loves the other despite this, and maybe ultimately feels in control of what direction it will take -provided that he gives it his FULL attention....it seems to be a roller coaster like most young love is, and it's realized that they have wasted so much effort on trying to make it work and with no end in site, they lose hope and let each other sort of fade away. I think this 'main character' realizes that to go any further, to prove his ultimate point to her, he must let her go.......that she has left him no choice but to let time, and the world, show her the caliber of man she was dealing with. The irony, of course, being with the fact that by then it would be too late and so it's referred to as a sort of death....
Ultimately only Ben knows what he meant, with the passion he emits into his music, everyone could have a special meaningful portion of it figured out in their own way I would think. To me, he is a god among men, to have lived a passionate life (that isn't over yet and hopefully not for a long time!)and handled what the world threw his way AND write about it AND get a successful band together AND Sing it with the absolutely explosive intensity that he puts into it.....shhhhheeeit
=GW= ShaneWarily
If
I
Crawl back inside
Sick
By
Love left behind
It makes some sense, but like I said, not what the lyrics are.
I believe this song is about a child who was abused, and then became an abuser (as is so often the case).
"A shadow of a man, I am nothing less."
A son could be referred to as the shadow of his father, and this also explains why it's "nothing LESS" and not "nothing more" (the more logical ending to that sentence).
"I'm not like you, etc."
Trying to convince himself he'll never become his father.
"I'll make it through, but not this time" lines
Excellent use of foreshadowing, if my theory is correct.
"Crawl back inside (the womb)"
The second verse is where he becomes his father.
"Show me where it hurts"
The line a caring father would give.
"And I'll make it worse"
The follow up line his horrific upbringing has bred into him.
"You're not like me"
He's transferred his hatred of his father onto his son, all of the same traits.
"I'm becoming a monster, just like you."
He realizes (a gigantic step) that that he's becoming his father.
"After it all, you'll try to break me too."
After it seemed to be over, his father actually gets the last laugh (possibly from his grave).
"I brought you to life so I could hear you scream."
This one could either be turning back to his son, or hearing the voice of his father as he has his realization.
"I won't live your weak wicked lie."
Trying to refuse to follow his father's path.
"I'm one step behind."
A rewording of the common phrase "following in your footsteps," this line could be the subject sadly accepting that it is his destiny to become his father. That he has no control, or at least he has the illusion that he has no control, i.e. a psychological issue keeping him from halting a behavior he clearly recognizes (sometimes, at least) is immoral.
I have no idea if this is the meaning intended by the writer, but that's what I hear in the song, and thus that's what it means to me. And if anyone is curious, I was not abused as a child (or ever).
that's really creepy and sadistic.....((I do love your interpretation, though, I just don't want it to mess up the song for me...))