Rise Against – A Gentlemen's Coup

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  General Comment:To me I always thought that with this song RA was trying to say something about the Obama presidency, how he ran on the idea of change but really didn't change much it's just" the same old story"
  the part " How long will we fall for this" seems to be a poke at the idea that the 2 parties are any different and that voting actually changes things.
  This is all not necessarily my political opinion, but what I think RA is trying to say.

  Flag wetkarlon February 26, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:It's essentially about a political revolution that hasn't yet turned into a social revolution. The people have grievances, very possibly economic in nature (ie. they're shit poor), and '[seize] the throne', putting a new popular government into power, but it's still the 'same old story' - this government is incapable of transforming the basic social and economic relations that are behind the suffering.
  
  The lyrics then say that the revolution has 'not gone far enough', and that they should have 'burned [the throne] to the ground'. This is saying that they need to turn a minor political revolution into a social revolution, and instead of just capturing the state apparatus, the revolution must smash the state and replace it with a system designed from the ground up to serve the interests of the masses.
  
  The Egyptian Revolution is the perfect example of this. The people revolted due to a combination of severe state repression and horrific economic conditions, as Mubarak's neoliberal reforms gutted working class living standards. So far, however, all we've seen is the power changing hands to a theoretically progressive body, without the core economic grievances being addressed - hence the ongoing protests in Tahrir as I type, and a growing realisation that it's the very way the society is organised that is the ultimate problem.

  Flag Orbsanon July 10, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:the chorus makes me think of ancient warfare, the army storms the gates, conquers, raise the new flag, take over the throne, but there will be so many revolts from the people who used to live there, or the country will want there city bak so more war will follow and it would just be easier to burn the city down. the songs obviously not about ancient war at all, but im a history guy so thats what i think of

  Flag swanemyr98on June 03, 2011   Link

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    You are far from wrong. The history of our civilizations has been one of mostly violent, and rarely peaceful revolutions (and plenty of wholesale slaughter and conquest of ones neighbors). In all of these cases, they don't fix the problems that led to the revolution, they are just symptom relief.
    
    We can storm the gates of the *insert state* government, take over, impose our own rule, and create a whole new set of winners and losers to start the process all over again. The system itself (in *all* its ideological forms) tends towards inequity.
    
    I hope that you have taken Rise Against's suggestion to read Ishmael. It illuminates some of these ideas much more effectively. You probably have gotten around to a People's History of the United States.

    Flag manhunter098on May 31, 2012  
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  General Comment:my bad for the lack of lyrics, i submitted just part of it instead of the whole thing. but i got it all up correctly now.

  Flag WillCrearyon April 15, 2011   Link

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  General Comment: When I listen to this song I imagine a post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear war. Civilization as we know it is gone; no more government, no more elite, no more poor people. Everything is fair. It's the people's world now, and everyone has equal control. They feel they should have burnt down the way of society earlier, so that everyone could live like that without having to go through a nuclear war.

  Flag zer00rdieon March 26, 2011   Link

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    I am not trashing your opinion but more of stimulating a discussion but do you really think society will function better without governments and without order? If we did live in a post apocalyptic world do you really think that people would live fairly? To me because of capitalism the world will never function properly again. The world wouldn't change it would stay the same, people fighting to have the most of everything because that is what man has become, greedy.

    Flag Indieboy2506on October 23, 2011  

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    I think that both if you guys are missing a couple greater points. For Zero, its this. We don't have control, how do you expect to have equal control? The world controls us. Not the other way around.
    
    Indie, if we are so flawed we need government, then the government is going to be so flawed that it will destroy itself (just like we would destroy ourselves without). So we destroy ourselves either way, when the next revolution comes. Government will not be able to solve the problems we face, people thinking differently though just might be able bring us through to the other side, backwards and forwards, backwards to an organizations that have worked for people, and forwards towards new structures which will order those who want to try to live in new ways (ways that might work). We have tried this way of life with government for 5,000 years, it doesn't work, something else is called for. Something that is Beyond Civilization.
    
    This is I think perhaps the point zer0 is trying to get at.

    Flag manhunter098on May 31, 2012  
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  General Comment:Amazing Song.
  
  First let me say: I know A Gentlemen´s Coup is not about this.
  
  "We seize the throne, subjugate
  We should have burnt it to the ground
  (Storm the gates, raise the flag!)
  (Seize the throne, subjugate!)
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough"
  
  Just think about Egypt and maybe libya. Yeah, the people in Egypt won the civil war, but who knows if the new regime is any better? Maybe they have not gone far enough ?
  
  "Peace, before us, the radiation creeps
  We can't sleep, we're scattered in the streets
  She asked me, "you think it's safe today?"
  It doesn't look that way to me"
  
  Tschernobyl, Japan anyone ? Even now the japanese government isn´t 100 percent honest to his people.
  
  

  Flag Realynon March 19, 2011   Link

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    The only thing that gets in the way of this would be the fact that those events happened after the CD was put out...and thus they couldn't have known that these events would happen. Yes, we can apply this song to it, but I'm just pointing out that this wasn't their original intention.

    Flag gomermanaon March 21, 2011  

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    Exactly what I was thinking But its amazing how much this song can apply to Japan and Libya...

    Flag Brendonsohon March 22, 2011  
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  General Comment:From the chorus it seems to be about the changes in rule that have gone before ultimately not changing things enough "We storm the gates and raised new flags, but its just the same old story."
  
  The more things change the more the stay the same. "We seized the throne" "We should have burnt it to the ground" Tim is talking about the need to start over. "I believe we've not gone far enough".
  
  A new system. Endgame the title of the album is a way of syaing that the way of this world and the way we live now can't last.

  Flag peter_j_son March 16, 2011   Link

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• +2
  General Comment:This is the version from the booklet:
  
  The Pain
  Disorder
  A cataclysmic draw
  We trusted
  But something has gone wrong
  We bought in
  Bet woke to find it gone
  Impact in 5-4-3-2...
  
  Brace
  For fallout
  The radiation creeps
  On cats feet
  We scatter in the streets
  She asked me
  "Do you think its safe to breathe?"
  It doesn't look that way to me
  
  We stormed the gates
  And raised new flags
  But it's just the same old story
  We seized the throne
  Subjugate
  We should have burned it to the ground
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough
  
  Afraid
  We cower
  To interests not our own
  The power
  To free or to control
  We let it slop through
  Our fingers to the floor
  Watch as the bodies wash ashore
  Nobody lives here anymore
  
  
  We stormed the gates
  And raised new flags
  But it's just the same old story
  We seized the throne
  Subjugate
  We should have burned it to the ground
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough
  
  How long will we fall for this?

  Flag Lukovskion March 12, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Here's what I got:
  
  The pain, disorder, a cataclysmic dawn
  We trusted but something has gone wrong
  We've fallen, awoke to find it gone
  Effective five, four, three, two
  
  Peace, before us, the radiation creeps
  We can't sleep, we're scattered in the streets
  She asked me, "you think it's safe today?"
  It doesn't look that way to me
  
  We storm the gates, raise the flags
  Just the same old story
  We seize the throne, subjugate
  We should have burnt it to the ground
  (Storm the gates, raise the flag!)
  (Seize the throne, subjugate!)
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough
  
  Afraid, we cower to interests not our own
  The power to free or to control
  We let it slip through our fingers to the floor
  Watch as the ?? to shore
  Nobody lives here anymore
  
  We storm the gates, raise the flags
  Just the same old story
  We seize the throne, subjugate
  We should have burnt it to the ground
  (Storm the gates, raise the flag!)
  (Seize the throne, subjugate!)
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough
  
  And how long will we fall for this?
  How long will we fall for this?
  How long will we fall for this?
  How long will we fall?
  
  And how long will we fall for this?
  How long will we fall for this?
  How long will we fall for this?
  How long? How long?
  
  We storm the gates, raise the flags
  Just the same old story
  We seize the throne, subjugate
  We should have burnt it to the ground
  (Storm the gates, raise the flag!)
  (Seize the throne, subjugate!)
  Some might say we've lost our way
  But I believe we've not gone far enough

  Flag Bskiffingtonon March 10, 2011   Link

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    0

    Watch as the bodies wash to shore*

    Flag Bskiffingtonon March 11, 2011  

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