The song Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades by Brand New is directly about the events of loosing one’s virginity or at very least having sex with someone for the first time. The thing that is most interesting to me, however, is the obvious role reversal from the stereotypical pressures applied in such a situation. This specifically relates to the genders of the participants and how the female is portraying the lead, full of intent and agenda, while the male is somehow being painted as a victim of peer pressure and cultural expectation.
The first stanza of the song indicates the woman as the lead and the obvious intent that she brings to the table. With the line, “Keep the noise low. She doesn't wanna blow it.” The audience can tell that she understands the fragility of the situation and that if she wants to make sure to get what it is she has come for, she will have to be careful. The final line in this stanza reads, “It beats me straight to the ground.” Implying that her touch and even her presence in this scene intimidates the boy and leaves him helplessly on the ground. This establishes a level of control in the air of the room.
The imminent peril of such an act as sex at too young an age or the dangers of beginning a relationship with unwanted or unprepared physical acts are brought to light as what I assume to be the main idea and thesis of this song in the second stanza of Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades with the lyric, “You don’t recover from a night like this.” Furthermore, The sheets of the bed take on personification with the last line as they say, “This is so messed up.” As if they are witnessing the woman's’ crime of robbing the boys childhood and the motivations of the aggressive girl.
This same theme is followed in the third stanza mentioning the boys depression in the face of the situation and how if this is his base for relationships then they must all be built on lies and set for failure. This realization is what ultimately paints the picture of depression and even oppression.
The chorus has two parts both sung at the same time allowing the listener to hear them both complement each other. The first part highlights how this act of loosing one’s virginity as a moment of growing up. The second portion of the chorus shows how she is not necessarily the only one at fault. It illustrates the boys personal agenda to somehow live through this event, much to the thanks of our American culture. Here in western civilization it is often seen as a right of passage and manhood for a male to loose his virginity. This of course leads to amounts of regret and even more teen pregnancy. In the case of this song however, the emphases is placed upon the regret end and especially the eternal warnings that the boy is receiving. He is forced to grow, not in the way he expects to, but the loss of innocence is posed as a lesson showing how easily elements of our personal lives can be lost out of control rather quickly, and often with our help.
The first verse after the chorus continues with showing her leadership and and its proposed that there may be some possible issues with the communication and fairness of the situation. The line, “Despite everything he learned from his friends, he doesn’t feel so prepared.” Shows that he is unprepared to handle the situation and doesn’t really know what he is doing. But, she is breathing quiet and smooth which implies the obvious parallel, she knows exactly what she is doing. Especially with him “gasping for air”. He is in too deep and can’t summon the words to stop the event as it unfolds right in front of him. Having made my own mistakes in life, this kind of situation where you know what to do, but feel powerless tends to be a direct part of real life and especially growing up. So the song is true to its meaning.
The following verse begins with the line, “He is the lamb, she is the slaughter.” Which shows that he is the sacrifice and she is the ritual in this metaphor for coming of age. He very easily could imagine that he loves this girl and that by making the move to get physical is simply the next step. His intentions are actually pure and true. He does care about her and want to make such a step a staple in his relationship to her along with his commitment, however, she has no such plans. This causes the regret and ultimately the depression of a love given to the wrong person. He only seems to discover this sad conclusion by making his ultimate mistake. This is obvious to in the second line of this sentence, “She’s moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her.” The speaker then says, “Nothing that he tells her is really having an effect. He whispers that he loves her, but she’s probably only looking for sex...” This clearly breaks down the entire disfunction between the two characters in this sad tale.
One of the most repeated lines throughout this song goes, “Die young and save yourself”. The idea presented here is that it is good to die young so that you can save your innocence and keep a perfect view of the world and all the dealings, relationships, and problems within it. This really is the entire song in a nutshell.
The song Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades by Brand New is directly about the events of loosing one’s virginity or at very least having sex with someone for the first time. The thing that is most interesting to me, however, is the obvious role reversal from the stereotypical pressures applied in such a situation. This specifically relates to the genders of the participants and how the female is portraying the lead, full of intent and agenda, while the male is somehow being painted as a victim of peer pressure and cultural expectation. The first stanza of the song indicates the woman as the lead and the obvious intent that she brings to the table. With the line, “Keep the noise low. She doesn't wanna blow it.” The audience can tell that she understands the fragility of the situation and that if she wants to make sure to get what it is she has come for, she will have to be careful. The final line in this stanza reads, “It beats me straight to the ground.” Implying that her touch and even her presence in this scene intimidates the boy and leaves him helplessly on the ground. This establishes a level of control in the air of the room. The imminent peril of such an act as sex at too young an age or the dangers of beginning a relationship with unwanted or unprepared physical acts are brought to light as what I assume to be the main idea and thesis of this song in the second stanza of Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades with the lyric, “You don’t recover from a night like this.” Furthermore, The sheets of the bed take on personification with the last line as they say, “This is so messed up.” As if they are witnessing the woman's’ crime of robbing the boys childhood and the motivations of the aggressive girl. This same theme is followed in the third stanza mentioning the boys depression in the face of the situation and how if this is his base for relationships then they must all be built on lies and set for failure. This realization is what ultimately paints the picture of depression and even oppression. The chorus has two parts both sung at the same time allowing the listener to hear them both complement each other. The first part highlights how this act of loosing one’s virginity as a moment of growing up. The second portion of the chorus shows how she is not necessarily the only one at fault. It illustrates the boys personal agenda to somehow live through this event, much to the thanks of our American culture. Here in western civilization it is often seen as a right of passage and manhood for a male to loose his virginity. This of course leads to amounts of regret and even more teen pregnancy. In the case of this song however, the emphases is placed upon the regret end and especially the eternal warnings that the boy is receiving. He is forced to grow, not in the way he expects to, but the loss of innocence is posed as a lesson showing how easily elements of our personal lives can be lost out of control rather quickly, and often with our help. The first verse after the chorus continues with showing her leadership and and its proposed that there may be some possible issues with the communication and fairness of the situation. The line, “Despite everything he learned from his friends, he doesn’t feel so prepared.” Shows that he is unprepared to handle the situation and doesn’t really know what he is doing. But, she is breathing quiet and smooth which implies the obvious parallel, she knows exactly what she is doing. Especially with him “gasping for air”. He is in too deep and can’t summon the words to stop the event as it unfolds right in front of him. Having made my own mistakes in life, this kind of situation where you know what to do, but feel powerless tends to be a direct part of real life and especially growing up. So the song is true to its meaning. The following verse begins with the line, “He is the lamb, she is the slaughter.” Which shows that he is the sacrifice and she is the ritual in this metaphor for coming of age. He very easily could imagine that he loves this girl and that by making the move to get physical is simply the next step. His intentions are actually pure and true. He does care about her and want to make such a step a staple in his relationship to her along with his commitment, however, she has no such plans. This causes the regret and ultimately the depression of a love given to the wrong person. He only seems to discover this sad conclusion by making his ultimate mistake. This is obvious to in the second line of this sentence, “She’s moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her.” The speaker then says, “Nothing that he tells her is really having an effect. He whispers that he loves her, but she’s probably only looking for sex...” This clearly breaks down the entire disfunction between the two characters in this sad tale. One of the most repeated lines throughout this song goes, “Die young and save yourself”. The idea presented here is that it is good to die young so that you can save your innocence and keep a perfect view of the world and all the dealings, relationships, and problems within it. This really is the entire song in a nutshell.