"Chairs thrown and tables toppled,
Hands armed with broken bottles,
Standing no chance to win but,
We're not runnin', we're not runnin'."
In spite of a seemingly impossible challenge, "we" take arms and refuse to run from a cause. "We" is an idealist group, or rather the ideal itself - a cause and the people who believe in it.
"There's a point I think we're missin',"
Self-Explanatory; this ties the opening "not running" sequence to the rest of the song.
"It's in the air we raise our fists in,
In the smiles we cast each other,
My sister, my brother.
About the time we gave up hope and
We never find these locks still open,
Stumbling on stones unturned,
The hurt we feel, we all have found."
The narrator presents a dilemma in which the cause/ideal is constantly being beaten back and rejected (The people try every new path, but ultimately it ends in hurt), when the answer (or rather an alternative solution) is right in front of their faces.
"The lines we've crossed in search of change, but all they see is treason"
The group/ideal is simply calling for a change, yet the world views this idea as treason.
"Although we have no obligation, to stay alive
On broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive
(Break out) I won't be left here
Behind closed doors."
These are the defining lines in the song. Although "we" (the ideal, and by extension the people that believe in it) is just an ideal, and the world will go on as normal without it, the people who believe in it will fight until their dying breaths to keep that ideal alive.
When the narrator shifts from "we" to "I" it implies that the narrator himself is the ideal, and the "we" are those who support him. When he says "I won't be left here behind closed doors", he means that the ideal will not and cannot be forgotten or hidden as long as there are people who believe in it.
"Bonfires burn like beacons,
Guiding the lost and weakened.
Flames dance on crashing waves,
Guiding ships who've gone a stray"
Eventually, the cause will be lost to time, and people will lose their way (similar to the growing old concept in the song Architects), but bonfires (which I interpret as rallies or new younger believers in the ideal) will bring them back to their old beliefs and get them fighting again.
"Time out, let's stop and think this through,
We've all got better things to do,
A talk in circles run in place,
Answers inches from my face."
To the narrator, the solution to his problem is right in front of his face. The cause that his people have been fighting for has gotten to the point where it's doing nothing but causing unnecessary hurt amongst it's believers.
This suggests that sometimes it's better to think about what you're fighting for (and how), rather than just doing what your instincts tell you and get hurt every time. "Work smarter, not harder" is something my mother used to always tell me, and this seems to speak towards that concept.
"Black eyes, broken fingers,
Blood drips and I let it run down my lips and to my swollen gums
When hope is non-existent,
Our instincts all scream, "Run",
We never turn our backs or even bite our tongue"
In the end, the "I", the ideal, has been battered, bruised, and beaten, yet it's believers still fight for it. The "I" let's the blood from his metaphorical wounds drip to show the damage that's been done, and makes no attempt to hide it - as it's a symbol of the hardship it's willing to go through. In spite of all that, the "I" is still alive.
But that brings us to the ultimate meaning of the song.
People fight hard for what they believe in. They fight to the point where the ideal becomes lost in violence, hurt, negativity, and loss, yet it's people still fight for it - and are more than willing to die for it. But, in the end, people never think to find a better way to preach their message.
Indeed, the point everyone's missing is in both the smiles cast, and the air around those who believe in the ideal. It's the ideal itself - it's alive. Even if it seems like the world has forgotten about it, as long as there's a "we" who can raise their fists, the ideal is alive.
Don't fight for something, and then lose yourself in bringing that cause to fruition. You can't preach a gospel of peace if you've resorted to violence to get it across to people.
I like this as much as I like mine. I'd argue, though, that if the ideal is harmed it's because the people fighting for it are subverting it to fit their own purposes over time. It's very hard to harm an ideal unless it's being tortured to mean something different by the people who claim to support it.
I like this as much as I like mine. I'd argue, though, that if the ideal is harmed it's because the people fighting for it are subverting it to fit their own purposes over time. It's very hard to harm an ideal unless it's being tortured to mean something different by the people who claim to support it.
"Chairs thrown and tables toppled, Hands armed with broken bottles, Standing no chance to win but, We're not runnin', we're not runnin'."
In spite of a seemingly impossible challenge, "we" take arms and refuse to run from a cause. "We" is an idealist group, or rather the ideal itself - a cause and the people who believe in it.
"There's a point I think we're missin',"
Self-Explanatory; this ties the opening "not running" sequence to the rest of the song.
"It's in the air we raise our fists in, In the smiles we cast each other, My sister, my brother.
About the time we gave up hope and We never find these locks still open, Stumbling on stones unturned, The hurt we feel, we all have found."
The narrator presents a dilemma in which the cause/ideal is constantly being beaten back and rejected (The people try every new path, but ultimately it ends in hurt), when the answer (or rather an alternative solution) is right in front of their faces.
"The lines we've crossed in search of change, but all they see is treason"
The group/ideal is simply calling for a change, yet the world views this idea as treason.
"Although we have no obligation, to stay alive On broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive (Break out) I won't be left here Behind closed doors."
These are the defining lines in the song. Although "we" (the ideal, and by extension the people that believe in it) is just an ideal, and the world will go on as normal without it, the people who believe in it will fight until their dying breaths to keep that ideal alive.
When the narrator shifts from "we" to "I" it implies that the narrator himself is the ideal, and the "we" are those who support him. When he says "I won't be left here behind closed doors", he means that the ideal will not and cannot be forgotten or hidden as long as there are people who believe in it.
"Bonfires burn like beacons, Guiding the lost and weakened. Flames dance on crashing waves, Guiding ships who've gone a stray"
Eventually, the cause will be lost to time, and people will lose their way (similar to the growing old concept in the song Architects), but bonfires (which I interpret as rallies or new younger believers in the ideal) will bring them back to their old beliefs and get them fighting again.
"Time out, let's stop and think this through, We've all got better things to do, A talk in circles run in place, Answers inches from my face."
To the narrator, the solution to his problem is right in front of his face. The cause that his people have been fighting for has gotten to the point where it's doing nothing but causing unnecessary hurt amongst it's believers.
This suggests that sometimes it's better to think about what you're fighting for (and how), rather than just doing what your instincts tell you and get hurt every time. "Work smarter, not harder" is something my mother used to always tell me, and this seems to speak towards that concept.
"Black eyes, broken fingers, Blood drips and I let it run down my lips and to my swollen gums When hope is non-existent, Our instincts all scream, "Run", We never turn our backs or even bite our tongue"
In the end, the "I", the ideal, has been battered, bruised, and beaten, yet it's believers still fight for it. The "I" let's the blood from his metaphorical wounds drip to show the damage that's been done, and makes no attempt to hide it - as it's a symbol of the hardship it's willing to go through. In spite of all that, the "I" is still alive.
But that brings us to the ultimate meaning of the song.
People fight hard for what they believe in. They fight to the point where the ideal becomes lost in violence, hurt, negativity, and loss, yet it's people still fight for it - and are more than willing to die for it. But, in the end, people never think to find a better way to preach their message.
Indeed, the point everyone's missing is in both the smiles cast, and the air around those who believe in the ideal. It's the ideal itself - it's alive. Even if it seems like the world has forgotten about it, as long as there's a "we" who can raise their fists, the ideal is alive.
Don't fight for something, and then lose yourself in bringing that cause to fruition. You can't preach a gospel of peace if you've resorted to violence to get it across to people.
I like this as much as I like mine. I'd argue, though, that if the ideal is harmed it's because the people fighting for it are subverting it to fit their own purposes over time. It's very hard to harm an ideal unless it's being tortured to mean something different by the people who claim to support it.
I like this as much as I like mine. I'd argue, though, that if the ideal is harmed it's because the people fighting for it are subverting it to fit their own purposes over time. It's very hard to harm an ideal unless it's being tortured to mean something different by the people who claim to support it.