Green Day: 21 Guns Meaning

Song Released: 2009

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21 Guns Lyrics

Do you know what's worth fighting for,
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating?

Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart...

1. 1TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Oct 31st 2009, 10:34 report

   
   

   "Do you know what's worth fighting for,
   When it's not worth dying for?
   Does it take your breath away
   And you feel yourself suffocating?"
   
   First two lines are pretty self explanatory. do you kow what's important to you, even if it isn't worth dying or?
   
   "Does the pain weigh out the pride?
   And you look for a place to hide?
   Did someone break your heart inside?
   You're in ruins"
   
   You're in pain, but you're just too proud to get help, so you're hiding your emotions. You're in pain or "ruis" becau you've lost someone very important to you.
   
   "One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky,
   You and I"
   
   This to me is like... Someone is trying to deal with pain by themselves, and thi other person is knd of sying "give up on pushing people away and just let me help you through this"
   
   "When you're at the end of the road
   And you lost all sense of control
   And your thoughts have taken their toll
   When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul"
   
   This person is feling really lost and hurt, and thinking about what happened and analyzing things is making everything worse.
   
   "Your faith walks on broken glass
   And the hangover doesn't pass
   Nothing's ever built to last
   You're in ruins"
   
   Maybe they're losing their faith in love or "forever" ("Nothing's ever built to last") or even god because of what happened. Secnnd line, the pain isn't get any better. They're in ruins.
   
   "Did you try to live on your own
   When you burned down the house and home?
   Did you stand too close to the fire?
   Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone"
   
   they're trying to do things on their own and still trying to deal with eveything by themselves, and they're taking it to an extreme by not letting anyone in ("Did you stand too close to the fire")And they just can't do it alone, like you can't get forgiveness from a stone.
   
   "When it's time to live and let die
   And you can't get another try
   Something inside this heart has died
   You're in ruins"
   
   They're realizing that they can't get that person back and they have to move on and continue living their life, but soemthing is missing in their heart, and it's never going to heal; they're never going to be quite the same. They're going to continue to be in rins for a long time, ut they know they have to move on some time.
   
   "One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky,
   You and I"
   
   Then I think when this is repeated at the end, the person is realizing they need help, and they need to stop fighting people who want to help and ind a new way to mourn their loss, mabe with someone who was also close to the deceased.
   
   And I think taken into the context of the album it's about Christian losing Gloria.

   
   
   
   

2. 2TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   May 2nd 2010, 18:36 report

   
   

   Most people don't seem to know the difference between the 21 gun salute and the 3-volley salute. The latter is indeed used for funerals while the former refers to a warship emtpying its guns, effectively disarming itself to show the lack of hostile intent.
   
   This meaning fits well into the general theme of the song: surrender, giving up the fight that is not worth dying for.

   
   
   
   

3. 3TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Jul 21st 2009, 12:38 report

   
   

   Here, they're talking about hopelessness, uncertainty, and the ever-present pain.
   
   
   I like this line XD
   
   I'm pretty sure this song is about the pain of growing up and learning that things are never how they seem when you're a kid.
   
   Do you know what's worth fighting for?
   When it's not worth dying for?
   Does it take your breath away
   And you feel yourself suffocating?
   
   This verse is finding out about the most important things to you and not wasting your time on things that mean nothing.
   
   Does the pain weigh out the pride?
   And you look for a place to hide?
   Did someone break your heart inside?
   You're in ruins
   
   When you grow up you go through bad times and sometimes they are more powerful than the good times. It feels like you can't do anything right or life is pointless and you just want to hide.
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms, give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I
   
   When the bad times are more powerful than the good, you learn to not trust anyone and try to be inpendent, but sometimes you need someone.
   
   When you're at the end of the road
   And you lost all sense of control
   And your thoughts have taken their toll
   When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
   
   If the bad times you go through are really bad, you start thinking it's never going to get better and you want to die.
   
   Your faith walks on broken glass
   And the hangover doesn't pass
   Nothing's ever built to last
   You're in ruins
   
   If you're hurting inside, then you may start trying to destroy yourself using drugs and alcohol.
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms, give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I
   
   Did you try to live on your own
   When you burned down the house and home?
   Did you stand too close to the fire
   Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?
   
   Sometimes you just want to be on your own completely but it never works.
   
   When it's time to live and let die
   And you can't get another try
   Something inside this heart has died
   You're in ruins
   
   Sometimes even though people want to help the pain you've gone through is so bad no one can help you, even if you want them to.
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms, give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms, give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

   
   
   
   

4.  

   anonymous

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   Jan 3rd, 22:09 report

   
   

   I agree with top answer 2. i think it's about losing someone. I also think it's about drowning your feelings in anti-depressants and alcohol because of the writing on the walls in the video.

   
   
   
   

5.  

   anonymous

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   Jun 18th 2012, 05:50 report

   
   

   There is to me two different meaning of course the first one is about the war and how it has affected all the soldiers and their loved ones
   
   the second one is about a couple who went through lots of hard time in their relation ship and when they decide to go alone they realize how hard it is and that they can do it together.

   
   
   
   

6.  

   anonymous

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   May 19th 2012, 06:50 report

   
   

   This is an awesome song, with a deep meaning. Much better than JB and stupid modern day COMPUTER-GENERATED songs

   
   
   
   

7.  

   anonymous

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   Apr 26th 2012, 06:31 report

   
   

   I think this song is about people who fight about things that aren't worth it. Their fighting pulls them apart, and they're miserable because all they can do is fight.

   
   
   
   

8.  

   TheGritz

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   Apr 9th 2012, 15:11 report

   
   

   First of all I'd like to point out this song is a story, nor is it about what you 'feel' it is about in your life. Giving abstract meanings like this helps nobody.
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   21 Guns is a direct slap in the face to the US Govt for the war on terror.The significance of the title, as others have pointed out is when a battleship releases all of it's ammunition to show its peaceful intentions through disarming itself.
   
   ""Do you know what's worth fighting for,
   When it's not worth dying for?
   
   Does the pain weigh out the pride?""
   This is mocking the US for it's rationalization for the war.
   
   ""And you look for a place to hide?
   Did someone break your heart inside?
   You're in ruins""
   Referencing to 9/11 and how the US started the war out of fear without consideration for what would happen, and how it was because after 9/11 the US was in 'ruins'.
   
   ""Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   Throw up your arms into the sky,
   You and I""
   This is the call against the fighting. This song is a modern day protest song after all.
   
   ""When you're at the end of the road
   And you lost all sense of control
   And your thoughts have taken their toll
   When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
   Your faith walks on broken glass
   And the hangover doesn't pass
   Nothing's ever built to last
   You're in ruins""
   Green Day is saying the US will gain nothing from the war and come out the way it went in, 'in ruins.'
   
   ""One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky,
   You and I""
   Another call for opposition against the war.
   
   ""Did you try to live on your own""
   This is saying the US has alienated itself with it's policies of policing the world.
   
   ""When you burned down the house and home?
   Did you stand too close to the fire?""
   This is a direct reference to the amount of destruction the US has caused in the Middle East.
   
   ""Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone
   
   When it's time to live and let die
   And you can't get another try
   Something inside this heart has died
   You're in ruins""
   These lines are the key to the song as it ties it together. Green Day is saying that once the US realized it made the wrong decision it was already to late, it had destroyed the middle east, alienated itself, and it won't be able to resolve the problems it caused. Again it is in 'ruins,' just as it had been after 9/11, which was the cause for the war on terror which was meant to bring it out of ruins. The US will make no progress from 9/11 by starting a war.
   
   ""One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky
   
   One, 21 guns
   Lay down your arms
   Give up the fight
   One, 21 guns
   Throw up your arms into the sky,
   You and I""
   Green Day is restating their message by saying the way to avoid this outcome of being in permanent state of post-9/11 is to end the war on terror.

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

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   Oct 19th 2011, 04:16 report

   
   

   I think that the song is about a long distance relationship, and the two people in the relationship (Christian and Gloria) are teenagers who don't have much control over where they are, but they love each other anyway. Although people always tell them to
   "Lay down your arms. Give up the fight," -meaning break up with him/her- they don't listen and they say to each other "Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I," meaning "Stay with me, it will be better later." At the end of the song, Christian and Gloria end up together despite all the doubt that other people had for their relationship because, again, the last words of the song were stated "Throw up your arms into the sky. You and I". They wanted to say that, as well as tie in the anti-war theme of the album and the song was created.

   
   
   
   

10.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 28th 2011, 19:32 report

    
    

    It's about a teenager that feels his life has no meaning.hes depressed and is gonna kill himself.

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 23rd 2011, 00:26 report

    
    

    Did you try to live on your own
    When you burned down the house and home?
    Did you stand too close to the fire?
    Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone
    
    The part about the liar probably represents a person wanting to redeem themself to a dead person
    
    Stone=Grave

    
    
    
    

12.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 3rd 2011, 22:07 report

    
    

    There are a lot of great interpretations here.
    
    For me, it is about a specific elderly person that has dementia. They won't give up the struggle and try to maintain control, even though they need help. In life, we must surrender control to others at some point, even though we don't trust them fully.
    
    Ultimately we must surrender to death.

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 24th 2011, 22:49 report

    
    

    It's about how when you are young and naive, you fight pointlessly, in wars or relationships. But in the end, when you finally look back and see what's 'worth fighting for' and 'what's worth dying for'--when 'it's time to live and let die'--you realize that you could have sought peace and love, hence '21 Guns', the military's sign of no hostility. But it's too late.

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 19th 2011, 01:03 report

    
    

    I think that it is about choices. It tells you that it is your choice whether you lie or not, kill or not, etc. I think it also trie to warn us not to give up, or make the wrong choice or the choice that will lead to destruction.

    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    May 27th 2011, 23:13 report

    
    

    Green Day is a band that is 100% against war the whole "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown" albums both express strongly their distaste and digust with the war that has been going on in Iraq and Afganastan(srry if i spelled that wrong) this song is about takeing our American troops out of war.

    
    
    
    

16.  

    anonymous

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    May 25th 2011, 10:13 report

    
    

    21 guns is all about how fighting is not worth the effort. that with war only comes more war until someone ends up giving up and giving away what they lived years for.

    
    
    
    

17.  

    anonymous

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    May 20th 2011, 12:18 report

    
    

    it is awesome. it is talking about the wars that have no real meaning to it

    
    
    
    

18.  

    anonymous

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    May 14th 2011, 20:53 report

    
    

    This song compares the obvious circumstances of war to an argument with a loved one. It is hard to surrender an argument when one believes he is right, however this song suggests that at some point the argument is not worth degrading or destroying a relationship. Sometimes it is simply better to "throw your arms to the sky" and surrender to each other for the sake of the relationship.
    
    Sometimes one has to do what is best for the relationship and not for oneself.

    
    
    
    

19.  

    anonymous

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    May 11th 2011, 20:10 report

    
    

    A lot of people don't seem to realize that 21st century breakdown was written as a rock opera. A lot of these analysis are completely ignoring that fact. Anyway, at this point in the story, Christain and Gloria are giving up their revolutionary battle and realizing that fighting is not the best thing for them to do.

    
    
    
    

20.  

    anonymous

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    May 5th 2011, 18:49 report

    
    

    If this song was about Surrendering when if the fight isn't worth dying for, I think it might imply that you should fight for anything that isn't worth dying for. Dying doesn't have to be of a life, it could be of a certain practice or part of your life. If you're fighting for something that isn't worth the cause, get out. We all need to be fighting for "Death and for Glory" as Theodon says in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when they're practically dead, but they go out in spite of the odds and go, because they know they're fighting the Good fight, the one that's worth dying for.

    
    
    
    

21.  

    anonymous

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    May 2nd 2011, 20:18 report

    
    

    it means you need to give up the fight, what ever your situation might be. Life isnt over. It may seem like the problem is forever but it will be solved. And of course there are other military terms involve

    
    
    
    

22.  

    anonymous

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    May 1st 2011, 18:09 report

    
    

    I am really impressed by the quality of your responses. Do you think that it has a message beyond the boarders of the US?

    
    
    
    

23.  

    anonymous

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    Apr 26th 2011, 04:34 report

    
    

    I believe this song is a personal battle with addiction. At the end of each verse it states that "YOU are in ruins". 21 guns I associate with the decision to give up the battle, a feeling of defeat. The 1st time "lay down your arms is stated" I think it means don't pick up the drug, the second time, means reach out to a higherpower or God as we are taught to do in recovery.The verse that talks about the end of the road, broken glass(egg shells), everything crumbling around you, all talks about that end of the line jumping off point, total defeat and desespair.