anonymous November 23rd, 2006 07:53PM  
Actually,Tim recently went through a pretty rough divorce, and although most Rise Against songs are politically oriented, they do also write songs that deal with their personal lives.

I.E. Like the Angel, Swing Life Away, The Good Left Undone, etc. Have relatively little political meaning.

brokenenterprises December 4th, 2006 01:20PM  
I too think that this song is about a previous relationship that he has had. This is the one person who he saw as good in this life "in fields where nothing grew but weeds....". I do think that they are rather politically minded and use their music to send a message (i.e. prayer of the refugee). I respect them for their efforts to send a message the best way they know how.

anonymous June 2nd, 2007 09:23PM  
Jeez I've only been to this site twice and everyone here is so ignorant (well the ones I've seen).

1. A song can mean anything to anyone so no ones really wrong.

and 2... Just because a band has a lot of political songs doesn't mean that ALL their songs have to be political.

I guess there's a 3. Pretty much every band/artist will eventually write AT LEAST one love song. It's something we can all relate to and something everyone goes from.

I hope the people on this site will GROW UP some day. This is my last visit.

anonymous July 5th, 2007 03:05PM  
Did you ever think that maybe Rise Against does this on purpose? They leave the song to our own imaginations and we can think of it however we want to

anonymous July 10th, 2007 10:36PM  
I hate how people say bands are emo because they sing about love. Aerosmith sings about love and breakups and are they emo?

anonymous July 20th, 2007 10:27PM  
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
No, not the kind with halos,

if this song is in fact about a break up I think tims using this part to describe the girls beauty, a lot of guys I know call girls angels. For the last part I think he's describing that she guided him in the right direction when they were together. Angels are said to give guidance to people. Has anyone noticed that tim uses angels a lot in his lyrics?

anonymous October 17th, 2007 03:47AM  
You know what I think it's about both Political standings and relationships... Put it this maybe the song is pointing out how people are throwing away relations ships over nothing and that people are marrying to.. just be married and then divorcing, you could even go as far to say the song could go as far as abuse... So with that you hae the chorus singing about a relation while the versus stating peoples problems with taking marriage seriously not even marriage relations period. But I'm just saying this to take both sides of interpretations. and my reasoning example would be

"in fields where nothing grew but weeds
i found a flower at my feet"

- finding someone good in this sea of Fallowers (getting into marriage because someone else did)

"So I tell myself, I tell myself, it's wrong.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm..."

- explaining how people get themselves into something there not ready for, doing it then getting stuck in that position, the storm interpreats to fighting and arguing because it was never meant to be.

"All because of you,I haven't slept in so long.When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean; longing for the shore where I can let my hair down. I'll follow your voice; all you have to do is shout it out!"

- this I think you could be as the original interpretation or describing the process that woman use to run away from the abuse of home. All because of you... Haven't slept in so long could mean th haunting nights of the past, and longing for the shore, meaning longing to escape and live with out fear...

Should be enough to understand were I'm getting but, sense I see the argument of its ot about love and Rise Against doesn't sing emotionally but more on politically and world issues, I wanted to explain my combination of both together...

anonymous October 21st, 2007 01:16PM  
I think this song is supposed to be personal to us
like some people may think it's about the environment
some may think it's about a relationship
it could just be written to make us think about what he's saying and really listen.

you all have good interpretations, though =)

Kaliden December 25th, 2007 06:45PM  
Songs can be seen as different things, and this could very easily be a love song but I think it's more political standpoint about how were messing up the planet. It goes good with the title too. The Good left Undone (Causes we still fight for)

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
bending there in my direction.

In a world so full of selfishness and injustices he saw what he wanted to see.

I wrapped a hand around its stem
and pulled until the roots gave in,
finding there what I've been missing.
And I know....

He went along this path in life and found out knowledge about what is wrong with the world and just doing what you want without consequence to the earth itself.
(The second verse supports this more)

So I tell myself, I tell myself, it's wrong.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm...

He denied the knowledge at first because it's a lot to take in but since he knew it now he couldn't just forget it so he gave in. That after we do so much there will be no turning back and also that he feels that the point of turn is really soon.

All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream
of drowning in the ocean;
longing for the shore
where I can lay my head down.
I'll follow your voice;
all you have to do is
shout it out!

He's talking to everyone who is still blind. Now that he knows the truth he can't sleep anymore. When he does he has nightmares about the things he knows. He wishes he could just forget it all but feels this push of morality that makes him continue to wanna support the good left undone. Following a voice in this case seems to be following a cause. He wants to rest but while there are causes still left to fight for he will fight until things are better.

Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.

This is him realizing that by doing what he wants he is in fact hurting/killing/ruining

what he found beautiful.

I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now.
But I know...

Here he tries to fix what wrongs he's done hoping that if he fixs it in time that more beautiful things will grow. Also it makes a statement of the fact that we shouldn't always mess with things just because they are there.

Not a day goes by when I don't feel this burn.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm...

Same as the first pre chours pretty much, he talks about not a single day going by that he doesn't forget what happened. Then goes on to say that if we keep it up there will be a time we can't fix our problems anymore. And he then says that the time is coming really soon.

All because of you
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
no, not the kind with halos;
the kind that bring you home
when home becomes a strange place.
I'll follow your voice;
all you have to do is
shout it out!

This chorus is about the ignorant again but this time it's more about people coming together. He calls us out again for not knowing about the worlds problems but this time he says that he believes in the good that comes from adversity. Where when things go wrong he

believes in the hope that people will come together to make a difference. And through fighting causes we can one day make life better. He ends it with saying again if you have a
cause worth fighting I'll fight it with you just speak up about it.

anonymous January 17th, 2008 05:09PM  
Ok I agree with the guy two things up, everyone has there own way of it. I think the best part about Rise Against is that a lot of their songs can have several meanings like this one. Yes I will admit some songs such as Ready to Fall are blatantly obvious in the meaning that we are destroying the world. If the worlds for that don't work then the blasted video must work ... just watch the damn thing. But Other songs like seem to be more on an emotional level ... not emo just emotional stand point. They don't want pity they just want to rely a message, it happened to them too or one of them or something along those lines.

anonymous January 28th, 2008 05:13PM  
Everyone who is talking about Tim Mcilrath's divorce is a complete idiot.
He wasn't ever married. Buy Generation lost. He talks about how he's not married and has never been.
The song is about realizing the wrongs you've done for whatever reason, and repenting, and doing what needs to be done to undo your actions.

Rise Against isn't emo. He doesn't sing about the girl that hurt him so much. Rise Against is a liberal band about making a change.

anonymous February 20th, 2008 05:04PM  
"In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
bending there in my direction."

-- I believe this is talking about finding something in his life that really stood out. Something that was new, and growing. (I will explain later)

"I wrapped a hand around its stem
and pulled until the roots gave in,
finding there what I've been missing.
And I know...."

-- What he had found was a daughter. He just became a new daddy. It's the thing that completed him.

"So I tell myself, I tell myself, it's wrong.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm..."

-- there were rocky times with the mother of the whole situation. He told himself it was wrong, but got a divorce anyways. And now regrets it.

"All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream
of drowning in the ocean;
longing for the shore
where I can lay my head down.
I'll follow your voice;
all you have to do is
shout it out!"

-- He's thinking about his daughter, who he rarely gets see anymore. He dreams about her. But every time, his dreams don't come true. So he waits for her to call out to him.

"Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now.
But I know..."

-- He knew that trying to see his daughter would just make things worse, and it was having a toll on not only him but his daughter too. So he made a choice not to continue to struggle with the situation, and let it go. He stopped trying to see his daughter.

"Not a day goes by when I don't feel this burn.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm..."

-- He feels it every day, the regret of losing not only his wife but also his daughter now. But there's no returning now. It's too late, and it's only getting worse.


All because of you
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
no, not the kind with halos;
the kind that bring you home
when home becomes a strange place.
I'll follow your voice;
all you have to do is
shout it out!

-- He's learned from it, and gained a greater strength from it. He's been to the top of the earth and the bottom of hell. Seen the best and worst parts of his life. and now he looks back on all his experiences with his daughter, and realizes it was suppose to be that way, because if he hadn't gone through those experiences, he wouldn't have the strength he does today. She was a blessing to him.



I don't think it's a personal story of Tims, but one for people to relate to.

anonymous March 4th, 2008 08:38PM  
I think the song is about love and the last part of the song REALLY points towards that

"In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet"

His life was worthless to him or there was no one worth caring about, then someone beautiful and special to him entered his life

"Bending there in my direction"

This person approached him first

"I wrapped a hand around its stem,
I pulled until the roots gave in,
Finding now what I've been missing"

He tried very hard to start a relationship, and almost forced this person into it or he was very persistent, With this person he found happiness or love.

"But I know
So I tell myself, I tell myself its wrong.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return."

He knows that he and this person have passed a point of no return, because of what happened they can't be happy together again, but even tough he knows this he tells himself its wrong because he refuses to accept being unable to make up for what happened.

"I felt the cold rain of the coming storm."

After losing this person he felt the cold of heartbreak and it was a sign that life was going to become painful and hectic.

"All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can let my head down,
I'll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out."

I'll explain my interpretation of this later

"Inside my hands these petals browned,
Dried up, fallen to the ground
But it was already too late now"

This person suffered with him and wasn't able to be happy, and it was bound to happen the moment he met them.

"I pushed my fingers through the earth,
Returned this flower to the dirt,
So it can live.
I walked away now"

He walked away and let go because he knew the person would only continue to suffer with him.

"But I know
Not a day goes by that I don't feel it's burn"

Time has passed but the loss of this person still pains him.

"All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can let my head down,
Inside these arms of yours."

Now that this is complete I can interpret it, this all depends on how well you can see through metaphors. Because of this person no longer being in his life he's losing sleep and when he does he dreams of drowning in the "ocean" most likely his life or his emotions, He yearns to reach the shore where can rest his head in this persons arms. This person was his escape from life and it calmed his soul to be with her. I personally know how its feels to go through all kinds of hell and just lay my head in my loves embrace. It brings me peace and calm.

"All because of you,
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
No, not the kind with halos,
The kind that bring you home,
When home becomes a strange place.
I'll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out"

This I believe is very convincing that this song is about love. Because of this person he believes it's possible for one person to change your whole life, what this person did was give him a feeling of belonging and comfort when alone he felt out of place and uncomfortable.

Everyone has their own opinions and its makes sense to see this as a political/environmental song, however I ask everyone to look at ALL the words, it points towards the song being about a single person much more.

anonymous March 26th, 2008 11:55PM  
Um actually rise against is a liberal band, they have said it themselves. They would probably be insulted it they were thought of as not liberal.

anonymous April 6th, 2008 02:22PM  
This song is so good..... To me it's about this person I love but sadly I'm hurting him, so when we get together, the pain will last on :(

anonymous May 11th, 2008 06:27PM  
Liberal or not rise against are just human people after all. This leaves possibility for a song of a past love in the lyrics. Their history however leads towards the political views and environmental damage we see everyday. My problem the video, which was doesn't noticeably relate to either side. Like a previous person noted, it could possibly be about a friend who dearly misses his incredible daughter. There is not right or wrong interpretation of this song.

Someone someday could write the exact same words with a totally different reasoning.but were interested in what rise against was thinking.so with this song that I can't fully catch the gist of, and no interpretations that blew me away here I'm left for the band to explain what they had in their minds at the time.

robbo6666 May 25th, 2008 10:00PM  
I do agree with most of you about the left wing political side but just because they are politically orientated doesn't mean they can't sing about something else that is close to them "drowning in the ocean" is a metaphor for extreme passion or love and "longing for the shore where I can lay my head down" is a metaphor for needing someone. obviously. Half of you can get fucked!! emo...fuck off!! they just recruited one of the most punk guitarists ever zach blair.

jdennis July 1st, 2008 03:08AM  
Okay, so all you ignoramuses who think that every song written about love is done by an Emo band; Your an idiot! The majority of all great songs ever written were about love and to suggest a band whom is passionate about everything they write wouldn’t do a love song too is just ignorant! Of course they do political songs, and love songs, and songs about friends and all the aspects in their lives!

With that off my chest I would like to say that the metaphor use in this song just goes to show you what an in creditable writer Tim, and other contributors really are. He let’s us know that is a world of materialism and chaos that he found a beautiful blossoming flower amongst all the decay. And though that metaphoric flower was stuck with it’s roots he had to have her and took her from her metaphoric environment so he could keep her (the flower) as his own.

Eventually this flower he loved so much showed signs that it was wilting and the bright petals that once covered it turned to a soft brown withered color and he knew that in order for that flower he loved so much to continue in natural beauty he had to return it to the environment where it feels at home, and he knows it will be able to live on.

After the flower is gone from his care, he misses it and wonders how long it will be until he is reunited with the one thing he loved enough to let go.

It is the ultimate tail of “ If you love something let it free, if it returns then it’s meant to be.” concept.

This is my interpretation of this particular song, but not the band as a whole. One thing to never forget is the capability of a passionate group of people and their ability to be passionate about everything.

in_flames July 16th, 2008 10:13PM  
This band is NOT about relationships, it's about how our human race is destroying our earth. They are environmentalists.

"THE FIELDS WHERE NOTHING GREW BUT WEEDS, I FOUND A FLOWER AT MY FEET PLANTING THERE IN MY DIRECTION"
- finding one good thing left untouched and suceeding in its life

"I WRAPPED A HAND AROUND ITS STEM, I PULLED UNTIL THE ROOTS GAVE IN, FINDING THERE WHAT IVE BEEN MISSING"

-He ruins the life of the flower for a selfish reason

"SO I TELL MYSELF, I TELL MYSELF ITS WRONG. THERES A POINT WE PASS IN WHICH WE CANT RETURN."

-once we do something we regret, you can't change it. So think it through

So I won't sit here and discuss the whole song but its basically telling you to leave the good things alone so it can live its life.

anonymous July 21st, 2008 01:26AM  
"all because of you,
i believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
no, not the kind with halos,
the kind that bring you home,
when home becomes a strange place.
I’ll follow your voice,
all you have to do is shout it out."

There was some confusion in this interpretation, I believe that it means that he is not really at home unless he is with her, and no matter where he is, as long as he is with her, he is at home, and that her voice with bring her to a comforting place.