anonymous 2008-01-28 17:13:02    

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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 2008-02-12 13:54:47    

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#2 is a stupid retard and his interpretation is wrong. don't listen to number 2 I know him in real life he is amazingly dumb.

anonymous 2008-02-20 17:04:07    

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"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 2008-03-04 20:38:02    

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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 2008-03-26 23:55:46    

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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 2008-04-06 14:22:05    

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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 2008-05-11 18:27:09    

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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 2008-05-25 22:00:04    

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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 2008-07-01 03:08:05    

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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.

anonymous 2008-07-06 23:23:59    

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I believe the song is about how we are harming the environment. " I tell myself its wrong, there's a point we pass from which we can't return.

anonymous 2008-07-07 18:41:10    

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You guys/girls including myself actually taking the time to care how someone else interprets someone else's song is freaking ridiculous.

in_flames 2008-07-16 22:13:36    

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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 2008-07-21 01:26:16    

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"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.

anonymous 2008-07-22 21:38:30    

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Rise Against isn't politically minded?? Both times I went to their shows, they BITCHED AND BITCHED about how our current government sucks, how much we should be out voting and changing stuff and how we should go eat vegan and join PETA. I mean, seriously?

faggotkittEn 2008-07-23 05:58:20    

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Jdennis has the best interpretation, he says it exactly how it is.
Actually, my best friend sent me this song to me to show how much he loved me. It's obviously about love... what political evidence do you all have besides rise against is a "political band"... I read through the messages... I personally haven't heard any other song besides this one but I can understand how love plays a role... There's nothing political about this song...

anonymous 2008-08-16 14:11:13    

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This song is vague enough to fit in a lot of places, but the lesson is true. It takes into account deep truths that apply not only to our relationships but also to the world politics, whatever.

Something that is beautiful, that you want, you take it thereby destroying it. the song is about sacrificing something of yourself for something that is good.