What does From Yesterday mean?

30 Seconds To Mars: From Yesterday Meaning

Album cover for From Yesterday album cover

Song Released: 2006


From Yesterday Lyrics

He's a stranger to some
And a vision to none
He can never get enough,
Get enough of the one

For a fortune he'd quit
But it's hard to admit
How it ends and begins
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a...

  1. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 1st 2007 !⃝

    This song is about Paul Muadib Atreides from the Dune Series by Frank Herbert. The band has gotten a lot of inspiration from the series, being that the first book,
    "Dune", is Jared Leto's favorite book. If you wish to learn exactly what the song means then read the book, but basically Paul has an oracular like ability and is afraid of conforming to "the oracle", or becoming the future and having to live in the past, hence the title of the song From Yesterday.

  2. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 1st 2007 !⃝

    It is political. The video may not seem to reflect that, but they probably don’t want the kind of press Sean Penn got. Also, there are symbols in the video that can be connected to this idea. Anyways. The song is about Bush. It doesn’t mean that I agree with what he says.

    He can never get enough: This reflects bush's activities (he can’t get enough of war).

    For a fortune he'd quit: referring to oil and stuff like that

    On his face is a map of the world: a person's face is their identity. You identify bush with his military activities around the world and the wars following.

    From yesterday, it calls him but he doesn't want to read the message here: the message/calls of people who oppose the war

    On a mountain he sits, it’s not of gold but of shit: mountains represent achievements. He believes the achievements are gilded. It’s not gold, its shit. Discredits it.

    Through the blood he can learn, see the lives that he took: self explanatory

    From a council of one: Refers to Bush making decisions on his own, not everyone behind him.

  3. alexxponce
    click a star to vote
    Mar 16th 2007 !⃝

    I think this song is about someone that is worrying about our future and they just see the past happening over and over again. That's why it says "From yesterday its coming, from yesterday the fear, from yesterday it calls him." He tries to ignore it "he doesn't want to read the message" but he can't because he's too scared of what will happen in the future.

  4. machs
    click a star to vote
    Mar 2nd 2007 !⃝

    This song is about somebody who gets a tatoo of the map of the world on their face one night, and spends the rest of his life feeling guilty because of it.

    "He’s a stranger to some
    And a vision to none "

    He is unrecognizable (a stranger to some) and no one wants to see him (and a vision to none)

    "He can never get enough,
    Get enough of the one"

    The one is his tatoo artist

    "For a fortune he'd quit
    But it’s hard to admit
    How it ends and begins
    On his face is a map of the world "

    He'd get rid of the tatoo if he had a lot of money to get the laser procedures done. It is hard for him to see where the tatoo ends and begins ("how it ends and begins"), because it is a tatoo of the map of the world.

    "From yesterday, it’s coming!
    From yesterday, the fear!
    From yesterday, it calls him
    But he doesn't want to read the message here "

    The main character regrets what he's done yesterday and fears what he is capable of doing. "But he doesn't want to read the message here ", he doesn't want to look at himself in the mirror and see the message (the tatoo) in the mirror.

    "On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of shit
    through the blood he can learn, see the life that he took
    From a council of one
    He'll decide when he's done with the innocent"

    The main character is now on his own sitting on a mountain of manure, and the tatoo is bleeding (through the blood he can learn, see the life that he took), the life being his own, because through getting the tatoo, he soiled his reputation and ended his social life. "He'll decide when he's done with the innocent", means that he will stop scaring people with his facial tatoo.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 9th 2007 !⃝

    i think the posters above are correct and I think that this song could apply to president bush problem and not learning from the past etc.. all the way down to everyone of us but as much as I hate to think of prez bush when I first read the words that is what I pictured

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 9th 2007 !⃝

    I think for this song the band is talking about a person who looks to the past for answers but can't find any. It haunts him as someone says already and it is obvious to read him as "in his face is a map of the world", its saying that you can read and understand his feelings and shadows like a book. It exposes everything. and "he doesn't want to read the message here" I think is saying that he doesn't wanna face reality but look to the past. I could be terribly wrong but that's my view.

  7. JAREDLETOSgurl69xoxo
    click a star to vote
    Nov 5th 2006 !⃝

    I think that this song is basically about how there is just too much pressure n there's so many things going on with this person. Like wen he says" on his face is a map of the world" basically sounds like there's just a lot of pressure. Then wen he says "from yesterday its coming" well tells me that well maybe he's trying to forget everything and he can't forget it keeps coming back everything and trying to forget is putting on pressure. Well that's what I think. If you "think" I m wrong then tell me. It be nice. If you just wanna yell then don tell me anything. Bc frankly there is no need to yell.

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