What does God Called In Sick Today mean?

AFI: God Called In Sick Today Meaning

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Album cover for God Called In Sick Today album cover

God Called In Sick Today Lyrics

Let's admire the pattern forming. Murderous filigree.
I'm caught in the twisting of the vine. Go ascend with ivy, climbing.
Ignore and leave for me the headstone crumbling behind. I can't help my laughter as she cries.
My soul brings tears to...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Jul 18th 2006 !⃝

    First of all, afi... Mostly davey/jade do not write songs with specific meanings. They take their real life scenarios and turn it into a more general and broad idea. Davey had thought songs from his childhood had meant something they didn't. When davey found out that the song meant something different he was upset. Since then he has written songs with no definate meaning. Their songs are meant to be interpereted differently as their fans see fit. Not to say their songs mean nothing because most of them are extremely deep having ties to real life situations everyone can relate to.
    What "god called in sick today" is about to me is one man's plight created by his own indecision. He has this obsession with killing people for his cause (lets admire the pattern forming murderous filigree) and enjoying the suffering of others (my laughter as they cry). Yet at the same time he can't justify his actions and he is tortured by his own actions. (I can't stand my laughter as they cry, my soul brings tears to angelic eyes). Because he is in a seat of great power he is able to unleash the evil side of him... (omnipotence, nurturing malevolence) (i'll let animosity unwind) like abraham lincohln once said "if you want to see the true charactor of a man then give him power."
    given this description I would most closely relate this person to hitler between the time he might have second thought the concentration camps and when he killed his wife and himself in his bunker.

  2. anonymous
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    Sep 29th 2011 !⃝

    the meaning of this song is very hard to define. but in my opinion he is talking of religion, in the sense that he wants to rid himself of beliefs. Omnipotence is in mean as being everywhere and knows everything. or maybe that religion is the curroption of humanity. But idk, it could mean anything. its a song after all. but what you draw from it is what it means to you.

  3. anonymous
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    Feb 15th 2010 !⃝

    isnt this song supposed to be about jesus, and how during his slow death on the cross he started to resent His fathers (God) decision to sacrifice him. at least thats what im told i cnat remember where though lol

  4. anonymous
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    Mar 18th 2008 !⃝

    I think that yes, this has to do with religion and god, bt I think it has intentions to declare god and religion wrong.

    "Let's admire the pattern forming. Murderous filigree."

    look at the world religions and look at how they help us. They do nothing. we WORSHIP the bible and God. We waste time.

    "I'm caught in the twisting of the vine. Go ascend with ivy, climbing."

    he's caught in between the decision of choosing a religion or not OR caught in between his 'twisting' thoughts.

    "Ignore and leave for me the headstone crumbling behind."

    Ignore me, go to funerals, worship God, enjoy life worshiping something that may not be real or something so old.

    "I can't help my laughter as she cries.
    My soul brings tears to angelic eyes."

    He hates to say it, the 'angels' or people of the religion or someone he's telling this to is crying because it's wrong.

    "Let's amend the classic story, close it so beautifully, I'll let animosity unwind."

    We know the All-American story, everyone is religious, he doesn't want to be, but he'll let the problem and everything be released, ready to give up on the topic or it may mean other things... but w/e lol.

    "Steal away the darkened pages, hidden so shamefully. I'll still feel the violence of the lines."

    anyone will do anything for religion, steal OR he's taking religion and shoving it down the drain... well meaning, he's wronging religion. He still feels the heat or the violence of the topic.

    "I can't stand my laughter as they cry. My soul brings tears to angelic eyes.
    And miles away my mother cries. Omnipotence, nurturing malevolence."

    He doesn't want to say it, he's saying it's wrong, as everyone thinks it's right; his mother is crying because she may want him to be what she wants; omnipotence- I have no idea what this means; malevolence means intentions to hurt, meaning religion is a fuel for people to do things they either don't want to or to attack anyone who thinks wrong of it.

    No offence to anyone here; my interpretation; I may be wrong lol. HAVE FUN!

  5. shakeninja
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    Oct 3rd 2007 !⃝

    The last line is the key I think. "omnipotence, nurturing malevolence". Someone has complete power over someone else. and so the weak has become dependent on the powerful. The omnipotent realizes that a pattern has formed in that the weak has ensnared the omnipotent in the twisting "vines" of their dependency. The omnipotent is ashamed and tries to hide it but they have come to hate this person they are supposed to care for.

    The situation at this point has degenerated into the writer mocking the powerless. "I can't help my laughter as she cries". It seems that there is a third party that is observing from a distance that is "good" and is saddened by the cruelty. This third party is at one point referred to as his mother. Is that literally his mother or a metaphor? I haven't a clue. but now that I have sorted my thoughts a bit more.

    I believe the song to be from the point of view of a person caring for a dying loved one and that they are finally tired of their duties and though it shames them they are powerless over feelings of hate toward that person. by this point they may even have abused the loved one to some degree and either someone else is aware to an extent of the situation and is heartbroken by it explaining "my soul brings tears to angelic eyes" and the reference to his mother. or the part of him that still loves this sick individual and cares is watching in horror at what he cannot help but feel and do. yeah. That feels right.

  6. mfteapot
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    Jul 26th 2007 !⃝

    Holy shfuck people. just because someone has in opinion about it being religous doesn't give you the right to break them down. I mean I hate when pepole are religious basterds and try to "force" you into their beliefs..but the have beliefs too just as we do. I'm not religious at all...actually I'm agnostic..but a lot of songs that AFI writes...has some underlying christian meaning. and I nthe end of the song...do you know what omnipotence means? it means unlimited power or power without limits. It always referred to God all the time. and the last two words of the song "nuturing malevolence". do you know what malevolence means? it means threatening of evil...and he wants taht to stop...or in those words.."nurture the evil" good god...do some freakin research!

  7. anonymous
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    May 19th 2007 !⃝

    Well firstly, Davey writes all the lyrics with the exception of spoken word in which Jade wrote the 2nd verse. And Davey has said that he will never write about jesus christ, he will write about religion, but never christ.
    This song could be about a drug addiction as someone before has said; someone close to him has suffered from an addiction and he laughs inside at the idiocy of his friend.
    However another slant could be him being caught "in the twisting vines" of life.

  8. anonymous
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    Mar 27th 2007 !⃝

    Hmm I sorta messed up the last one
    its suppose to be "I can't stand my laughter as they cry"
    so I'm gonna have to say that "they" would be the people he loves and who love them and now he's gone so they cry. So pretty much doesn't care that his mother cries but he cares they cry

  9. anonymous
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    Mar 22nd 2007 !⃝

    I believe the song is about Davey. It may not be a true story. I hope not. But it seems to me like when he was younger his mother maybe abused him. There seems to be a bit of anger and depression in this song. And child abuse is a pattern in a way. Not for everyone but for kids who thier parents beat are more likely to beat thier children than the kis who didn't get beat. So that's where he gets the "lets admire the patter forming" line. Also "murderous filigree" is his way of saying that the violent pattern spreads out through a lot of people. "i'm caught in the twisting of the vine" is pretty much stating he's in this pattern. "ill let animosity unwind" sounds like he has had enough. and finally got sick of it and either ran away or killed himself. Or just moved far away from his mother. "steal away the darkened pages, hidden so shamefully. I'll steal feel the violence of the lines" sounds like he's saying he wants this pain/memories to go away but they will always haunt him. at first he says "I can't help my laughter as she cries." sorta like that thing like "haha you pissed me off and now your crying" but the second time is "I can't stand my laughter as she cries" as in he just can't stand laughing at her anymore. After all she is his mother. Without out her he woudlnt have been here. "my souls bring tears to angelic eyes" Angels of course, they cry over him beating beat and this misery he suffers. Omnipotence means a force full of power. So the ling "omnipotence nuturing malevolence" sounds like he says that the police(omnipotence) is nuturing the evil. Does this make since to anyone?

  10. anonymous
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    Jan 11th 2007 !⃝

    i believe it has to do with drugs throughout the song in the beginning the person this song is based on can't "help" his laughter as "she crys" saying that his drug addiction is destroying the life of a womann close to him but after the corse of the song he says I can't "stand" my laughter as "they" cry showing that his drug addiction is ruining peoples lives close to him and he's laughing about it but can't stop or stand it

  11. anonymous
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    Jul 9th 2006 !⃝

    Totally wrong homie. The song is about a friend who suffers from addiction of some sort. "Let's admire the pattern forming, murderous filigree" references the deadly habit. Then he talks about how selfish this person is, destroying their lives by addiction and harming those who love them in the process. He can't help but laugh at how stupid it is to destroy yourself like that. Trust me, it has nothing to do with Jesus.

  12. ILuvKurtCobain
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    Feb 2nd 2006 !⃝

    This song is about how Davey feels of Jesus being crucified. In the beginning of the song it talks about how the world turns evil. How people abandon their belief of jesus. I could be here all day explaining every part, but it has to do with Jesus.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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