What does Fiction mean?

Avenged Sevenfold: Fiction Meaning

Tagged: Death | Suicide [suggest]
Album cover for Fiction album cover
Get "Fiction" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Fiction Lyrics

Now I think I understand
How this world can overcome a man.
Like a friend we saw it through
In the end I gave my life for you.

Gave you all I had to give
Found a place for me to rest my head.
While I may be hard to find
Heard there's...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    123Mustafa
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    Oct 10th 2010 !⃝

    This song is not about the Rev. James sullivan wrote the song and sung it in a demo two days before he died. The song was originally entitled death, though after the revs passing, the members of the band changed it the fiction. This was because jimmy had a tattoo down his chest because he said " my life is like a fiction book, if I told someone my life they wouldnt beleive me. " The actual song is about dying and telling you loved ones to move on. It's an extremely emotional song, which is why, despite its popularity, it is not preformed live. god bless jimmys enlarged heart (literally he was born with an enlarged heart), and may his soul res in peace for eternity ,

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Oct 16th 2010 !⃝

    This is a song The Rev wrote, it was first titled "death" but the guys changed it to "fiction" after Jimmy passed away.

    Ironically enough this song is about how much it is sucks to lose someone you love, a close friend or relative.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Apr 19th 2011 !⃝

    Listen. This is not a suicide note even his. Mom said so.

  4. anonymous
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    Oct 20th 2021 !⃝

    To the top rated commenter - I've seen Avenged Sevenfold live 11 times, and out of those 11 times, this song was played live four of them. He clearly has no idea what he is talking about. Just look on YouTube. It's literally everywhere. After that, they started playing "So Far Away". The last time I saw them at Foxwoods at Revolution Rock Festival, they didn't play a tribute to Jimmy. I think they are trying to move on from it. I don't exactly know how I feel about it.

  5. anonymous
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    Jan 8th 2021 !⃝

    This song was composed by James Owen Sullivan. (Stage Name: The Reverend Tholomew Plague - The Rev for short) The song was completed on Christmas day, three days prior to his passing. (December 28th, 2009) “Death“ as it was originally called, was a song with a title that pretty much sums it up. But later after The Rev’s passing, the band changed the name to Fiction because of a quote he had tattooed on his chest that stated “Life is like fiction, if I told somebody about the events in my life they wouldn’t believe me.” The Rev was the drummer in numerous bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Successful Failure, and Pinkly Smooth, to name a few. The lyrical meaning is, he knows he will pass away soon and that losing a loved one is terrible. He had enlarged heart, and the doctor believed he would only live until 30. It was getting close to his time, and the pain of his enlarged heart grew more intense. So he mixed a few varieties of drugs in a drink known as a “Brompton Cocktail” to ease the pain, and eventually died do to the overdose. He was buried in the city Hunting Beach at The Good Shepard cemetery.

  6. lrichardsonxox
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    Apr 4th 2020 !⃝

    The song was originally written by Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan and was completed 3 days before he passed away.
    The song was originally named ‘Death’.
    He made the demo himself, the instruments and his vocals, and left it for them to complete.
    The song was later named to ‘Fiction’ as The Rev always said that life was like fiction.
    Some say that it was a suicide note because of his subsequent death 3 days after completion but he had originally started writing the song in the early 2000’s for Pinkly Smooth.

  7. anonymous
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    Dec 19th 2018 !⃝

    This song has changed me in so many emotianol ways! This song basically describes my shitty little life btter then I can

  8. anonymous
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    Oct 31st 2017 !⃝

    It's a shame that the rev died but its clear to me that the rev wrote a great song that should not be downplayed. Just enjoy it.

  9. anonymous
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    May 17th 2016 !⃝

    He has died because he drank his brompton cocktail he didn't want to die of enlarged heart so he said goodbye with fiction as his suicide note. I love u rev RIP

  10. anonymous
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    Apr 9th 2016 !⃝

    A gutwrenching chilling goodbye song from the conscientious mind of James ''The Rev'' Sullivan that may have foresaw and realized there wasn't to much time left for him under the condition that he struggled and suffered in this life with a loving heart that became to big and heavy for him to carry all the love and pain in it. To me it was like writing a letter as a song to a friend out of love and respect for him that he may have seened part of ''god'' in him. Where in the end he gave all that he had to give to him, where he saw his friend in Him as a good friend in life that could also be any of his brothers and sisters or family members that knew and walked with him to wish them well to find their way when he's gone to R.I.P

  11. anonymous
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    Nov 10th 2014 !⃝

    Just like to comment on someone interpretation, fiction is played live as they played it when I seen them in Manchester in 2014, fiction was played and matt said how much he missed him and loves him, matt sings his part and the Rev is on recording so it can still be performed, So Far Away was made in his honour. Also like to add eventhough it has been mentioned The Rev certainly did not commit suicide he cherished life, loved his friends and family and didn't give a Damn about what other people thought of him because he was crazy, he was loud and that was him and that's why people loved him, he was himself, didn't give a care in the world for people's judgement and inspired me and many others to not change yourself so others like you but to be yourself and be loved for who you really are. Jimmy Sullivan taught me so many things and has changed my life forever, I couldn't possibly have more respect for anyone in the world, I love Jimmy for teaching me that if I'm gonna be a crazy bastard in life, never have a second thought about it.
    thanks, Niamh.

  12. anonymous
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    Jul 9th 2014 !⃝

    To all the people that are saying this song is a suicide note, it's really not. As quite a few people have said Jimmy knew he was going to die young due to his heart. He wrote and (from what I've read) played instruments for this song, then have it to the band. The fact that he died a few days later is a coincidence. The band were all like brothers and Syn is his best mate they would have been able to read between the lines. I think the lyrics are his way of letting them know to let go when his time did come and was his tribute to them.
    <3 to the Rev rock in peace foREVer

  13. anonymous
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    Aug 10th 2013 !⃝

    Three days before the Rev died he gave it to the guys and said "this is it, this is the last song for the album" he also wrote Brompton cocktail, this song could be interpreted as his suicide note but I know not wasn't written for pinkly smooth, he had a tendency to go off the map for a couple days to write songs, if you look at the songs he wrote from the self titled album to Fiction it's pretty self explanatory of how he was feeling at the time. It's not secret he was an alcoholic or that he did drugs and the pills that he took are the exact ones as a Brompton cocktail. Fiction is a blood chilling song that if you listen closely you will hear pain in his voice unlike how it its in Little Piece of Heaven, or critical acclaim.

  14. anonymous
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    Apr 7th 2013 !⃝

    the rev knew he would die before 30 but I don't think he committed suicide but I don't think it was much of an accident either. because of his heart problems it was nearly impossible for him to not die soon anyway. but maybe he did want to end his pain but nobody knows what he was thinking. the song was not a suicide note but more likely a goodbye note. m shadows remembered the rev saying "this is the last song I don't have it in me to do anymore" so he had probably been in more pain right before he died than he ever was before. but whatever the story is, we all miss you deeply rev rip the reverend tholomew plague rock in peace you were the greatest drummer ever. only the good die young. we hope youre in less pain now

  15. anonymous
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    Jan 23rd 2013 !⃝

    I'm honestly surprised no one else sees this... I am a HUGE fan of A7X, as soon as The Rev's death was leaked to the public I got a tattoo saying RIP The Rev... BUT as we know he did drugs. When he says "Under my skin let it burn..." I mean it sounds like he is talking about heroine. Please everyone take the time to look over the lyrics again and think of it as if he was writing about overdosing on heroine, please. I am so surprised that I am the only one thatI have seen comment on this... Well regardless, Love you Jimmy <3. Oh and I heard that if you listen to the song backwards The Rev says something along the lines of "This December I will end my life". I hope that's not true but this is how I interpret the song.

  16. anonymous
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    Nov 1st 2012 !⃝

    Also, brompton cocktails seems to describe his pain "Doc I'm dying" "I won't stuggle long" "I'm not running away" which is like "I'm not running away but it's to hard to carry on" R.I.P Jimmy, you are my hero

  17. anonymous
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    Jun 24th 2012 !⃝

    I don't get why everyone thinks its about suicide. The Reverend wrote the lyrics in high school. I think it's about how you need friends to overcome your problems. " now I think I understand, how this world can overcome a man" then " like a friend we saw it through, in the end I gave my life for you". A lot of songs from "nightmare" ( album ) are made out to be break-up songs. The band is accused of being gay, but they don't love each other in a sexual way. When they lost Jimmy, they lost a close brother, not a boyfriend.

  18. anonymous
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    May 13th 2012 !⃝

    Well the anonymous guy from sept 22 2010 is a moron... the rev sings on this song (thankfully to the demo of the song before his death)

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