What does Down and Out mean?

The Academy Is...: Down and Out Meaning

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Album cover for Down and Out album cover

Down and Out Lyrics

Out of the box, out of the kitchen.
Out of the world she's grown so fearful of, so fearful of.

I don't ever want to see you again [3x]
I don't ever want to see you again my friend, this is the end.

Out of the house, she grabs the keys,...

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 21st 2011 !⃝

    I heard that in an interview, William Beckett said he had an abusive father, and had a stutter (dream of demons when you sleep, to make you stutter when you speak), so he may have written it about himself, when you think about it.

    aside that, i think its about a girl who is abused, either by her parents or boyfriend, wheres shes going forth into the world to leave behind the life she had. Though the 2nd half of the song doesnt seem to have a connection to the whole girl being abused thing. Its like a reflection of sorts.

  2. killerqueen
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    Oct 12th 2009 !⃝

    I dont think it talks about an abused girl. It talks (I think) about leaving home.

    "Out of the box, out of the kitchen.
    Out of the world she's grown so fearful of, so fearful of. "
    It means that for once, she is alone, more precisely, she is living by herself. There is no one to take care of her, which is what she wanted, but it is not easy to handle.
    "I don't ever want to see you again [3x]
    I don't ever want to see you again my friend, this is the end. "
    She argued with her parent, -or whoever she was living with- and left home. She promised she would never see them again, wich is probably untrue.

    "Out of the house, she grabs the keys, runs for the hills,
    and doesn't leave a letter, that way the impact would be much better."
    When she left, she did not tell anyone. She escaped, and that is hurtful for the ones who loved her.

    "Away from the man that she's grown so fearful of, so fearful of."
    That, could be her father, who was unnecesary strict,and that´s why she is afraid of him.

    "Why,oh why you wear sunglasses in the home,
    When the sun went down about an hour ago ?"
    These could mean two things
    1) She cried, a lot probably. So she tries to hide the tears behind the dark glasses.
    2) Because of her depression, she resorted to drugs. Drugs normally turn your eyes red and expands your pupils, so she hides them behind the glasses.

    The rest of the song talks about personal experiences, i think.
    Again, this is just a interpretation.

  3. anonymous
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    Jul 21st 2009 !⃝

    I think that William Beckett wrote this song about his mom and dad.

  4. 257uemnm42
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    May 17th 2009 !⃝

    The song is talking about abuse and about leaving someone you love and how hard it is, but it's life

  5. Gurl_E_Nerdd
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    Apr 5th 2008 !⃝

    This is a song about a woman in an abusive relationship. She runs away from the abuser to try and start over. But she also doesn't not want fame and friends to know because she wears sunglasses even at night to hide the bruises and black eye. Also about how it all effects the children in the home.

  6. twinkle_toes
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    Feb 18th 2008 !⃝

    This song has a lot of metaphors and stuff in it, but it's really all and all about moving on, like the first part is about a girl leaving an unhealthy relationship and then at the end they're talking about how they'll never forget they're old high school friends and all, so yeah.

  7. anonymous
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    Jan 1st 2008 !⃝

    I think this is about leaving behind what you care about most in order to pursue your dreams.
    and how the rigorous emotional spin of life on the road may have taken a toll on the ones he loves.

    its basically about the emotional roller coaster of life and how everyone grows up and grows apart and changes. but that these changes are a part of life and that even though they get hard to deal with you can't let yourself be "down and out"

    the 1st part that seems like abuse is probably some kind of personal story that applies to the hardship someone he loved faced and had to deal with when he was on the road and away.
    sunglasses prob cover red eyes from tears or alcohol abuse.

    thats my view, but good art like this should be interpreted diffrently by everyone and hold a special meaning to everyone of us.
    so no answer is right because the authors intention is exactly that, to write and release a certain message and at the same time relieving themselves from the stress of what they had to say, but also to not be too specific and give everyone something to think about.

  8. anonymous
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    Dec 4th 2007 !⃝

    I think that the chorus
    "Always up and down,
    Never down and out"
    is that they might feel good or bad somedays, but no matter what happens they'll never give up the fight.
    I also think that they're looking back on what happened between them and their friends, and how things change.

  9. lexxie
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    Mar 19th 2007 !⃝

    Yeah I agree with the whole abuse type of thing.
    But to me, and I'm more than likely wrong, it seems like, he's kind of looking back on this girls problem,whether it be because he knows her, or he cares deeply for her. And another verse when it's like 'i don't ever want to see you again, my friend, this is the end.' To me, it sounds like he's saying that to the man who 'she's grown to fearful of' maybe they were friends, and as he saw the damage he was doing to the girl, he doesn't want to be friends with that person again.

    Then as the instruments kick in and he starts to tell a small story of life in general. The 'ups and downs', it's either bad, or it's good. 'never down and out' meaning (maybe?) that you can never have something in between. Or maybe it means that he can never seem to find the right amount of what he's looking for, that everything just seems so played out for him. And he goes on to tell about other people, maybe he's looking back in his life and seeing where they ended up, and the differentiality among the lifestyles played out over the years. And 'now that he's grown' he understands how everything does come to an end no matter what.

    I'm probably wrong, but that's just how I see it :P

  10. machs
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    Dec 30th 2006 !⃝

    Well the for the first part of the song with no drums and just guitar and piano and all, I agree with what every one else said. However, the the second part just seems to be about marriage and celibacy and how people choose to live their lives when it comes to love. The chorus however, doesn't seem to have to do with anything, and personally, I think they just wrote it like that and didn't want to change the words, even though it has nothing to do with the themes in the songs. That's just what I'm guessing but I'm probably wrong.

  11. anonymous
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    Oct 8th 2006 !⃝

    I thnk this song is about a girl who has been living a hard life and finally decided to take a stand and get out hence the line "out of the house she grabs the keys run for the hills and doesn't leave a letter" I do think that the line "why do I wear sunglasses in the home when the sun went down about an hour ago" could refer to the fact that she was abused and she tried to cover it up.

  12. anonymous
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    Aug 18th 2006 !⃝

    Yea it does sound like that (to the person above me)...But I'm not too sure....

  13. anonymous
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    Apr 30th 2006 !⃝

    I believe this song is about a woman whose boyfriend/husband is abusing her.


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