What does It Ends Tonight mean?

The All-American Rejects: It Ends Tonight Meaning

Album cover for It Ends Tonight album cover

Song Released: 2006


Get "It Ends Tonight" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

It Ends Tonight Lyrics

Your subtleties
They strangle me
I can't explain myself at all.
And all the wants
And all the needs
All I don't want to need at all.

The walls start breathing
My mind's unweaving
Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
A weight is...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 15th 2015 !⃝

    I believe its about a depressed person who is finally ready to commit suicide. "when darkness turns to light, it ends tonight"
    I think this pretty much explains the whole song..depression is the darkness and as he's dying, he sees the light, and that's when it ends (life)."you're finding out things you didn't know" now that he's gone..they now realize he was depressed and suicidal. "maybe its best you leave me alone" he's pushing everyone away so no one will stop him from leaving. "its my fault when your blind" no one knew what he was going through because he told no one..they were blind to the situation, and it was his fault. Which also leads to "all these thoughts locked inside" he kept it all inside.. Resulting to suicide.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 5th 2009 !⃝

    I heard an interview on Kerrang! radio where Tyson said that it was about an old room mate who drove him insane...and how tyson would sit awake at night thinking up ways to either kill his room mate or himself, and wrote the song as a better use of his time.
    The interviewer had asked something like is it a love song, because it sounds really sweet, and Tyson nearly wet him self laughing :D
    But yeah, not about a girl

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 3rd 2007 !⃝

    I think people look weirdly into a lot of songs on here I have realized. what makes a good song is the emotions when you are making a song with profound emotion usually you are flowing out feelings from different situations that usually are kinda like an inside joke so only the two people in the relationship would know the exact details. With that said this is what I think.

    Your subtleties
    They strangle me
    I can't explain myself at all.
    And all the wants
    And all the needs
    All I don't want to need at all.


    I THINK SUBLETIES REFERS TO THE LITTLE GAMES SHE PROBABLY PLAYS WITH HIM. HE HAS SO MANY NEEDS AND WANTS SHE DOESN'T FILL OR SHE DOES AND SHE COMPLAINS ABOUT HER UNMET NEEDS. HE HATES NEEDING SOMEONE CAUS THIS PERSON CAUSES HIM GREAT PAIN.HE NEEDS SOMEONE THAT HURTS HIM.


    The walls start breathing
    My mind's unweaving
    Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
    A weight is lifted
    On this evening
    I give the final blow.

    ARTISTIC TOUCH WITH WALLS BREATHING HIS MIND IS UNWEAVING HE IS STARTING TO SEE CLEARLY OR GOING CRAZY SO HE IS SAYING LEAVE ME NOT IN A STATE FOR HUMAN CONTACT THE WEIGHT LIFTS CAUS HE IS DONE WITH THE PAIN HE GIVES FINAL BLOW WHICH MEANS HE WILL NOW DO THE HURTING



    When darkness turns to light,
    It ends tonight
    It ends tonight.


    PRETTY SIMPLE WHEN THE DARKNESS LIFTS THE LIGHT REVEALS WHAT REALLY IS HE IS ENDING THIS DARKNESS TONIGHT HE FINALLY SEES.


    A falling star
    Least I fall alone.
    I can't explain what you can't explain.
    You're finding things that you didn't know
    I look at you with such disdain

    NOW I THINK THIS LYRIC HAS A FEW DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES WELL FALLING STAR FALL ALONE BASICALLY DEALING WITH HIS HOPEFUL SOUL FALLING FROM LOSS OF LOVE AND HOPE WHEN HE SAYS I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHAT U CAN'T EXPLAIN I THINK HE IS SAYING IF U DON'T KNOW WHY U DO THE THINGS U DO THEN I SURE DON'T. OR 2ND MEANING MAYBE SHE IS DISCOVERING SHE FEELS DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HIM THEN COMMITTED IN LOVE SO IF SHE CAN'T EXPLAIN THE CHANGE OF FEELINGS HE SURE CAN'T AND THAT MAY BE WHERE THE DISDAIN COMES FROM INSTEAD OF FEELING SLAIN AND REJECTED HE DISDAINS HIS REJECTOR. OR JUST DISDAIN FOR HER DOING THINGS SHE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE HURT FROM ALL THOSE PSYCHOLOGICALLY MESSED UP THINGS SHE DOES.



    Now I'm on my own side
    It's better than being on your side
    It's my fault when you're blind
    It's better that I see it through your eyes

    THIS IS A LITTLE HARDER TO INTERPRET THE FIRST PART OBVIOUSLY I'M ON MY SIDE BASICALLY I HAVE SACRIFICED MYSELF FOR THE GIRL WHOEVER SHE IS AND SHE IS NO FRIEND TO ME I AM GOING TO CARE ABOUT ME TAKE CARE OF ME FINALLY SAYING IT HIS FAULT WHEN SHE DOES DESTRUCTIVE THINGS TO THEIR RELATIONSHIPS SO HE HAS EMPATHY BY PUTTING HIMSELF IN HER SHOES THROUGH HER EYES HE FINDS IT IS DARK THE LENSE THROUGH WHICH SHE SEES.

    When darkness turns to light
    It ends tonight,
    It ends tonight.
    Just a little insight won't make this right
    It's too late to fight
    It ends tonight,
    It ends

    JUST A LITTLE INSIGHT WON'T MAKE IT RIGHT TOO LATE TO FIGHT NOW THAT HE KINDA UNDERSTANDS WHAT MAKES HER ACT THIS WAY IT IS TOO LATE THE DAMAGE IS DONE HE CAN'T GO BACK HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO UNDERSTAND HER FROM THE BEGINNING OR IT COULDN'T WORK.

    WELL I AM GLAD HE SAW THINGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE TO BAD HE DIDN'T GET HER FROM THE BEGINNING BUT THE LIGHT REVEALS WHAT IS ALWAYS THERE IN THE DARKNESS IT'S GOOD HE CASN SEE THE LIGHT AND DID NOT GET SUCKED INTO HER DARKNESS.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 26th 2019 !⃝

    Its about tripping balls on some mushrooms. No deep message here.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 6th 2012 !⃝

    I can relate to this song a certain way.

    It's about being in a relationship (be it with a girl, a parent, a friend) that has gone bad, and the effect after finally "letting go."

    "Your subtleties
    They strangle me
    I can't explain myself at all.
    And all the wants
    And all the needs
    All I don't want to need at all. "

    It's about thinking/making yourself believe that you need something, when the truth is you really don't. It's like thinking you need something, but you don't know why.

    "The walls start breathing
    My mind's unweaving
    Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
    A weight is lifted
    On this evening
    I give the final blow."

    FOR ME, the "walls" in this verse is everyone and everything around you. Your mind has been clouded so much, and now you can finally feel the touch of reality, be it good or bad. Hence, "the walls start breathing my mind's unweaving." It's pretty much about realizing that you don't really need that thing that you couldn't live without before and finally doing something about it.

    The chorus is pretty much self-explanatory. It's about this exact moment being the very last moment before things change.


    "A falling star
    Least I fall alone.
    I can't explain what you can't explain.
    You're finding things that you didn't know
    I look at you with such disdain"

    FOR ME (again) it's about being in a relationship that in reality isn't really a relationship. The other half of the relationship realizes your worth when it's already too late. She/he wakes up to reality that you're gone, she/he is trying to get you back, but the argument is too invalid. Hence "I can't explain what you can't explain."

    "Now I'm on my own side
    It's better than being on your side
    It's my fault when you're blind
    It's better that I see it through your eyes

    All these thoughts locked inside
    Now you're the first to know"

    It's pretty much about finally being on your own and feeling good about it. The line "it's my fault when you're blind" is a blow intended to those people who think that once they THINK they're right, everything else is wrong. Now the "victim" of such is doing the same, he/she now thinks that because he thinks he's right, the rest of the world isn't, because he finally feels better about himself. "All these thoughts locked inside now you're the first to know" is also pretty self-explanatory. Again, this is how I SEE IT. :) Hope I was able to help.

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 16th 2012 !⃝

    I interpretate it as suicide... About him being depressed and pushing everyone around him away.. them not understanding.. Him getting into drugs and just keeps crashing to the point where he finally loses it.. And contemplates it. So When darkness turns to light.. So the only way its gonna get better.. Is It ends tonight.. By killing himself..

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 28th 2011 !⃝

    I think it is about drugs. I think a friend is trying to help, but can't bring himself to that point yet.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 16th 2011 !⃝

    i think it's about a drug addict who saw the light of god and he/she turned their life around and became clean

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 26th 2011 !⃝

    It is about a man who is possessed by the egyptian jackal god Anubis, and is forced to go on a bounty hunting mission for popular daytime TV celebrity Adolf Hitler. Also something ends. During the night.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 27th 2010 !⃝

    I know this isn't about a girl, but music is intended to conform to the experiences and life of the person listening to it. As for me, my interpretation is about an ex girlfriend.

    "Your subtleties
    They strangle me
    I can't explain myself at all.
    And all the wants
    And all the needs
    All I don't want to need at all."

    Subtleties has different meanings, in my case she is trying to be cunning and witty. Not wanting to look like the bad guy here. She has therefore left me speechless. And her wants and needs meanwhile I don't need anything at all.

    "The walls start breathing
    My mind's unweaving
    Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
    A weight is lifted
    On this evening
    I give the final blow."

    Bickering on and off isn't healthy so maybe its best she leave me alone. Then after the breakup the weight from my shoulders is lifted, that night. I give the final blow meaning I throw the last punch or give the last word in the argument.

    "When darkness turns to light,
    It ends tonight
    It ends tonight"

    Come morning we will no longer be together. Ironically I remember the last night I spent with her.

    "A falling star
    Least I fall alone.
    I can't explain what you can't explain.
    You're finding things that you didn't know
    I look at you with such disdain"

    I am falling down all on my own without you by my side. My ex left me for another guy and now I look at her with contempt because of it.

    Sometimes the artist means one thing and the listener interprets as something else. Its the beauty of music, that it contains a unique ambiguity for each listener.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 10th 2009 !⃝

    This song caused the death of my best friend it makes me break down it's so beautiful.

  12. rockfan788
    click a star to vote
    Jul 23rd 2009 !⃝

    This song is about a girl who plays subtle mind games with a boy.
    "your subtleties they strangle me, I can't explain myself at all"
    it's to the point where he can't even get his thoughts clear because she keeps messing with his head.
    "with all that wants and all that needs, all I don't want to need at all"
    here he is saying that he wants and needs a lot of things but he doesn't want it from her, and he doesn't want to need anything from her.
    "the wall starts breathing, my minds unweaving, maybe it's best you leave me alone. a weight is lifted on this evening I give the final blow"
    he's been trapped in his mind for so long that everything around him seemed closed off. finally the everything starts to go to normal, and his mind is getting back on track. He feels as if a burden has been lifted off his shoulder and has the strenght to put a stop to her games once and for all.
    "a falling star least I fall alone.... I can't explain waht you can't explain"
    he's saying that if he's falling, he rather fall alone than with her... and if she can't explain anything, how does she expect him too?
    "just a little insight won't make this right, it's too late to fight"
    just because she suddenly became insightful doesn't mean he'll go back. It's too late for her to try to get him back because his mind is free of her.
    "now I'm on my own side, it's better than being on your side. It's my fault when your blind, it's better that I see it through your eyes. all these thoughts locked inside, now your the first to know"
    he's saying that being by himself is better than being with her. It's his fault that she couldn't see the extent of what she was doing to him because he kept it to himself and put on a brave face. He figures to understand even more he has to see what she saw. even though he did, it felt good to get all those thoughts off of his chest because he kept them for so long. She was the first person to know exactly how he felt.
    "when darkness turns to light,it ends tonight"
    when the night is over, and the day begins, they will no longer be a "we", but a "he" and a "she"
    that is what this song is about to me... Idk what you allt hink... but this is what I think so I hope you agree.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 7th 2009 !⃝

    this song is simply about the lead singer and his roommate. the roommate does things to piss the lead singer off by either being depressed all the time or multiple things that pisses other people off too. so like any other person you think of killing yourself. instead he was undecided between himself or his roommate. fortunately he didn't pick any and he moved on with his life but those who chose the story that was similar to mine you are correct and others who said it was about a guy and girl in a relationship it isn't about that but i can definitely see why you thought that. when i first heard this song that's what i thought it was about but then when i became friends with the band i found out what the song was really about.

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 24th 2009 !⃝

    The song "It ends Tonight" by the All-American Rejects is one that depends on your outlook on it. This song refers to the fact that the singer can no longer explain their emotions to a specific person. It refers to two friends that had grown up together and throughout the years had been able to share every little secret. The darkness referred to their outlook on the world, everything being an undiscovered adventure. When things turned bright, the night ended, and they began to grow apart.

    I know this interpretation isn't very long, but there isn't much to put when you've got a simply meaning to a simple song.

    U.U

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 6th 2009 !⃝

    Why is everything between a guy and a girl why can't it be him and his best friend???

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 10th 2009 !⃝

    The walls are breathing
    my minds unweaving

    He is on LSD

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 21st 2008 !⃝

    Isn't music about taking your own interpretation of the song, that's the joy of it isn't it?

    Everyone gets a unique experience from the same thing.

  18. peteinmypants
    click a star to vote
    Jul 11th 2007 !⃝

    I think what this song is saying is that he's realizing that it's stupid being with this girl. It causes him nothing but distress, etc. And he's realizing that things will be a lot better if he ends things with her.

‹ prev 12



More The All-American Rejects songs »


 


Latest Articles

 


Submit Your Interpretation

[ want a different song? ]




Just Posted

Steve's Going to London anonymous
Yes I'm A Mess anonymous
Droppin' Plates anonymous
Rat anonymous
Cry for the Moon anonymous
And the Snakes Start to Sing anonymous
Gingerbread Man anonymous
Not Like the Movies anonymous
This Masquerade anonymous
Birthday Suit anonymous
Dollhouse anonymous
Death anonymous
Copy Cat anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous

(We won't give out your email)