The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

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chtimixeur
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The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by chtimixeur »

What's the meaning or the story of each song Alter Bridge has released?
Since a lot of die-hard fans who everything about every song, I thought we could do this together, and sum up what each song is about.
For each song, if you can, please say if it is your interpretation, or if it was actually explained by either Mark or Myles during an interview.

One Day Remains
1. Find the Real
Direct Quote from Mark: "Find The Real is about a lost person trying to find themselves."
Source: MusicOHM interview from August 2005

2. One Day Remains
Direct Quote from Mark: "Well the main theme of the album is in the title track, One Day Remains… We made a decision to break Creed up and do this new band because when we’re 50 years old, we don’t want to look back and say [to ourselves], ‘You were safe.’ So, from this day out we’re gonna make all the decisions like we have one day left and do what we would do if we followed passionately what we have in our heart."
Source: MusicOHM interview from August 2005
Second Quote from Mark: "The name of the album is One Day Remains and that's kind of our outlook on this band and everything else in life is just "live your life like one day remains" and don't make decisions as if you only had one day to live and that's why we we did Alter Bridge because we don't want to look back on life thinking that we took the safe road instead of went out and did what you know what we wanted to do and the whole album is just about you know taking the bull by the horns going out and doing it and knowing that it's the right choice and making those decisions and not being afraid to do it"
Source: https://youtu.be/tX7WzC9zoxM?t=344

3. Open your Eyes
cheesedip1's interpretation: it's about either people in the world coming together as people, "we are all one" kind of thing. To paraphrase, Mark basically said "it's about you and your closest group of friends, whatever happens to you in life whatever things you go through, you and your closest friends, you're gonna make it through (through life)".

4. Burn it Down
Jhenrid says it is about the movie The Salton Sea (2002).
IMDB's plot summary: "After a tragic incident, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies."
Jesterhead92's interpretation: it's about alcoholism.
Crumbso's interpretation: it's about clinical depression.

5. Metalingus
Direct Quote from Mark: "Metalingus is a song about somebody who finally sees clearly. It’s just like us – this [Alter Bridge] is clearly what we should be doing. This is the right path for us."
Source: MusicOHM interview from August 2005
Second Quote from Mark: "Myles wrote the lyrics and I know all the words, but I always just rock through the song and I’ve never really thought about it. I think it’s about fighting through adversity and conquering something in your life, seeing things clearly and moving on past it; that’s my take on it."
Anecdote: "We had a dry erase board on the wall where we had categories of songs in different stages of development. When the song was done I went to the board and as it had no title, for a filler I just wrote ‘Metalingus’ off the top of my head to be funny. The record label owner came to hear us play and when he asked what the name of the song we just played was, we told him and explained it was just a filler title. He said, “No, you’ve got to name that song ‘Metalingus’, it’s a great name!” So we did. Honestly, I just came up with it off the top of my head."
Source: https://www.loudersound.com/features/th ... metalingus

6. Broken Wings
Direct Quote from Mark: "That song is pretty much about the decline of morals in society since 9/11 and how I started noticing how the world came together after 9/11. And then, all of the sudden, people started turning their backs on each other and stabbing each other in the back. I've had a lot of friends that have turned into foes recently. It's just kind of about that."
Source: Artisan News (March 2005)
Second Quote from Mark: "it always seems like the first person people to turn on you seemed like to be the closest ones to you that have the most to gain, and I had a lot of friends and people close to me turn on me to get something better out of the situation. They could use my connection to go go make a deal with somebody else and stab me in the back in the meantime. "Who's to say we won't end up alone?" is when you have people that live their lives like that just always trying to achieve something, I think those kind of people, if they keep on living their lives, that we're going to end up on their death bed with four people at their funeral and I've met a lot of people like that. I haven't until I've been in this kind of lifestyle. Before, everybody was nice, everybody was cool. I saw people for who they are, people weren't fake to me to try and get something out of me but I've met a lot of people in the last three years or so that have turned out to be snakes. If I sense it right off the bat, I politely exclude myself from their conversations and stay away".
Source: https://youtu.be/2D_qHMNGWfg?t=342

7. In Loving Memory
Direct Quote from Mark: "There are a lot of themes on this record that are very personal, for example 'In Loving Memory' is about my mother who recently passed away. In terms of purely personal significance, you cannot get any deeper than that. It is definitely a sad, but uplifting song."
Second Quote from Mark: "I grew up in Detroit and when I feel a nice cool breeze or something it reminds me of the times when I was young with my mom or, you know, hanging out and I always feel like you know if somebody passes away that's real close to you, you never feel like they're gone you still feel like their spirit is out there and they're they're kind of looking over you so I always feel like that lyrics just about how you always kind of feel your mother or your lovers passed away is still kind of present. The chorus of that song explains the whole reason why I wrote it. A lot of of people would ask "why would you put yourself through singing a song like that all the time?". Because it actually makes me feel better with the situation: it comforts me to sing this song and to write the song to get it off my chest and that's why I wrote and perform that song."
Source: https://youtu.be/2D_qHMNGWfg?t=448
Third Quote from Mark: "A lot of the songs he easily relates to. In Loving Memory is a song about my mother. He had lost his father growing up, so he just kind of thinks about his own personal issues that he's had when he sings the songs. He's very good at it."
Source: The Journal Sentinel (September 29th, 2004)

8. Down to my Last
Jhenrid's interpretation: it is about how Creed were treated by the press and the hate they got when they got big.

9. Watch your Words
cheesedip1's interpretation: it was a jab at Stapp back in the day.

10. Shed my Skin
Direct Quote from Mark: "When I was young my parents moved me around a lot so it was the first time in my life I was truly alone. I grew up with two older brothers in Detroit, and then one year my parents moved me down to Florida and my brothers stayed there. I was 15 years old and I didn't have any friends or brothers or anybody, so I was really alone. That's when I really dived into the songwriting because I didn't really have any friends. So that song is pretty much how I felt at that moment."
Source: https://www.songfacts.com/blog/intervie ... ter-bridge

11. The End is Here

12. Save Me

13. Breathe

14. Cruel Sun

15. Solace

16. On my Way Now


Blackbird
1. Ties That Bind
Direct Quote from Myles: "Two of the songs on Blackbird were like us screaming from the rooftops in frustration about it [parting ways with Wind-up Records]. Ties That Bind was us feeling very restricted and frustrated and Come to Life was us seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when we started to feel that we were in a place where we could be ahppy as artists. Obviously, we didn't want to make it extremely direct: nobody wants to hear a song complaining just about a record label. So we tried to make it feel more universal."
Source: Guitarist (November 2007)

2. Come to Life
Direct Quote from Myles: "Two of the songs on Blackbird were like us screaming from the rooftops in frustration about it [parting ways with Wind-up Records]. Ties That Bind was us feeling very restricted and frustrated and Come to Life was us seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when we started to feel that we were in a place where we could be ahppy as artists. Obviously, we didn't want to make it extremely direct: nobody wants to hear a song complaining just about a record label. So we tried to make it feel more universal."
Source: Guitarist (November 2007)

3. Brand New Start
chtimixeur's interpretation: it is about the band hitting the reset button after its issues with Wind-up Records.

4. Buried Alive
Direct Quote from Myles: "it was watching some people struggle with some addiction issues. I was kind of writing about it from their perspective. It's kind of a rock and roll cliché and it was part of me, you know. I felt like that's been touched on so many times in rock and roll but, if you see that around you enough, you start thinking, well obviously that's something people are still going through and it's universal and it's something which should be talked about and shouldn't be kept quiet."
[about his own drug use] "I went through a period, years ago and did the whole rock-and-roll cliché, then came about for a bit. I went through that phase and learned from it and it helped me grow up, and so, no more, it's been a long time."
"There's a reference in there actually [about Dimebag], but it wasn't actually directly about Dimebag. The "black tooth grin" line in the lyric, that's Dimebag, that's where it came from."
Source: https://youtu.be/eMzjowXS6kU?t=135

5. Coming Home

6. Before Tomorrow Comes
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was about the idea of giving. I can't tell you how many times that song lyric has popped into my head to remind me if I'm in a situation where there might me somebody in need, not to walk away from that. That's the beauty of being a songwriter: you become your own self-help inspirational speaker."
Direct Quote from Myles: https://youtu.be/0lL3bLOplgA?t=580

7. Rise Today

8. Blackbird
Direct Quote from Myles: "Blackbird was inspired lyrically by a friend of mine named Mark Morse. He sold me my first guitar when I was a kid, and we stayed friends for years and years. He actually passed away right as that song was being completed so it was dedicated to him and his memory. It's really about seeing the suffering he was going through and hoping he would find his solace soon and be free from all of that."
Source: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/en/wiki ... the%20song
Second Quote from Myles: "Just as we were completing the arrangements for the music, I had a friend who had been ill for some time fighting cancer and the song is for him. I wanted him to find his peace and he did. He passed away within days of completing that song. It's a tribute."
Source: Guitarist (November 2007)
Third Quote from Myles: "That was written as a friend was passing away. That lyric came pretty quickly relatively to some of the other ones. That was because I had just spoken on the phone with him. The last time I ever spoke on the phone with him served as the catalyst to get Blackbird completed."
Source: https://youtu.be/eMzjowXS6kU?t=26
Fourth Quote from Myles: "The lyrics are about my friend Mark Morse. He sold me my first guitar when I was 15, and when I was a struggling musician, he gave me my first real job, in a guitar shop, even though he probably realised very early on that I was the worst salesman ever. He was a cool guy, and at the time, he was battling cancer, and I wrote the words at the tail end of his struggle, before he passed, as a tribute to him."
Source: Planet Rock Magazine [United Kingdom] (Februay 2020)
Direct Quote from Mark: "The story behind that, is that a good friend of Myles’ had just passed away when we were finishing writing the song and he wrote the lyrics about him. His friend taught him how to play “Blackbird” by the Beatles – it was like, one of the first songs he’d ever learned, so he referred to his friend as Blackbird. It’s pretty much a song about wanting him to go find a better place. Anyway, since it was our favorite song on the record, and it’s where we recorded the record, we thought it would be a good album title."
Source: https://www.guitarmessenger.com/intervi ... dge-creed/

9. One by One
Jesterhead92's interpretation: It's about people who lose their lives at war.

10. Watch Over You
Jesterhead92's interpretation: This song is about watching someone struggle through addiction and refuse to do anything and no longer being able to handle it.

11. Break Me Down

12. White Knuckles
Buffon's interpretation: it is your standard get-up-and-fight anthem. Probably also a reflection of the band's struggle to establish their own identity after One Day Remains, with more shots at Wind-Up: "They tell you what you should be, and sell you their plastic dreams / Opinions are all provided, but nothing is what it seems", and later "How will it feel to live a lie until your dying day?"

13. Wayward One
cheesedip1's interpretation: it's about the homeless.
gbruin adds : Myles' wife is a mental health counselor who works with children and teens, and I believe her experiences influenced the lyrics on this one.

14. The Damage Done

15. New Way to Live
Kreuger's interpretation: it is a song about Brian's alcoholism.
Note: Brian said years later that there was a song written by Myles about his substance issues, and that he had no idea about it was about him at the time.

16. We Don't Care at All


AB III.5
1. Slip to the Void
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's the idea that you're stepping into this very dark place, into this place that you haven't been before, where there's a lot of doubt, to the point of denial, really."
Source: https://youtu.be/dRosSDNxkME?t=29
Buffon's interpretation: it is about Myles's struggles with faith and questioning his upbringing ("you were once led to believe, you were young and so naive, but now no longer"), and probably the fear and uncertainty that comes with casting those beliefs aside ("you fear what you've become / My God, what have you done? / You don't belong here") and coming to terms with your decision.

2. Isolation
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's basically a continuation of where Slip to the Void starts. It's the idea that now you've isolated, you're in this new dark place, and kinda have to deal with the repercussions of that."
Source: https://youtu.be/dRosSDNxkME?t=164

3. Ghost of Days Gone By
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's about the longing of the past and coming to terms with the fact that your time will go on. At the same time, it's like a reminder of your mortality with that, that you know, the clock is ticking and there is really nothing you can do to change it, to stop it."
Source: https://youtu.be/dRosSDNxkME?t=188

4. All Hope is Gone
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's kind of establishing that you're throwing up your hands, you're tired of searching. You're resigning to the fact that your desire to find the truth or whatever is out there to hold on to, is waning. All hope is gone."
Source: https://youtu.be/dRosSDNxkME?t=316

5. Still Remains
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's sung from the perspective of whatever the idea or truth that used to be held onto, it's sung from that perspective, of whatever's been abandoned. It's basically touching on the idea that as a human being, you do have free will to believe in whatever you want to or not believe whatever you want to."
Source: https://youtu.be/SOFHYHEYmzU?t=57
Timotheus' interpretation: Still Remains was written from God's perspective. I remember Myles talking about this when AB III came out.
cheesedip1's interpretation: it's about a relationship with a girl.

6. Make it Right
Direct Quote from Myles: "This song again is falling into that disillusion category."
Source: https://youtu.be/SOFHYHEYmzU?t=99

7. Wonderful Life
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was written to everyone that I hold dear in my life: family, friends and my wife. It's a last goodbye essentially. The thing about having people you cherish in your life is there's going to come a time that you're going to have to say goodbye. I put my mindset of, 'What if I were standing by this person as they were about to take their last breath? What would I say to them?' I'd want to convey how much they meant to me while they were with me in my life. It's really special in that sense because it's very personal."
Source: Artist Direct
Second quote from Myles: "It was actually inspired by initially a movie that I'd seen. This song means so much to me because there are people in my life that I love so much and I'm so blessed and fortunate to have them. I think that's why the weight of this song is what it is to me, because it's basically the realization that there's gonna come a day when you gotta say goodbye to those people, to the people that you love and cherish more than anything. It's basically, in those final moments, what would you say? What would you whisper in that person's ear, holding their hand? The intention is to let them know how much they're of value and what they did for you while they were still here."
Source: https://youtu.be/SOFHYHEYmzU?t=168

8. I Know it Hurts
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's a very empathetic lyric, the idea that everybody hurts. When you see someone who's hurting, it's good for that person to know that you understand what they're going through. When you're going through anything, it's nice to know that people have experienced the same thing."
Source: https://youtu.be/SOFHYHEYmzU?t=297

9. Show Me a Sign

10. Fallout

11. Breathe Again
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's really touching on the courage it takes to break away from the norm and the challenge, everything, I guess, the world has established as absolute truth."
Source: https://youtu.be/UB5csyQVjkU?t=93

12. Coeur d'Alene
Direct Quote from Myles: "Coeur d'Alene is a lake right by my house. It's about 30 minutes away, and it's stunning, it's absolutely beautiful. It's a tribute to that part of the world. In all the places I've gotten to go to and travel to throughout my career, I still go to that place and find it to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. I never get sick of it. It always brins me a certain solace and peace when I go there. When I'm on the road and I'm struggling with the business or missing being home, that's one of the things that pops to mind and kinda brings me comfort as I think about sitting out on that lake and taking it all in. It's beautiful."
Source: https://youtu.be/UB5csyQVjkU?t=162

13. Life Must Go On
Direct Quote from Myles: "The message is really simple and universal: no matter how bad it gets, life goes on."
Source: https://youtu.be/UB5csyQVjkU?t=246

14. Words Darker Than Their Wings
Direct Quote from Myles: "That one stems from a conversation that I had with a friend earlier this year. That was the catalyst for the song. After that conversation happened, I remember being very inspired lyrically, and that's where that came from. It is a dark and vibe-y song musically, so we wanted to make sure the lyrics fit in that respect."
Source: Artist Direct
Interpretation: it's a song about faith between a guy who believes in God and another guy who doesn't.

15. Zero
Buffon's interpretation: it is about losing faith, most likely in the religious sense: "How many times have you felt all alone, how many tears have you cried? / Called out in vain for a god to behold inside, inside".

16. Home

17. Never Born to Follow
cheesedip1's interpretation: it's about a girl who committed suicide.

Fortress
1. Cry Of Achilles
Direct Quote from Myles: "In a way, it's a carryover from AB III. It's coming at it from a disillusioned angle, but the chorus is that optimistic feeling of, 'Don't forget there's still beauty left in this world.' Given how dark the rest of the content is lyrically on the record, it's good to have moments of that optimism."
Source: Artist Direct
Second Quote from Myles: "When we put the song together, we were trying to find a working title for it. The arrangement was so long and epic, I was joking around and said, let’s call it ‘Cry Of Achilles’. It was one of those song titles that ended up sticking. When I actually started writing the lyrics, I tried to bring that into it, but unfortunately that just did not work. So it’s one of those songs where the title has nothing to do with the actual theme; it’s kind of funny how that works out. I went through a period in the fifth and sixth grade, where I was really into Greek mythology. We had a teacher come in and tell us a little bit about it; I was really captivated. I remember asking my Mom for all these Greek mythology books, and I would read them. Interestingly enough, I don’t remember a lot of it. But it was something I definitely found compelling."
Source: http://bravewords.com/news/alter-bridge ... sty-animal

2. Addicted to Pain
Direct Quote from Mark: "It's about a person who is in a toxic relationship that doesn't have the nerve to get out of it and change things. Sometimes you feel that people like that enjoy being in the situation that is constantly causing them grief."
Source: https://www.songfacts.com/blog/intervie ... ter-bridge
Direct Quote from Myles: "The song isn’t necessarily about somebody that’s welcoming pain. I think it’s just somebody that doesn’t realize that they can change their situation; someone who’s trapped in a vicious circle. I certainly went through a period about 13 or 14 years ago where I dipped my foot in the pool that I shouldn’t have, and discovered there were certain things I had no business doing. I think some people are more pre-disposed to addiction than others; I guess to some degree I have an addictive personality. But the song is actually not so much about addiction as it is about someone who’s addicted to drama. It’s not necessarily a drug addiction, but a different kind of addiction; somebody who’s a glutton for punishment more or less. But addiction is certainly a very nasty animal. I know a lot of people who have struggled with it, some have survived and come out the other side; others haven’t. That’s the hardest thing about it, when you see someone who’s got that monkey on their back. If it’s got such a grip to where you know they may not be around forever, it’s really heartbreaking. Ultimately, they’re the only person that can help themselves."
Source: http://bravewords.com/news/alter-bridge ... sty-animal

3. Bleed it Dry
Buffon's interpretation: it is most likely about climate change denial, along the same lines as The Writing on the Wall.

4. Lover
Direct Quote from Myles: "Lover is actually a story, a very dark story about someone who’s betrayed. I think to some degree maybe, there’s some personal experience involved in being lied to, so when you’re telling a story like that, you try and bring some emotion you might have experienced in the past into the fold."
Source: http://bravewords.com/news/alter-bridge ... sty-animal
Buffon's interpretation: it is about the end of a relationship. Possibly a similar theme to a few Mayfield Four songs (Mars Hotel, Summergirl). Some neat lyrical similarities with Fortress too: "there's nothing left, this house has been broken, but still I'm holding, holding on" vs. "in the end, too far gone, this I can't deny / Still I keep holding on, you know, there's still time", "did you have to throw it all away?" vs. "there'll come a time, you'll look back and regret when it's gone".

5. The Uninvited
Translated Quote from Myles: "It is a song about those who enter a foreign territory with the intention of hurting. In a certain sense, it's about terrorism, but also those who trample the land of others, damaging the indigenous people. These are things that have happened since many years and that will probably continue to happen. The song expresses a sense of frustration: essentially, the protagonist is mentally struggling thinking about the punishment that was inflicted through pain and loss"
Source: https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/mu ... -66631619/
Second Quote from Myles: "Alright, you want the truth? I’ve actually kind of skated around this issue… but it was actually written after the Boston Bombing (this past April). I was really upset by that. We were putting that song together, and the bombing at the Boston Marathon had just happened that day, and that was the inspiration for the song."
Source: http://bravewords.com/news/alter-bridge ... sty-animal

6. Peace is Broken
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's about the idea of living in the moment, not worrying about the past or thinking about the future and the stress or the regrets that can weigh you with. So, it's definitely for me more of a personal lyric: just to try and stay very present, not stress so much."
Source: https://youtu.be/H7nE_2eoHc4?t=205

7. Calm the Fire
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was inspired by stumbling on something on the Internet that had a really profound effect on me. It kinda showed that racism is still alive and well unfortunately in this world and it really broke my heart and upset me. So this is the kind of internal dialogue right after seeing that. So it's a pretty heavy lyric in that respect."
Source: https://youtu.be/H7nE_2eoHc4?t=262
Second quote from Myles: "It's a song that lyrically was inspired by stumbling on a dark subject matter online. I discovered basically this racist website, which really bummed me out, just reading the things that were posted on there. It made me realize this is still very much alive and well in pockets of the world. So the lyric is basically me working through that realization."
Source: https://youtu.be/fY29zUJ61qM?t=78

8. Waters Rising
Direct Quote from Mark: "I wrote this song about a fictional apocalyptic scenario. Just watching the news every day, every week, it seems as though there’s always some way for somebody to end it all."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-583219

9. Farther Than the Sun
Direct Quote from Myles: "It's the idea that if someone puts you in a box and sets a parameter for you that they think you should stay within and you're not happy, and you feel you need that to liberate yourself and basically set out and do what you need to do. This is definitely an anthem for that concept."
Source: https://youtu.be/CprLvGIyR-k?t=35
Translated Quote from Myles: "It's about the desire to break from those parameters that are imposed on you and that fundamentally prevent you from obtaining happiness."
Source: https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/mu ... -66631619/

10. Cry a River
Direct Quote from Flip: "Lyrically, Myles really matches that intensity, basically telling the story of, you know, confronting someone who's betrayed you and the anger that it invokes."
Source: https://youtu.be/cS-6AXZ5tq0?t=30

11. All Ends Well
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was inspired by my mother, ultimately. When I was young, I had a lot of questions about how life would turn out, whether everything was gonna be alright, and my mother expressed that things would be OK, and that all would end well. So, this a song from her perspective, telling me to chill out."
Source: https://youtu.be/H7nE_2eoHc4?t=495
Second quote from Myles: "It's written from my mother's perspective, or any mother's perspective really. If they were talking to their child, what they would say if the child had questions about life and the fears and the questions about how things are gonna end up. As the chorus says, if you just keep believing in yourself, ultimately, in the end, all will end well. Just hold on. Once again, a very universal, simple theme, that hopefully will resonate with people."
Source: https://youtu.be/CprLvGIyR-k?t=155

12. Fortress
Direct Quote from Myles: "We felt like that word was really strong. It just evoked a really strong image, so we went with that. But that's part of the reason that the song is called fortress because it evokes that steadfast, invincible structure that will never break down. The song is actually about the idea that, eventually, so much of what we perceive as being there forever will crumble away and you can apply that to a number of things. It can be your beliefs on religion, or governments, or a number of institutions (marriages, relationships with friends). It's a very fragile world we live in, and so that's really what that song dives into and it deals with the emotions of when you come to the realization that some of your solace is gone."
Source: https://youtu.be/ADZbnhC8sYo?t=73
Second Quote from Myles: "the title track ‘Fortress’ is basically about the idea that there are things you assume are big, invincible, institutions or structures that will never fall down. But ultimately it will. If you give something enough time, it will crumble down around you. We wanted to show that on the cover; the final outcome and the reality of so many situations – be it your beliefs, relationships, governments, religions. Eventually, so much of that will fall. So we thought that was a logical visual to use for the album cover."
Source: http://bravewords.com/news/alter-bridge ... sty-animal
Third Quote from Myles: "This song's about watching something that you once assumed was steadfast, invincible ,impenetrable and watching it crumble before your eyes."
Source: https://youtu.be/Z_IbQ_lMTLc?t=50
Fourth Quote from Myles: "I'd become fascinated with the idea that, as humans, we have these totems or things that seem invincible. A lot of the time, that's a false sense of security. So much of what we think is everlasting or permanent is not. It's gonna fall, given enough time. Whether that be governments, religions or relationships, or whatever."
Source: Kerrrang Magazine

13. Never Say Die


The Last Hero
1. Show Me a Leader
Direct Quote from Myles: "It reflects the frustrations that a lot of people are feeling with the current state of the world," says Myles Kennedy about the new single. The world is looking for trustworthy effective leadership and not this undignified dog and pony show that's really made a mockery of our system."
Source: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/alter ... m-details/
Second Quote from Myles: "I think from a lyrical standpoint it definitely reflects a lot of frustration and what people seem to be feeling right now. There is just a general mistrust that seems to have really started way back in the seventies. I think the whole Watergate scandal was the genesis of people becoming very aware that everything they are being told and led to believe isn’t necessarily true. So in the last forty or so years, things have definitely, I don’t want to say progressed, but people are very wary of that. So this song kind of touches on that whole concept of just longing for leadership and people that we can trust ultimately."
Source: https://glidemagazine.com/171127/myles/
Direct Quote from Mark : "the 'Show Me a Leader' song, I think is, just about [having] us something that you can believe in. You have all these clowns running for [office], trying to be the hero that's gonna lead. All we see are these fronts."
Source: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/ge ... bands.html

2. The Writing on the Wall
Direct Quote from Myles: "It’s about the global warming denying phenomenon that is taking place."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777

3. The Other Side
Direct Quote from Myles: "To me, it’s ultimately about anyone who is trying to find salvation or redemption through means that are not necessarily healthy or good."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777
chtimixeur's interpretation: the lyrics are in the point of view of a religious extremist who's about to commit a terrorist act.

4. My Champion
Direct Quote from Myles: "The lyric was actually inspired by thinking back to my situation as a kid. I was this really small, underdeveloped kid who had to work extremely hard to keep up with all of my peers. It was very frustrating. I would hear a lot of words of encouragement from parents, coaches, or teachers though. A lot of those things were stored away, and they manifested themselves in this song. I've been able to apply some of those concepts in my life a thousand times over since then."

5. Poison in your Veins
Direct Quote from Myles: "This song showcases the inner dialogue in one’s head; serving as a reminder to live life courageously, take chances, and ultimately believe in yourself."
Source: https://loudwire.com/alter-bridge-poiso ... -premiere/

6. Cradle to the Grave
Direct Quote from Myles: "It’s a heavy song lyrically and was written right after my mother-in-law had fallen ill, and it essentially deals with the idea that our parents aren’t going to be around forever and the emotions tied in with that."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777
Second Quote from Myles: "The song was written about essentially the brevity of life and how fragile it is and becoming aware as the years go on, like our parents are getting older, we’re getting older, and people are starting to disappear around us. People get ill and just coming to terms with that. As the song was being written, my mother-in-law was sick and it was a real drag cause she ended up passing away, which we didn’t expect to happen that quickly, if at all. We were hoping that she would get better. So when it came to actually tracking the tune, I mean, it was a real challenge to get through that."
Source: https://glidemagazine.com/171127/myles/

7. Losing Patience
Direct Quote from Myles: "That was written about me from the perspective of after the Mayfield Four era and where I was at that point. And when I wrote the chorus, I’d had it since last year and it brought back all those memories. It was definitely written from the perspective of dusting yourself off and pushing forward."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777

8. This Side of Fate
Direct Quote from Myles: "It’s about living with the consequences of certain decisions you make. And for me, that song is almost a continuation of where Show Me A Leader starts. It’s almost like there’s a trilogy between Show Me A Leader, This Side Of Fate and then it ends with The Last Hero. It’s really about being at the point where you’ve made a decision and you have to live with it."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777

9. You Will Be Remembered
Direct Quote from Myles: "It’s a tribute to heroes, a tribute to people that sacrifice.”"
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777

10. Crows on a Wire
Direct Quote from Myles: "It’s about how we tend to put people on pedestals and then turn around and tear them down."
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777
Second Quote from Myles: ", it takes a look at what we do to our heroes or people in the public eye, the concept of how you build people up and then tear them down."
Source: https://glidemagazine.com/171127/myles/

11. Twilight
Direct Quote from Myles: There’s a line in Twilight which says, “Divided by our differences, now everything is torn apart, tomorrow is contingent on the tolerance of every heart.” I think that kind of sums up a lot of the tension that our country is experiencing right now, especially racial tension and intolerance and not understanding each other, and I think that that’s a line we’re proud of.
Source: https://glidemagazine.com/171127/myles/
Second Quote from Myles: [talking about Starlight and twilight] "I will say that both songs kind of touch upon that hope for the future of humanity, where we stand right now, and Twilight was inspired by- I was actually sitting in my house watching the election coverage a few months ago when the lyrics came about, and it was hard to watch, I was profoundly affected by what I was seeing. People were fighting, and it was just, it wasn't good. It was rather disheartening to see where things were, and it just reminded me as far as how well people are getting along - or I should say not getting along - and the amount of racial intolerance that still seems to prevail in certain parts of our country. So I think it deals with that theme, y'know there's a line in there, "Divided by our differences, now everything is torn apart, tomorrow is contingent on the tolerance of every heart", which is probably my favourite lyric on the record."
Source: http://whatculture.com/music/myles-kenn ... swing-more

12. Island of Fools

13. The Last Hero
Direct Quote from Mark: "It's a calling out for leaders in this world that you can trust and put faith in and, you know, it's just such a circus right now, especially here in the States, with everything that's going on. So it's just, you know, a call out to find new leaders in this world."
Source: The Pulse of Radio

14. Symphony of Agony
Direct Quote from Myles: "The lyric was actually inspired by when the exterminator came to our house because we had carpenter ants. And after he sprayed the house and I went up and looked at all the ants writhing around dying, I felt so bad and it broke my heart. So the song is written about being exterminated from the ants’ perspective!"
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... ack-642777


Walk the Sky
1. One Life
Direct Quote from Myles: "There are tracks that touch on this idea of spiritual liberation. I keep using this analogy, but it's a matter of trying to find the right software that works for my operating system. The intro song, One Life, kind of sets up the idea that, 'Okay, I've found something now that seems to be working.' It seems logical to me, and it's really helped me in my day-to-day living, and I've found a great deal of peace and solace in that. A lot of this record is about that discovery, and how that I've integrated that into my life."
Source: Kerrang Magazine [United Kingdom] (October 2019)
slasherbridge's interpretation: it seems to me like One Life is sort of a sequel to Slip to the Void. Where Slip to the Void talks of losing one's faith in what they've believed for so long, One Life seems to be from the point of view of someone who has found faith again... maybe not in the same form as before, but in something that gives them that feeling of hope and belonging that they once had.

2. Wouldn't You Rather
Direct Quote from Myles: "It is about following your bliss, doing what you love regardless of any material gains. In Western world, there’s so much emphasis put on accumulating things, doing things for the almighty dollar and not for your own happiness and not things that are for lack of a better world. I wouldn’t say more pure but with the goal being happiness. I think that both “Wouldn’t You Rather” and “Clear Horizon” discuss that whole concept of how do you navigate in this world, doing things from the heart, just because you want to do it."
Source: https://www.rockurlife.net/interviews-e ... 1-08-19-2/
Second Quote from Myles: "It can be traced back to a famous phrase by the late Joseph Campbell, ‘Follow your bliss’. It’s my personal mantra and it still resonates with me much as it did when I first heard him say it in an interview thirty years ago. To me, it’s also a reminder to follow your internal passion and not be swayed by what can be an empty pursuit of material gains that ultimately won’t bring you long-term happiness."
Source: Guitar Interactive [United Kingdom] (November 2019)
Direct Quote from Mark: "it's about staying true to yourself and not being a sell-out. It's about doing things for the right reasons and not monetarily."
Source: Kerrang!

3. In the Deep
Direct Quote from Myles: "Even though it’s not a particularly profound lyric, there’s just something that evokes a certain peacefulness to me, it’s essentially about meditation. When I hear that song it kind of triggers these positive vibes."
Source: https://screamermagazine.com/interviews ... s-kennedy/
Second Quote from Myles: ". I really like that song because it just makes me feel a certain calm. The song is about medi¬tation - although a lot of people, I don't think they get that out of it when they listen to that song-people think it's like a love song or something but it's actually about the state of mind and solace that I find when I go Into The Deep and fall under the calming effect of just powering down my brain and how useful that's been in my life."
Source: Highwire Daze Magazine (January 2020)

4. Godspeed
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was about a friend of the band, Seth Luker, who lost a long battle with cancer. I remember the first time I came down to meet the Alter Bridge camp he was there hanging out. He was always there and an amazing individual. Mark wrote that song for him. He fought a valiant fight, and this was a send-off to him."
Source: https://myglobalmind.com/2019/09/14/myl ... he-studio/
Direct Quote from Mark: "My friend died of cancer last year. He fought against it for almost ten years. He went through hell with all the side effects of the drugs. But he has always remained strong and has not given up. He was a great person and a tremendous inspiration to me. It is so sad that he is not there anymore. There are so many assholes in the world that are one hundred years old. The miraculous often die too soon."
Source: https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2019- ... bg7FB.html
Second Quote from Mark: "I wrote Godspped about a very dear friend of mine who passed away this year, so that was like a farewell to him."
Source: Kerrang!

5. Native Son
Direct Quote from Myles: "It is about feeling out of your element, which is actually inspired by something that I got from reading [American academic and mythology professor] Joseph Campbell".
Source: https://rollingstoneindia.com/alter-bri ... interview/
Second Quote from Myles: "It was actually inspired by the idea of feeling alienated and the genisis of it came about from an interview I saw a long time about of a guy Joseph Campbell. It's a PBS special from decades ago [The Power of Myth]. He said some things in that interview that really inspired some of that lyric."
Source: https://youtu.be/3ze7k--6Zb0?t=190
Third Quote from Myles : "was actually inspired by an interview that I saw a long time ago. It was a series called The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell - it was Bill Moyers interviewing Joseph Campbell and it's a fantastic series. You can actually see it on Netflix now but I remember seeing it years ago on PBS. It had a profound effect on me and so that was the genesis of that song. There were some things they were talking about in relation to what happens when myths in people's culture is taken from them and how it has an effect on their lives - and that's really where that song came from lyrically."
Source: Highwire Daze Magazine (January 2020)

6. Take the Crown:
Direct Quote from Myles: "When I was a kid, we played tee ball, and there was this team that lived in the next town, and they were ferocious. They would kill everybody, we had no chance. That was when I lived in Nezperce, Idaho, way back in the day. I think they were from Cottonwood. I just remember they would just come in and destroy. So now, when you listen to the song, picture those little kids playing tee ball, basically, this unstoppable tee ball team. That's what it's about!"
Source: https://youtu.be/ceR_4g0hGP0?t=1118

7. Indoctrination
Direct Quote from Myles: "It is about a really bad cult leader. Where it came from was actually a Netflix documentary I saw about a cult leader."
Source: https://rollingstoneindia.com/alter-bri ... interview/
Translated Quote from Mark: "it talks about a guru who attracts people and brainwashes them."
Source: http://www.radiometal.com/article/alter ... age,349308

8. The Bitter End
RevenantGB's interpretation: I'm certain that The Bitter End is about re-framing your existence as a person. Acknowledging/accepting our mortality, no longer worrying about existential things outside of our control, and finding meaning/enjoyment in whatever we feel gives us purpose in life.

9. Pay No Mind
Direct Quote from Myles: "It was actually inspired after seeing a movie called 'The Big Short' [a movie about the subprime mortgage crisis]. And, and it was just kind of, the frustration with that situation."
Source: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/ge ... bands.html

10. Forever Falling
Translated Quote from Mark: "It is about addiction and someone who kills himself because he can not say no to drugs - I've known so many friends and people who have fallen into this trap."
Source: http://www.radiometal.com/article/alter ... age,349308

11. Clear Horizon
Direct Quote from Myles: "I think it kind of falls in line, a little bit, with “Wouldn’t You Rather”. I think that both “Wouldn’t You Rather” and “Clear Horizon” discuss that whole concept of how do you navigate in this world, doing things from the heart, just because you want to do it."
Source: https://www.rockurlife.net/interviews-e ... 1-08-19-2/

12. Walking on the Sky
Direct Quote from Myles: "The song "Walk The Sky" is about the people who walk on a tightrope to cross their borders. That's one aspect. But the title also works as a kind of over-topic, alluding to feelings like freedom and comfort, but also enlightenment, which gives you a better understanding of where my place in the universe or the world is. The record title therefore has a double meaning."
Source: https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2019- ... bg7FB.html
Second Quote from Myles: " the song is about a tightrope walker, the rush that people get when people do these extreme things and how they really feel alive when they kind of put their life on the line. Have you seen that movie “Free Solo” (2018)? The guy climbs all these rocks without any sort of harness. You gotta see it, it’s amazing. It highlights that rush, pushing their lives to the absolute extreme. That’s what that song is about."
Source: https://www.rockurlife.net/interviews-e ... 1-08-19-2/
Third Quote from Myles: "I spoke earlier about this enlightened state of mind and the phrase walk the sky can coincide with that, even though the song is really about of of the sky walkers, the kind that put their life on the line and walk the tightrope. There was a movie, where the guy walked between the World Trade Center towers. But, if you extract the phrase, it can allude to the things I was talking about earlier."
Source: https://screamermagazine.com/interviews ... s-kennedy/
Fourth Quote from Myles: "It was actually about-they call them Skywalkers. They risk their entire existence to walk a tight rope at very, very high elevations and so the song definitely touched on the psychology behind that. It's interesting because a lot of the songs were about where I was in my growth as a human being. Kind of what I discovered over the last years to kind of help me navigate my way through life. But taking that title out of the context of that specific song, it obviously has a nice double meaning which is the liberation one feels or a certain amount of enlightenment and understanding on how to live life, and so it felt it was a good way to sum up the record."
Source: Highwire Daze Magazine (January 2020)
Direct Quote from Mark: "it's about pushing your life to the edge and the theme of liberation and being free. Lyrically, the symbolism evokes a tight-rope walker who's always at the edge of death, and when you feel so close to death, you feel the most alive".
Source: Kerrang!
Seond Quote from Mark: "Think of a person walking on a tightrope. This individual is on the edge of life and death, yet still moving forward. In many ways, this chapter deals with enlightenment in the sense of Zen meditation. To Walk The Sky, you untether from rules and break out of your body."
Source: Guitar Interactive [United Kingdom] (November 2019)

13. Tear Us Apart

14. Dying Light
Direct Quote from Myles: "Mindfulness is a theme that runs throughout a lot the songs, the idea of staying very present. The last song on the record is about basically letting your ego die and staying right here. I've found so much solace in that."
Source: https://youtu.be/0lL3bLOplgA?t=542
Second Quote from Myles: ""It sort of wrote itself in a lot of ways. It was like stepping up to the canvas and painting with no clear idea of where I was going. After completing lyrical ‘abstract painting’, I stepped back to gain perspective and realized it could be interpreted in a few different ways. With that said, there’s a key line in the chorus that tied it together for me, ‘In the Dying Light, we learn to live, when we give in, the silent waves that crash inside.’ To me, that represents the idea of letting the ego die, detaching from the noise in your head and surrendering to the moment."
Source: Guitar Interactive [United Kingdom] (November 2019)
Last edited by chtimixeur on Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:24 am, edited 26 times in total.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by gbruin »

add to your edits...Godspeed is about Seth Luker, musician and friend to everyone, who passed after a long fight with colon cancer.

Mark wrote Forever Falling about a friend who died from drug abuse.

(sorry I don't have links/citations for these)
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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by Jesterhead92 »

I have no official sources on hand for any of these, but I'm pretty sure about most of them

Ties That Bind: It's about the band's trouble with Wind-Up Records and risking their careers to break away from that label.

Burn It Down/Buried Alive: I mean, they're both pretty clearly about alcoholism, but from who's perspective I'm not sure

Blackbird: Myles actually explained this one in Live at Wembley. He had a long-time friend who even gave him his first guitar pass away so this song was dedicated to him.

One By One: Seems pretty obviously about people who lose their lives at war

Watch Over You: This song is about watching someone struggle through addiction and refuse to do anything and no longer being able to handle it

ABIII as a whole is about Myles' struggles with faith and existential dread.

Waters Rising: I remember Mark saying this was just his imagining of an apocalyptic event

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by nagpo »

Yes! I was hoping for a thread like this.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by scarecrow »

Jesterhead92 wrote:Blackbird: Myles actually explained this one in Live at Wembley. He had a long-time friend who even gave him his first guitar pass away so this song was dedicated to him.
I'm pretty sure there's an extra layer of meaning; that this person also taught Myles his first song - the Beatles song of the same name.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by chtimixeur »

Thanks for the answers.
I've already updated the first post, and will keep searching for direct quotes over the next few days.
Right now, I've mainly focused on The Last Hero, but I will soon come to the songs Jesterhead92 mentioned.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by GazEd »

Jesterhead92 wrote:
Watch Over You: This song is about watching someone struggle through addiction and refuse to do anything and no longer being able to handle it
I thought that it was a song about watching over someone.
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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by Mr. Slash »

I think we all agree that Myles is avoiding political discussions with his explanation for Take The Crown, right?

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by chtimixeur »

What verb is Myles using in that video?
https://youtu.be/dRosSDNxkME?t=335
You're resigning to the fact that your desire to find the truth or whatever is out there to hold on to, is ?
Is he saying "waiting", "wading" or something else?

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by gbruin »

Sounds like "waning" to me, like fading away.
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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by chtimixeur »

@gbruin: thanks a lot!

If anyone has quotes from Mark or Myles about other songs, please let me know.
I'm also pretty sure they've talked about a few songs from Walk the Sky, but I've listened to and read so many interviews that I have no idea where to find them.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by cheesedip1 »

Wayward One was about the homeless from what I remember

The Uninvited was about the Boston Bomber

Never Born to Follow was about a girl who committed suicide. I think?

My interpretation of Still Remains was about a relationship with a girl.

watch your words was a jab at Stapp back in the day. Sorry.

open your eyes is about either people in the world coming together as people, we are all one kind of thing. But Mark said
it was about, parapharased "it's about you and your closest group of friends, whatever happens to you in life whatever things you
go through, you and your closest friends, you're gonna make it through (through life)" .

broken wings was about people being disillusioned after 9/11 kinda thing, thats what Mark said.

also, this thread is awesome btw

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by gbruin »

cheesedip1 wrote:Wayward One was about the homeless from what I remember
Yes, plus Myles' wife is a mental health counselor who works with children and teens, and I believe her experiences influenced the lyrics on this one, too.
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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by Timotheus »

cheesedip1 wrote:My interpretation of Still Remains was about a relationship with a girl
Still Remains was written from God's perspective. "Your free will still remains".

I'm not available to look up sources, but I remember Myles talking about this when AB III came out.
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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by chtimixeur »

Thanks for the new interpretations, I'll update the original post later.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but wasn't there an interview where Brian said Myles had written a song about his substance abuse problems, and at the time, he was not aware the song was about him?

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by VigilantSteve »

chtimixeur wrote:Thanks for the new interpretations, I'll update the original post later.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but wasn't there an interview where Brian said Myles had written a song about his substance abuse problems, and at the time, he was not aware the song was about him?
I do remember reading something like this, but can't for the life of me remember which song that was.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by ToNsOFuN88 »

VigilantSteve wrote:
chtimixeur wrote:Thanks for the new interpretations, I'll update the original post later.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but wasn't there an interview where Brian said Myles had written a song about his substance abuse problems, and at the time, he was not aware the song was about him?
I do remember reading something like this, but can't for the life of me remember which song that was.
I feel like it was buried alive and it was part of the making of Blackbird documentary? Maybe? I know for a fact I have seen the same thing you're talking about.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by VigilantSteve »

ToNsOFuN88 wrote:
VigilantSteve wrote:
chtimixeur wrote:Thanks for the new interpretations, I'll update the original post later.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but wasn't there an interview where Brian said Myles had written a song about his substance abuse problems, and at the time, he was not aware the song was about him?
I do remember reading something like this, but can't for the life of me remember which song that was.
I feel like it was buried alive and it was part of the making of Blackbird documentary? Maybe? I know for a fact I have seen the same thing you're talking about.
Yeah, I think you're right about it being Buried Alive, now that I think about it. That seems right.

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by Mr. Slash »

ToNsOFuN88 wrote:
VigilantSteve wrote:
chtimixeur wrote:Thanks for the new interpretations, I'll update the original post later.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but wasn't there an interview where Brian said Myles had written a song about his substance abuse problems, and at the time, he was not aware the song was about him?
I do remember reading something like this, but can't for the life of me remember which song that was.
I feel like it was buried alive and it was part of the making of Blackbird documentary? Maybe? I know for a fact I have seen the same thing you're talking about.
I think it was a more recent documentary. Don't know the song tho. Was there some kind of documentary released with the Live at O2 Album?

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Re: The meaning of each Alter Bridge song

Post by Buffon »

Bleed It Dry is most likely about climate change denial, along the same lines as Writing on the Wall.

Zero is about losing faith, most likely in the religious sense: "How many times have you felt all alone, how many tears have you cried? / Called out in vain for a god to behold inside, inside".

Slip to the Void is about Myles's struggles with faith and questioning his upbringing ("you were once led to believe, you were young and so naive, but now no longer"), and probably the fear and uncertainty that comes with casting those beliefs aside ("you fear what you've become / My God, what have you done? / You don't belong here") and coming to terms with your decision.

Lover is about the end of a relationship. Possibly a similar theme to a few Mayfield Four songs: Mars Hotel, Summergirl. Some neat lyrical similarities with Fortress too: "there's nothing left, this house has been broken, but still I'm holding, holding on" vs. "in the end, too far gone, this I can't deny / Still I keep holding on, you know, there's still time", "did you have to throw it all away?" vs. "there'll come a time, you'll look back and regret when it's gone"

Ties That Bind is a clear f***-you to Wind-Up Records, and Come to Life is the follow-up: don't forget we're here to stay! I'd probably toss Brand New Start in there too and guess the first three tracks on Blackbird were written in the same timeframe.

White Knuckles is your standard get-up-and-fight anthem. Probably also a reflection of the band's struggle to establish their own identity after ODR, with more shots at Wind-Up: "They tell you what you should be, and sell you their plastic dreams / Opinions are all provided, but nothing is what it seems", and later "How will it feel to live a lie until your dying day?"

Don't have a source for these other than my own (usually spot-on) intuition, though I might have read the Bleed it Dry one in an interview with Tremonti somewhere. And I'm pretty sure I've seen Myles say The Uninvited is about the Boston bomber, so cheesedip is probably on the money there.

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