Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Or is it too late?
// December 7th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Life, Music
Rise Against – Chamber the Cartridge
Rise Against is my favorite band ever, if you didn’t already know. I like to analyze things especially things that have hidden meanings. When I first listened to this song, I really didn’t know what its intention was. I was captivated by the fist pumping beat. Tim (the lead singer and writer) is questioning whether the Earth can be repaired (saved) or whether or not we have already done too much damage. In a sentence, it’s about the state of the world, our self-destructive tendencies, and our complete lack of willingness to make a change. Pretty powerful stuff in my opinion.
Alternative energy sources may be expensive, but they do not pollute the air.
“What’s mine was always yours, and yours is mine” — This is referring to the idea that we all share one Earth. We live on one plant and we are all together. So, if I damage one part of it, it effects everyone else. An example I can think of is: Nascar races. It takes many people to quickly tune up the car during a pit stop. If one person damages something to one of the parts, the car can crash and everyone will feel the effects.
“Blind to this impending fate
We’ll let the world carry our weight
Its back breaks with every mile
But we all live in denial”
Many people refuse to see what we are doing to our planet. In my opinion, it’s almost like a defense mechanism. If you ignore it, then you wouldn’t feel guilty or upset because, well you don’t know the truth. The famous documentary An Inconvenient Truth comes to mind here. After listening to these words, I wonder how much longer can the Earth “carry our weight?” How much longer until the “Earth’s back breaks” I think everything has breaking points, even our planet.
“Is it too late to reverse what we’ve become?” — We need to start to invent new clean technology that can start to reverse the effects of air pollution. In the past, we were somewhat skeptical and we were questioning whether or not this new technology is amazing. Are the advantages better than the disadvantages? It’s clear that the answer is yes. Despite the air pollution and constant global changes, we decided that the advantages outweighed the harmful effects. I just hope something can be done….soon. Next, why do people drive hummers? Does it show status? Nowadays, dumb people are driving smart cars. We need smart people driving fuel efficient cars!
We are not alone.
His words: “In alleys void of any light where nameless things live out of sight”
“Save us from what we have become tonight”
“Eyes glazed with distrust, no sense of wrong or right” – It’s a little bit unclear who he is talking about, but I think it’s vague on purpose. Tim is a follower of peta2, so I think I’m right when I say Tim is questioning everything. Whether or not everything can be saved, animals included. We are not alone, animals have been around much longer than humans and have done nothing wrong to harm the planet, however they are experiencing our harmful decisions and dirty technology. It is up to us to save them and ourselves along with our only adequate planet.
“And so we carry on each day as if our lives are not so grey” 
– I think Tim is talking about how our society has lured us into being almost like one another. An image that comes to mind is a sidewalk in New York City. People are finding it harder to an individual in this modern society, where it’s sometimes scored, or looked down upon someone whey they do try to stand out. We need more people to be individual and share their ideas throughout the world. The people who stand out are usually those who were lucky in the gene pool, or those who act like idiots or “jackasses”. It’s almost as if our society is reversing itself. People need to start “Rise Against” society and stand up for the world. This song talks about how there are definite problems within our environment, but nevertheless there are even more problems within our society.
“A lesson to learn at a crucial point in time” — This should be quite obvious. We need to decide whether or not we will commit ourselves to alternative energy sources, despite the problems that come up within the first years. We need look into the distance future and then commit ourselves to solve those problem by solving problems right now. Lastly, we need to understand that what’s here now, should be around long enough for our children and children’s children. Remember: “What’s mine was always yours, and yours is mine.”
I’m looking forward to reading your comments and feedback. ^.^
