This is another favorite of mine by Hollywood Undead. It is, in my opinion, their "hardest" rock song. (Out of the clean ones, of course.) It starts out with a piano riff, then the drums start, and soon after, a riffing similar to the piano erupts from the electric guitars. This tune adds perfectly with the meaning of this song. (which I'll get to in a moment.) It does have a little screamo in the chorus, but only because he says he's screaming. When you I first heard this song, it sounded quite violent to me. It talks of guillotines, drowning, asphyxiation, and other painful things. As I listened to it more closely though, I soon realized that this whole song is a metaphor. The real meaning of this song, however, is just as dangerous to us as getting our heads chopped off. Yes, getting your head chopped off is terrible, but selling your soul is much worse. If your head gets chopped off, you'll still go to heaven, assuming you lived righteously. If you sell your soul though, that's an eternity in hell unless you somehow gain it back. What does sell your soul mean exactly? I can describe this in one word: Sinning. When you sin, you're degrading your true self and getting back absolutely nothing in return. Well, you might get a series of negative feelings, addiction, and maybe even a one-way ticket to hell, but I highly doubt people want those things. When you sin, you're selling your soul to Satan, The Father of All Lies, the one who wants to make you as miserable as he is. Of course, you can always repent which gives you your soul back, but some seem to just get stuck in a loop of sins. One day someone's sniffing dry-erase markers and years later they're in prison for murder. (Our Sunday-school class figured out that chain reaction.) This song comes from the perspective of a man who has finally realized what mess he's in. From the heavily-loaded words and descriptions, I'd say this guy has dug himself a nearly bottomless pit by now. So, without any more delay, here are the lyrics.
I'm holding on so tightly now.
My insides scream so loud.
<(Have you ever been tense before or had the urge to scream out all your pain to the world? That's probably what this guy is feeling right now.)>
They keep watching, watching me drown.
How did it come to this?
<('They' could be tempters and those who would fool you, or it could be people on the sidelines who have no idea what's going on. . This means they can't help you really. And have you ever done something stupid and wondered how the end result got to where it is now?
How did it come to this? How did I know it was you?
<(Again, those who would fool you. They seem pleasant but turn into a bad influence.)>
It was a bad dream asphyxiated, watch me bleed
The life support was cut, the knot was too tight
<(All of this chaos seems to be a dream to him, first of all. Asphyxiated means that there's been a severe shortage of oxygen to the body. It could be from drowning or choking, as well as other things. This is talking about the struggle against evil, it feels like he's choking. The pain is causing him to bleed, heavenly guidance is getting harder to feel and it's not so strong anymore.
They push and pull me but they know they'll never win
<(This, honestly, may be the only shred of hope in this song. The guy has become defiant against Satan, vowing he will never win his soul.)>
(Chorus)
"Throw it all away, throw it all away!" I keep on screaming
But there's really nothing left to say
<(This guy is about ready to give up.)>
So get away, just get away! I keep on fighting
But I can't keep going on this way
<(This is a response telling him, "if the temptation and evil are too strong, get away from it!" He says he is fighting the battle within, but he needs to stop at some point.)>
(End of Chorus)
I can't keep going, can't keep going on like this
They make me sick and I get so sick of it
<(Don't you sometimes get tired of the world today and the evil that inhabits it? It gets so sickening to hear a sex song. It's unoriginal and immoral. "They (certain artists) make me sick and I get so sick of it.)>
'Cause they won't let me, they won't let me breath
Why can't they let me be?
<(It's pretty dang hard to escape the world's influence and their ideas on who you should be. It doesn't have to affect you, but their's almost no escape.)>
Why can't they let me be? Why don't I know what I am?
I force this hate into my heart 'cause it's my only friend
<(Not only is it hard to escape the influence of the world, the world won't stop trying to influence you! They'll try until there's a winner. Hopefully, that's you. This guy, because of his addictions and sins, has found friendship with all but himself and hate, depression and other negativity.
My lips are sewn shut, I watch myself bleed
They push and pull me and it's killing me within
<(This guy wants help SOOOOO bad, but a swirl of doubts always cloud his head, so he doesn't go out and get it. This is all destroying his soul and causing it to ROT.)>
(Chorus)
I can't keep going, can't keep going on this way
I can't keep going, can't keep going on this way
<(This next part is what makes this song so awesome!)
(Rap Section)
My heart beat stumbles and my back bone crumbles
<(FINALLY, this guy is breaking down. All the evils and addictions and temptations are SO DANG CLOSE to winning. Satan has about won his soul.)
I feel, is it real as the lynch mob doubles?
<(It's hardly unbelievable. His soul is about to be completely taken from him, he's giving the fight to keep it all he's got, and MORE temptations and temptors come to destroy him. He's about to drown in the massive amount of evil.)>
They want blood and they'll kill for it
Drain me and they'll kneel for it
<(Some of these people either don't realize the evils they do, so they "kneel at Satan's 'alter'" without realizing it, or these guys are kinda Satanic and they're PURPOSELY trying to destroy this man.)
Burn me at the stake, met the devil, made the deal for it!
<(Guess what? These guys ALSO sold their souls, and in turn, they take one away from another.)>
Guillotine dreams, yeah their guillotine gleams!
The blood of their enemies watching while they sentence me
Sentencing ceased, sentence deceased
And watch them bask in the glory of their holy disease
<(I can't quite get the third line. It's a little difficult to interpret. I'm guessing though that these lines, just like the last five, are a powerful description of the war within the soul...and it's death. Saddest thing is, some people might actually glorify themselves for doing something like this.)>
(End of Rap Section)
(Chorus)
I keep on running, I keep on running
I keep on running but I can't keep going on this way
I keep on running, I keep on running
I keep on running but I can't keep going on this way
<(These line say that the guy is running from trouble or maybe even reality but he's getting tired of it. He has to stop soon.)>
Here's a youtube video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtA9FMKKmsw
As you will see, there a masks lined in a row. These are the members of Hollywood Undead. (Minus the guy with pink lips. He got kicked out.) The lyrics appear in a word bubble. This allows you to see who is singing certain lyrics. Also, you'll see that this song is marked as explicit. In the Zune store, they "scratch" out the word kill in it. So if explicit songs are banned, then sorry. (Although it should say +13 or something instead.)
Thanks for reading.
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