Guernica

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The ninth track off of Deja Entendu is also the album’s rawest, pairing a blistering guitar riff with throat-searing lyrics about the death of Jesse Lacey’s grandfather and… Read More

Jun. 17, 20031 viewer47.8K views

Guernica Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Ever since I was young
Your word is the word that always won
Worry and wake the ones you love
A phone call I'd rather not receive
Please use my body while I sleep
My lungs are fresh and yours to keep
Kept clean and they will let you breathe

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear, but you forget to wind

[Chorus]
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was the part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes

[Verse 2]
I submit no excuse
If this is what I have to do
I owe you every day I wake
If I could I would shrink myself
And sink through your skin to your blood cells
And remove whatever makes you hurt
But I am too weak to be your cure

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear, but you forget to wind

[Chorus]
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was the part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes

[Bridge]
I'm not letting you check out
You will beat this, starting now
And you will always be around
I'm there to monitor your breathing
I will watch you while you're sleeping
I will keep you safe and sound

[Pre-Chorus 2]
Does anybody remember back when you were very young?
Did you ever think that you would be this blessed?

[Chorus]
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was the part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes

About

The ninth track off of Deja Entendu is also the album’s rawest, pairing a blistering guitar riff with throat-searing lyrics about the death of Jesse Lacey’s grandfather and the pain of being on tour during that event.

“Guernica” was a major thematic leap forward for pop-punk and also for the band; the material on 2006’s The Devil and God is much darker and akin to “Guernica” in tone and themes.

The title references Pablo Picasso’s 1937 painting Guernica, a masterpiece that shows the bombing of the same named town, in the basque country, Spain. Jesse compares the pain in his heart to the chaos following a bombing.