Survivor Guilt Lyrics
[Intro]
"What are you talking about? America is not going to be destroyed."
"Never?
Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed
All great countries are destroyed, why not yours?
How much longer do you think your own country will last?
Forever?"
[Verse 1]
Block the entrances, close the doors
Seal the exits because this is war
All gave some, some gave all
But for what? I want to know
[Hook]
Carry on, don't mind me
All I gave was everything
And yet you ask me for more
Fought your fight, bought your lie
And in return I lost my life
What purpose does this serve?
"What are you talking about? America is not going to be destroyed."
"Never?
Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed
All great countries are destroyed, why not yours?
How much longer do you think your own country will last?
Forever?"
[Verse 1]
Block the entrances, close the doors
Seal the exits because this is war
All gave some, some gave all
But for what? I want to know
[Hook]
Carry on, don't mind me
All I gave was everything
And yet you ask me for more
Fought your fight, bought your lie
And in return I lost my life
What purpose does this serve?
[Verse 2]
A folded flag, a purple heart
A family all but torn a part
I fought with courage to preserve
Not my way of life, but yours
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
The cowards preach from pedestals
With words like "courage" and "resolve"
But what they meant was "Fuck them all"
Because freedom isn't free
They send our daughters and our sons
To deserts under burning suns
A sacrificial slaughtering
To fill the pockets of the weak
An artificial enemy, are we so easily deceived?
They carry on
[Outro]
A folded flag, a purple heart
A family all but torn a part
I fought with courage to preserve
Not my way of life, but yours
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
The cowards preach from pedestals
With words like "courage" and "resolve"
But what they meant was "Fuck them all"
Because freedom isn't free
They send our daughters and our sons
To deserts under burning suns
A sacrificial slaughtering
To fill the pockets of the weak
An artificial enemy, are we so easily deceived?
They carry on
[Outro]
"You're a shameful opportunist! What you don't understand is that it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees."
"You have it backwards. It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees."
Don't carry on, just walk away
How many more sent to their graves?
In this lesson ignored
I fought your fight
Bought your lie
And in return I lost my life
What purpose does this serve?
What purpose did I serve?
"You have it backwards. It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees."
Don't carry on, just walk away
How many more sent to their graves?
In this lesson ignored
I fought your fight
Bought your lie
And in return I lost my life
What purpose does this serve?
What purpose did I serve?
About
Genius Annotation
This song was inspired by the film adaptation of Joseph Heller’s novel, Catch-22 and features dialogue from one of the movie’s central scenes, where Art Garfunkel’s character argues with an Italian soldier about America’s military importance. Frontman Tim McIlrath explained to Spin magazine
Garfunkel says to him, ‘How can Italy be powerful when they were occupied by Nazi Germany?’ and the soldier just sort of laughs at his stupidity and tells him, ‘Well, we’re still here — where are those people who occupied us? They lost.’ It’s this interesting anti-war statement and you can just see it blowing the soldier’s mind.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Architects
- 5.Satellite
- 7.Survivor Guilt
- 9.Wait for Me
- 12.Endgame
- 13.Lanterns
Credits
Produced By
Written By
Composer
Lyricist
Vocals
Background Vocals
Guitar
Bass Guitar
Drums
Voiceover
Additional Production
Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Music Publisher
Recorded At
The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado
Release Date
March 5, 2011
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