Life Wasted

musicismylife78

Extremely powerful song.

I take the meaning to be someone upset about the war or life in general and realizing that fact. This person in the song wants to change their life. They know they are wasting it.

this line has me scratching my head, "The world awaits just up the stairs, leave the pain for someone else, nothing back there for you to find or was it you, you left behind."

What does that mean? Specifically the last part, the part about "nothing back there for you to find, or was it you, you left behind"

csav

Jeoy Ramone?

Jamal

I think he means there shall remain nothing but a memory of who you were before you went to see the world upstairs. Or maybe you pretended to change and , superficially, did, but you can't cheat the heart and/or soul

I especially like the part "I'm never going back again" .... gives me hope

madjack

I think Jamal hits the nail on the head. Great insight Jamal.

Androgynous Mind

Actually, I took this song to have ties not to the war, but to drugs and/or alcohol. The motto is sex, drugs and alcohol in that business. There are so many people that they have been in contact with over the years in music who have had problems with those things. I dont know who it would be directed to, but that person has seen what these things can do (Death came around, forced to hear its song...), but that it is not getting through to them (I seen the home inside your head,...All locked doors and unmade beds). They have been there or seen it and are telling that person to leave the past behind and to look forward to the good things in life(The world awaits just up the stairs. Leave the pain for someone else. Nothing back there for you to find,...Or was it you, you left behind?). Look ahead and leave the rest behind, trying to lead by example (Oh I erased it,... A life wasted,...I'm never going back again).

That's just my interpretation of it. I never even thought of war. Now, World Wide Suicide is a different story.

musicismylife78

thanks for the responses guys. I think it is war related because of the video mainly, plus the fact that nearly the entire album is about the war. The bloodied zombie heads of the band, the heads, the fire and stuff in that video seem to me at least to be a critique of what is happening to our soldiers in iraq.

wolfbear

My take on it is that it's not living life to the fullest. Being too engaged in the mundane stuff of life and not "experiencing" life in general. Also, just hanging on to bad memories and not giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. I love it how Ed's or PJ's words can be interpreted so many different ways.

Androgynous Mind

Cheguevara6 wrote:

thanks for the responses guys. I think it is war related because of the video mainly, plus the fact that nearly the entire album is about the war. The bloodied zombie heads of the band, the heads, the fire and stuff in that video seem to me at least to be a critique of what is happening to our soldiers in iraq.

Yeah, I know the video was crazy. I think they are trying to protest it in any way that they can. I wasn't a fan of the video and enjoy there more random or enlightening songs. I typically dont agree with their politically active songs. I know that they want to support their causes and beliefs, but I am not a huge advocate of politically driven music. I know it sounds like I should be listening to someone else then, but i couldnt. overall, i love their music too much.

Rockin Rita

i read that eddie wrote this song on his way home from joey ramone's funeral

ledvedderman

I take this song as a change in the direction your life is taking. I think it all comes from the Joey Ramone funeral the impact that had on Ed's life. Ed said it woke him up to realize that he was alive. It's almost as if your floating through life and then mortallity hits you, and you sever all ties with your previous life. It was now just wasted time floating through life when there's so much more out there. You now live a different life because your eyes are open, and the life you had was a life wasted.

Rhinocerous Surprise

ledvedderman wrote:

I take this song as a change in the direction your life is taking. I think it all comes from the Joey Ramone funeral the impact that had on Ed's life. Ed said it woke him up to realize that he was alive. It's almost as if your floating through life and then mortallity hits you, and you sever all ties with your previous life. It was now just wasted time floating through life when there's so much more out there. You now live a different life because your eyes are open, and the life you had was a life wasted.

Combine that with what Ed said in Iconoclasts - how waiting a year to have a child would have been a waste of a year... Becoming a dad really affected this guy.:)

Ms. Haiku

You're always saying that there's something wrong,...
I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along,...Who is the subject?

Death came around, forced to hear its song,...funeral?
And know tomorrow can't be depended on.

I seen the home inside your head,...
All locked doors and unmade beds.
Open sores unattended
Let me say just once that addiction?

I have faced it,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again.

I escaped it,... A life wasted,..
I'm never going back again.

Having tasted,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again still not sure what a life wasted is.

The world awaits just up the stairs Stairway to Heaven reference?
Leave the pain for someone else.

Nothing back there for you to find,...
Or was it you, you left behind? Well, if the person's dead does it matter?

You're always saying you're too weak to be strong,...
You're harder on yourself than just about anyone,...Now, who's the subject? This person as the subject continues for a while.

Why swim the channel just to get this far?
Halfway there, why would you turn around?

Darkness comes in waves,... tell me,
why invite it to stay?

You're warm with negativity,
Yes, comfort is an energy,...
But why let the sad song play?

I have faced it,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again.

Oh I escaped it,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again.

Having tasted,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again.

Oh I erased it,... A life wasted,...
I'm never going back again.


Analysis = Not sure what it's about because there are a few different subjects, and i don't see a common thread that links them.

humanlight

Rockin Rita wrote:

i read that eddie wrote this song on his way home from joey ramone's funeral

yea, that is what I have read too, but I really think it has personal meaning for everyone. It is that feeling that we all get where we think..."That is it, I am living everyday to the fullest. Life is just too short." It is to remind us that YES, it is to short, and we need to do something with it. Hopefully that something will change this world in a positive way.

Jamal

madjack wrote:

I think Jamal hits the nail on the head. Great insight Jamal.

Why thank you...
there's a few things on here I hadn't really thought about yet though, always nice to hear what other people think

InBetween

I think this song is about EV seeing someone really broken down to the point of committing suicide...and the fact that maybe EV in some point of his life went through something similar.

"I escaped it,... A life wasted,..
I'm never going back again." this implies EV has gone through a similar situation and got out of it.

"The world awaits just up the stairs,
Leave the pain for someone else.
Nothing back there for you to find,...
Or was it you, you left behind?" The world upstairs can be a reference to life after death...the guy kills himself and leaves his pain behind for his loved ones to bear...EV twists it saying the only thing he'll loose and leave behind is himself meaning that suicide is not the answer.

"!You're always saying you're too weak to be strong,...
You're harder on yourself than just about anyone,
Why swim the channel just to get this far?
Halfway there, why would you turn around?" giving up on life...no strength to keep on...but why having faced everything he has up to now would he want to give up on life? It would make everything he's lived meaningless.

"You're warm with negativity,
Yes, comfort is an energy,...
But why let the sad song play?" Describes someone completely depressed. Comfort can simbolize the comfort of suicide for someone in such a state...

Dunno, that's how I've always understood this song.

Obsidian22

I can relate to this song immensely. I personally feel the song is about suicide. I wrote a thread back in july 2006. I lost my brother to suicide. He hung himself. He was a father and a husband and a brother and a son.Until you lose someone you love in this tragic way, it is hard to comprehend the severity and finality of this act.
Eddie did write this song about his friend he loved, joey/johnny ramone.I think I read about it in the Rolling Stone article in July/June.
I still feel cheated and sad and angry, my brother won't be coming back.
Come Back is another song related to Eddie's friend. Read the words carefully.
Peace to all.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
Anatole France

Scigatt

Well, this may be just me, but I've always thought of the song as a response to Alive, with a decade and a half of wisdom...or something like that.

bruce

I was never one to be touched emotionaly until this song came out. Don't get me wrong, i've listened to every PJ song hundreds, maybe thousands of times but this might just be my favorite of all time. Extremly powerfull.

«¤tîg®ê§§¤»

Love love love life wasted......deep for sure

makes you think huh ....

Igottago

This is one of my favourite songs...Avacado came out at a point in my life where I was contemplating making a lot of changes, because I wasn't happy where I was. Life Wasted hit me hard. Especially "nothing back there for you to find, or was it you you left behind"...love that line..to me it was saying don't let your past regerets hold you down, and focus on making the changes to your life that you want to make..and you have the power to live your life the way you want to. It's a really empowering song.

Jamal

true beauty
"I've tasted a life wasted, I'm never going back again"

damn, almost makes me cry every time

lephty

this album's release coincided with my moving out of home under bad terms. my personal interpretation is that "I escaped it, a life wasted"!

yup.. if i had stayed home, i feel i would have gone mad and wasted my life even more than i already had.

however, i really feel the song is about overcoming an addiction of sorts, be it lethal or what have you.

those were my quickie interpretations without actually over thinking the actual full lyrics.

Coming back to life

The album is not a concept album about war at all.

Life Wasted NO, it's about either overcoming addiction, being controlled, or depression or maybe being in a bad job.


World Wide Suicide YES

Comatose NO. I thought it was, but it's just about being sanitised, and selfishness, and what's happening in America such as opposition to same-sex marriage.

Severed Hand NO, it's about overcoming self-harm.

Marker In The Sand YES

Parachutes I'll give it a YES - just. It's specific enough but only just.

Unemployable NO

Big Wave NO

Gone NO

Wasted Reprise NO

Army Reserve YES

Come Back NO. It's about loss, it is no way specific enough to be about losing someone to combat.

Inside Job NO. It's about inner struggle.

So 5/13 about war, less than half. It would be more accurate to say that none of the songs are about war than all of them. By the way Che would disagree that war is the answer to nothing. He seemed to think it was the answer to Cuba's problems (and Bolivia's).

Spunkie

"Unmade beds" - symbolism in making (or not) a bed together

OffHeGoes29

I think this song is about someone who has suffered a great deal with their self esteem. Kind of like they are trapped in a cycle of depression and hurt they couldn't shake for so long, until they finally realized that they are ultimately in control of their life and can leave all of the pain behind. I see it as a self reflection of all the time and energy spent dwelling on negative thoughts, and letting life pass you by.