Breaking Benjamin: Unknown Soldier Meaning
Unknown Soldier Lyrics
Dead inside.
I don't mind,
Falling to pieces.
Count me in, violent
Let's begin, feeding the sickness.
How do I simplify,
Dislocate - the enemy's on the way.
[Chorus:]
Show me what it's like
To dream in black and...
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But there is still one I don't Quite get: What does Feeding the Sickness mean?
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I'm gonna throw something out here that i think people miss. Listen to the actual music, the chord proggression and strumming patterns also play a role in certain parts of the song.
like the versus are played deep with a little high pitch lead part muffled in the background. it sounds like it's meant to portray an angry drunk throwing out his darkest thoughts on the table, thats where the words fit in. the whole first verse sounds like the "soldier" is feeling empty or lost.
then the chorus proggression changes and the faint lead is more audible. makes the lyrics sound like he's reaching out for help to fight the disaster he's in.
the song gets ngrier as it goes along. possibly showing that he wnts a change.
sorry bout the lack of effort at the end. got lazy... -
Well, I think it's about a soldier in a war.
Border line,
Dead inside.
I don't mind,
Falling to pieces.
Obviously, he's been traumatized, so he doesn't care about what happens to him.
Count me in, violent.
Let's begin, feeding the sickness.
I think here the "sickness" he's referring to is war.
How do I simplify,
Dislocate, the enemies on the way.
Here, he's trying to figure out a way to simplify the battle so it's easier for him to handle the enemies.
Show me what it's like
To dream in black and white,
So I can leave this world tonight.
When he says he wants to dream in black and white he means he wants to see the war that way. As simply two sides. Good and bad. Once he achieves that, he doesn't care if he dies or not.
Full of fear,
Ever clear.
I'll be here,
Fighting forever.
The first two lines are him describing himself and/or the victims. The next two lines are him talking about how he's willing to give his life, but no one notices him (refer to the song's title, Unknown Soldier). He'll be fighting forever because nobody will remember him.
Curious,
Venomous,
You'll find me
Climbing to heaven.
Here he is describing himself, and how he knows he's going to die soon.
Never mind,
Turn back time.
You'll be fine, I will get left behind.
I think that here he wants to turn back time because of something that happened in the battle. He tells someone (maybe a dying comrade?) that they'll be fine. That it's himself who is going to get left behind. (I'm guessing here that he is trying to say that he's going to give his life for that person.)
Holding on too tight.
Breathe the breath of life,
So I can leave this world behind
He is telling himself that he's holding too tightly to life. He helps his comrade and tells him that if he will survive, then he himself can finally leave this world and be okay. (refer to the second and third lines.)
It only hurts just once.
They're only broken bones.
Hide the hate inside.
Here he is talking about dying. I'm not really sure what he means by the third line though...
Well, there you have it. My interpretation of the song. -
I think (of course my own opinion, take it for what it's worth.) that this song is about a soldier (like the name itself says) the lines, "Border line, Dead inside. I don't mind, Falling to pieces. Count me in, violent Let's begin, feeding the sickness." is the soldier on the border of his mind due to watching a friend(?) die on the battlefield. He's become dead inside, and the sickness he refers to is revenge. When he says "You'll be fine. I will get left behind." i believe hes saying that he will stay behind to try to let the other soldiers escape. When he says, "Show me what it's like, To dream in black and white, So I can leave this world tonight." in the chorus and also when he says, "You'll find me, Climbing to heaven. Never mind, Turn back time..." he's saying that hes accepted his death and actually longs for it (to reunite with his lost friend maybe?).(again this is all an opinion so if u disagree then disagree)
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To me this song is clearly reflecting on a soldier experiencing severe PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder)
Borderline dead inside--the avoidant symptoms
I don't mind falling to pieces-- the depressive symptoms
how do I simplify dislocate the enemies on the way-- how to explain the regret of killing another for a cause and rationalize it or survival guilt symptoms
The chorus has a lot to do with the severity of dreams and night terrors associated with PTSD (one of the more glamorized symptoms) dreaming in black and white is a term associated with not having dreams of war or not dreaming at all due to Benzos (xanax ativan and other sleep and anxiety drugs)
The one single line that screams it is an old soldier dealing with PTSD is the line
I'll be HERE fighting forever
typically, PTSD is associated with one or more specific traumatic event. The fact that "I'll be HERE and fighting FOREVER" are the words used indicates that the soldier is struggling with acute PTSD
another very strong line associated with survival guilt is "Never mind turn back time, You;; be fine and I will get left behind." This is often the setiment that veterans suffering from PTSD feel
each and every line is deeply associated with PTSD symptoms. Even the helicopter at the beginning signs to me that the sound could have been what sent the veteran into an episode. Sufferers are subject to flash backs from anything from auditory stimuli to visual stimuli. In fact, in cutting edge therapy, virtual reality is used to 'treat' ptsd. Sounds and images from the movie "Apocalypse Now" is currently being used
It is my opinion that the song was written by a close relative of a veteran suffering from Acute PTSD -
It's definitely about a soldier as everyone said. But it could refer to all the unknown soldiers in war. Who die without many people knowing. Borderline, Dead inside, Referring to how he has no emotions or feelings when hes in war.. Show me what it's like to dream in black and white shows how to be perfect is to be dead because no one's perfect, Once he realizes how to "dream in black and white" he can leave the world. Therefore becoming perfect. nevermind turn back time, Youll be fine, I will get left behind... Nevermind what happened, Turn back time to another time.. He'll sacrifice himself.. leading into suicide, It only hurts just once, their only broken bones.. (Torture?) Hide the hate inside... Hating the other side or war.. Or war itself.. This is just my view on it..
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It's about a soldier feeling pain because his friend was killed. He thinks his friend went to Heaven, and he was left to fight the fight! Hooah!
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IMO:
This song is about a soldier who wants to get his fears, anxieties, and trepidations about war out of his mind so that he will be able to do his best on the battlefield.
He wants to "simplify, dislocate" because "The enemy is on the way". We wants to disconnect himself from all the things in his life that hold him back.
He wants to "Dream in black and white" so he can "leave this world tonight." This means that he wants to see everything in a more simple way, without emotion, because he plans to die in battle.
"Holding on too tight.
Breathe the breath of life,
So I can leave this world behind. "
He feels that he is holding on to life too tight, and that he needs to just let go. He wants to take his last breath, then leave the world (die).
"It only hurts just once.
They're only broken bones.
Hide the hate inside."
It only hurts just once because he'll die quicky. In this verse, he is trying to talk himself into believing that dying wouldn't be that bad.
Thanks for listening, contact me at slyguy2023@yahoo.com if you have further questions. -
This my personal interpretation, I couldn't possibly know what he might be singing about I don't know them or their habits or beliefs I just like their music.
Anywho, I think the song is about war, but more like that of the experiences that every combat soldier before has had to experience. from the start of the war to end of their life. To me there are hints of ptsd(post traumatic stress disorder or shellshock), also the "dream in black and white" I think that's the desicions that must be made that might feel wrong (taking a life and so on) you know right and wrong as plain as black and white. The depression and pain of war, followed by them getting into a firefight and then one soldier goes down and he tells them to leave them to save themselves as he excepts the death he's actually been waiting for "holding on too tight" is his commrades wanting him to stay alive but he knows he has to go(I say he because most combat specific soldiers are male, in fact I can't think of a specifically combat job that allows women) and even though this story may follow one soldier, he represents all those that died in war. But not just in war but also in life, it could be that bum that lives under the overpass who was a casualty of bad fortune and life, all those who feel that life in general is a struggle a war if you will, I honestly think they wrote the song to multi faceted and deep, to be something that everyone could take something from, or they're just really deep in general and didn't even realize how many levels this song touches people on. Whatever! great song, out. -
I swear it must be about war - there's a helicopter in the intro
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I don't think this song is so melancholic. Breaking benjamin sometimes talks about war. I think this song is a reference to soldiers or war heroes. Yes, I play Battlefield, if you see me you're going down!! Cold and hard.
Oh yeah, and the parts:
"you find me climbing to heaven" is because they are always near to the death.
"holding on too tight" is because they have to really hold on to take the decisions
"breath the breath of live"every breath is a price to them.
"show me what's like to dream in black an white" this is pretty hard to understand, I think is because the only way they can dream is dead.
listen to the music thinking about war (or battlefield) so you figure it out.
escute a música pensando em guerras (ou battlefield) então você vai entender. -
I believe that it's about a soldier. "Let's begin feeding the sickness" I think is referring to war, which has plagued our world for several hundred years. The definition of an unknown soldier is an unidentified soldier killed in war and chosen to be interred with national honors as a representative of all those who died in a war.
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I can see how everyone's points of view work, but first hearing this song, I interpreted it as having to do with the return of Jesus Christ to earth (as stated in Revelations in the Bible). I know it sounds weird, but hear me out. He first talks about how he feels almost dead inside, showing that he is sick of the world. The line "How do I simplify? Dislocate? The enemy's on the way" could mean that he is asking how he can leave all of the people and his lifestyle behind him that bring him down and against God. The enemy on the way being the anti-christ/devil.
The chorus, "Show me what it's like
To dream in black and white,
So I can leave this world tonight." I think he is asking God to let him dream in black in white because black and white is more simplistic. He wants to live without all of the bad influences so that he will be worthy of God.
"You'll find me climbing to heaven. Never mind, turn back time. You'll be fine - I will get left behind" shows that he wants to live right and try hard to make it to heaven. He feels that he will be left behind, though, because of how he lives- it may be too hard for him to committ to living for God.
"Holding on too tight. Breathe the breath of life,
so I can leave this world behind." He is holding onto all of the sinful things and his current way of life too tightly and he realizes it, so he is asking God to breathe his breath of life into him so he can leave the world behind and live right, since doing so is a very hard thing to accomplish.
Not saying I'm correct, but that's just the first thing I thought of when hearing this song. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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