Imagine Dragons: Nothing Left to Say Meaning
Nothing Left to Say Lyrics
I've been awake now?
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me, beckoning
Who knows what's right?
The lines keep getting thinner
My age has never made me wise
But I keep pushing on and on and on and...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:This is a man who is lost and shrouded in a dark energy. He is falling into a downward spiral. He is suffering with pain, guilt and confusion, unsure on what is right or wrong and questioning the commonly accepted virtues.
I believe this song is actually incredibly uplifting because this is a man stripped down and in the depths of despair now in a place of apathy with no clue what to say or do anymore to make things better, so he simply gets up, putting one foot in front of the other and pushes on. I take the words 'giving up' to be in the sense that he is surrendering, letting go, allowing himself to be carried forward slowly but surely towards the light. He has found that inner voice that screams at him to get up. That is the feeling I get when hearing the 'giving up' lines sung in this song. The beat of the drums is almost like that inner voice carrying him forward, and the vocals are his exclamation of his surrender.
His emotional pain has contracted his soul, but he has made the decision not to allow this to continue. He is determined to find a way to set his soul free, and expand into his true self - a man full of life, potential, talent, and so much to offer the world.
Like any emotional journey from struggle to enlightenment, one must accept the backwards steps in the overall journey of moving forward. He falls down, he cries out for help, he surrenders, and trusts he will be carried forward.
-dp -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:"I've come too far to see the end now.
Even if my way is wrong, I keep pushing on and on and on and on"
This line towards the end of the song suggests to me that it is *not* about suicide, though I'm sure that is a thought crossing the speaker's mind.
To me, the speaker is most certainly in complete mental anguish and an emotionally torturous place in life, and doesn't know which way to go or what to even believe anymore, and cannot shut out the pain, but yet determines to keep pushing forward, even though there really is nothing more that can be said, and no immediate answer to the torment presents itself.
I do find it interesting that tagged onto the end of such a heart wrenching and powerful song, (rather than made into its own song) is the uplifting, light-hearted "rocks," starting off with "where do we go from here?" To me, including that song into Nothing Left To say was most certainly intentional, so make of that what you will, hehe. Food for thought :) -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:Well, a song can have so many meanings, depending on those who listen to it.
For me, this song is about someone who has given up on life. Not someone who is necessarily mentally ill, but rather someone who has reached the end of the line. All the things s/he thought in life that mattered, turned out to be false hopes. I can see a soldier who fought for something s/he believed in, that in the end turned out to be just a mirage. Someone who is tired, and is ready to give up ( die ) -
Spiritual awakening...shadow work... wants to give up but keeps pushing. Finally surrenders and let’s go. Feels the pain... is feeling the pain. Healing the wounds. Absolutely no one around him knows what is going on with him. He and others think he is losing his mind during this inner work. Why he keeps falling down “spiraling” ... no one can save him only himself. Only one can save self...SELF. Only he can shine light on his shadows. No one will ever know until they do it.
One of the hardest things in life... healing. Death/rebirth. Over and over again. -
I believe it is about fighting your demons. This person has lost all sense of time and has not slept because the demons inside of him don't do so (they are always present in every thought) and they might beat him. They beckon him to succumb or fight and lose (because he is exhausted and weak but they don't get tired). So because of the constant battle and the lack of signs of improvement he has doubts about whether he should be resisting at all. He feels like the likelihood of him failing is more. This situation has lasted for a long time and his perception of it instead of becoming more clear is deteriorating (or he ha gone through this again in the past as this is common when it comes to mental illnesses). Despite being confused, he continues to fight because there is no other way he is aware of to win...
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This song sums up how I feel about my marriage with my alcoholic husband. I've tried everything and now I'm walking away. This song has given me the strength to do it.
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Nothing Left To Say:
This song is about making mistakes. When you've gone through several pain, you start falling and falling until you reach the bottom. The lyrics are about letting go of the inner self and feelings to quickly reach the bottom by keeping on being in fault, which is the only path to possibly follow.
"I keep falling, I keep falling down."
Rocks:
This part starts right when you reach the rock bottom inside of you. After all the pain and suffering you suddenly have nothing more to lose and you start seeing some light which lights up the forest you're in. You know you're fallen but you give yourself a chance to restart from zero, you "throw some rocks up" at your own window to start your recovery.
In fact, from here on the entire album gets a positive vibe. -
Of course, as many are, mine is personal in nature, but I take it as overcoming obstacles due to disabilities. There comes a time when you get fed up with everybody putting limits on you and you know that you just have to take a huge leap of faith if you are going to make a success of your life. Nothing left to say is turning your back on the past and the limits and those who say you can't do what you must in order to survive. You have to trust what you feel in your heart is the right path for you. Falling down is all of the challenges that are in your way that must be overcome in meeting the goal. To not succeed in meeting your goal is not an option and is the equivalent of drowning due to all of the obstacles in the way. You have to sink or swim, there is no other way.
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After all the fighting against emotions, and doubts in the world. After all the breaking down. Anonymous is over it and moving on.
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i thimk this is a song about someone who is depressed and all they feel is the pain, and they struggle with their life and inner demons everyday and want to give up on life. Everything they thought mattered turned out to be false, like smoke and mirrors.
this song describes my life pretty well to be honest. i listened to it when i felt really low and it felt really personal and deep then. -
I think this song is about someone who, in trying to do something he thought was right, did things he knew were wrong and can't cope with that anymore. He's given up making anymore excuses for what he's done, he has nothing left to say, and so he just keeps pushing on for what he thinks is right.
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I feel like this song is about a person who has been trying to fulfill a task, but they have been broken so much that they don't know why they're doing so anymore. They may be searching for love, fortune, or peace.
"The shadows on my wall don't sleep. They keep calling me": the person has been told not to continue, that they shouldn't continue, but they do so anyway
"Who knows, what's right. The lines keep getting thinner": here they refer to the person's doubts. All the people around them say no. Should they continue?
"Nothing left to say now. I'm giving up, giving up, now": they decide to continue, and have given up the doubts and the refusal.
"Below, my soul, I feel an engine. Collapsing as it sees the pain. If I could only shut it out": the person is being told "no" again and again, so much that their resolve has been broken.
"I've come, to far, to see the end now. Even if my way is wrong. I keep pushing on and on": they have lost sight of heir goal. Now there is only the journey and the struggle. They don't know why the continue, but this is the only thing that they can do now -
I think "Nothing Left to Say" is about someone that is giving up on life and can't handle what they're going through at the time. Then "Rocks" is about how they over came what they've been through by finding God and their purpose in life. Right when they were about to give up God picked them up and showed them their path
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I think this is either about someone who is suicidal or someone who is becoming a bad person such as a serial killer (smoker, etc...) but is trying not too
but hey I could be wrong -
I think it is either about suicide or someone who is becoming a bad person such as a serial killer or something but hey I could be wrong
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This song means a very sad problem with depression.
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I could be way off here, but really, anyone could be way off when it comes to interpreting a song. To me, the lyrics of this song remind me of someone experiencing ongoing abuse. Whether that be by a parent or a partner who won't let them leave the relationship.
Ongoing abuse can really put a toll on one's mind, and lead them to all sorts of mental health issues. This could explain the first verse, and how the person is speaking of potential insomnia with "Who knows how long I've been awake now?" as well as the idea of unreality or hallucinations with "The shadows on my wall don't sleep, they keep calling, beckoning."
The second verse shows really plain hints of abuse, more specifically verbal/emotional abuse. The lines "Who knows what's right? The lines keep getting thinner." show how the victim is beginning to believe anything and everything the abuser is saying, and how they may be no longer able to think their own thoughts or say their own things. "My age has never made me wise," touches on this further, as many verbal/emotional abusers have a tendency to tell their victims of how "naive" they are, and how they "know nothing," since abusers tend to think they know better.
In the chorus, I believe the line, as well as the title of the song, "there's nothing left to say now" means the abuser has really taken away the victim's voice, forbidding them from attempting to put up any fight or saying anything that might go against the abuser's thoughts. And, of course, "I'm giving up" hints at the growing suicidal thoughts of the victim, from putting up with such a harsh lifestyle.
"Below my soul I feel an engine, collapsing as it feels the pain, if I could only shut it out," supports my previous idea, as it seems to hint at how the victim is starting to no longer be able to handle the abuse they've been suffering through. This is further emphasized with, "I've come too far to see the end now." It shows how, through it all, he still wants to put up a fight, and still wants to try and handle it. "Even if my way is wrong, I keep pushing on and on and on," shows how the victim thinks that even if they are the one at fault, and they deserve the abuser's harsh actions, they are trying to push through it and trying to find a way out.
"I keep falling down" has a plain meaning of how the victim keeps failing to get away from their abuser, and "If you could only save me, I'm drowning in the waters of my soul," really shows how they need help from someone, since they can't seem to save themselves and are, in turn, possibly losing sanity and being drawn towards the option of suicide.
In all, I do believe this song could be about anything, and I think that that is why it may have created such an impact on people. It speaks blatantly of depression, and that is something many people suffer from. From hearing it and listening to the lyrics, the meaning that I found was about ongoing abuse and the inability for the victim to escape. -
Under my interpretation I can see the story of a person, a person who has lots of issues regarding to his/her life and also makes up the profile of a mentally depressive person. This person has been having so many problems that have come to the point where he/she sees no solution, so the decision of taking his life has come to mind. This song has lots of references to a kind of person who is tired of life.
The reason why we can see references to suicide is present in verses such as, “Below my soul, I see an engine, collapsing as it sees the pain, if I could only shut it out” this is a clear reference as the “engine” to the heart which he wants to shut down in order to feel no pain. In the Chorus we can see the phrase “I’m giving up, I’m giving up” which can be stated as the resign of living as well.
Another interpretation we can see in the lyrics is at the start of the song where we can see the feelings of a depressed person that cannot sleep thinking in his daily life problems constantly. “Who knows how long I’ve been awake now” this is a reference to the insomnia that the person is suffering. “The shadows in my wall don’t sleep” can represent the problems that are attached to the person’s life. “My age has never made me wise” this can represent the feeling of a person that has been committing mistakes over and over again and even though time has passed, the person hasn’t learned about that.
Overall this is a song that can represent the life of lots of teenagers in the actual world and what are the feelings of these young people who have depressive mental issues regarding to their life. The vision of persons that believe their problems have no solution and therefore the only way out is death.
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