Rise Against: A Gentleman's Coup Meaning
A Gentleman's Coup Lyrics
A cataclysmic dawn
We trusted that something has gone wrong
We bought it
But woke to find it gone
Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2
Brace
For fallout
The radiation creeps
On cats' feet
We scatter in the streets
She asks me "do...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:If you look at the album starting with the beginning song(Architects) and ending with (endgame) It is a progressive theme. I mean really look at it. it start with building making a stand changing, to all the things happening and how people are destructive. to this song where there is chaos where the government takes over and only creates ruin to ending with the endgame where everything is lost and there are only those few who want to rebuild better then before.
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:It seems to me like its repeating the overridding theme of the album, the america/west is gonna end, that we realy are in the Endgame. But in this song theres revolution just in time, but before long the same problems arise and we're back in the same place. And the bit "some might say we've lost our way...." seems like its saying people are taking it to far with a full scale revolution, but then they say that a revolution isnt enough, a fundemental reboot of seciety is needed, tear everything down and start again.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:everyone is getting this wrong, this song is about Americas foreign policy. Its about how the U.S is always going into small countries and overthrowing it's leaders and leaving it behind in civil war and complete ruin
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i think that they are trying to say that in order to stop wars and corruption something must happen to wipe the slate clean so they can start over. such as a nuclear bomb/disaster like in the first verse.
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Think about the songs in the album and the cover it is about all the wars we fight and a corrupted goverment all the songs are about those 2 things and some other things and i agree with the songs the goverment has gone corupt and soon america could fall because of that and so we need a change. This really should be takin in to consideration because this is coming from a 12 year old almost 13.Yeah it basicly what i think in listening to this album is that this is really good for a lesson and message now don't get me wrong i deeply respect the people fighting for our country because both my grandfauthers and 2 of my uncles went to war. i understand this is the hardship in war when people come back andalot don't come back my friend her uncle's friend died in war and so di her other uncle and she had a hard time with that.they believe they aka the soldier are fighting for good and their families but the govment dosen't even care that is my problem along with the greed but that is my opion this album is in my top ten favorites that is for damn sure
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The guy about us trying to rule countries is right. This song is all about like what we did with Iraq. We stormed their city put our flags up or in this case we put our beliefs and government in the Iraq system but they arent the first place we've done this to. We siezed the throne or in this case killed Sadam and "subjugate" means to make the people submissive but instead we should go to war to destroy people not to change them or use them. I think the beginning refers to a nuclear strike. Fallout is the aftermath of a nuclear strike and so he's saying that we get to watch and count down "impact in 5,4,3,2, Brace for fallout" to the impact and if we survive the explosion we get the fallout. I think he implies that one day we are going to mess with the wrong person.
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It speaks of generations, and how each seems more corrupt and controlling than the last. Each generation seems to throw us closer and closer to ending us all as we develop bigger and badder weapons. (The pain, Disorder. A cataclysmic dawn., Impact in 5,4,3,2...)
And at this rate, when our current Generation inherits the earth, there wont be anything left. (we bought it, but woke to find it gone.)
the next stanza Is similar in meaning to the prior mentioning about how each generation brings us closer to the end, until it finally comes.
The Chorus just is a summary of how each generation speaks of how it will "Rise up" and change society and again and again falls into the same corruption they sought to end. "We stormed the gates, and raised new flags, just the same old story"
"We seized the throne, subjugate, we should have burned it to the ground." Is a major point in this song only to be dwarfed by two other lines I will mention later. What it is saying is that each generation takes over, but instead of changing the system like they all say they will, we should be destroying an obviously flawed system (not pointing to any particular political power) that has consistently failed and start anew.
The next big hitter of this song is "Some might say we've lost our way, but I believe we've not gone far enough." This one seems to point at the diversity of each generation and how much it deviates from the last. Anyone who has been scolded by their parents or an older person about how they listen to their music to loud or have bad musical taste should know about this one. What this line is saying is that this diversity is good, but thus far a generation hasn't gone far enough in order to break away from the pattern and fix the growing issues in our world.
The entire stanza of "Afraid, we cower..etc" looks to be depicting the generations and how they consistently fear change until it's too late.
And finally, probably my favorite line in the entire song. "How long will we fall for this?" such a simple line means so much when put into the perspective of what this song is about. Simply put; how long will our species continue the consistent failures we've been achieving generation after generation.
For a time I had stopped listening to Rise Against until I heard about this new album and decided to give it a try, I am glad to have heard this song as it is very inspiring, at least to someone like me. -
A lot of the comments seem to be touching on the same idea - the American Empire is in its dying days, but the future looks the same unless a fundamental shift is made in how the entire system operates. Empires are repeating cycles of each other as one takes over another: "storm the gates, raise the flags, just the same old story. seize the throne, subjugate" and its never going to change unless someone takes it a step further: "should've burned it to the ground", "not gone far enough". If you want to see a different result, don't keep trying the same idea when OBVIOUSLY IT DOESN'T WORK. "How long will we fall for this?" This links in to the theme of being in the endgame, last opportunity, which carries throughout the album, as was mentioned earlier.
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To me this song seems to be about Libya and the Libyan government and the Rebels uprising to regain control.
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Is it about the vietnam war and how america sometimes tries to take over other countries?
The 1st verse: 'pain disorder' 'impact in 5, 4, 3, 2' 'radiation creeps' 'scatter in the streets' she asked me 'you think its safe to breath? It doesn't look that way to me' sounds like the aftermath of a bomb, and there were a lot of bombs used in vietnam.
Chorus: 'We storm the gates raise new flags' one country (america) trying to take over another one. 'Just the same old story' implies that it has happened before. 'Some might say we've lost our way but I believe we've not gone far enough' probably implies that a lot of people think that we (powerful countries that go to war a lot) have maybe gone to far but that the government isn't gonna stop there.
2nd verse: 'Afraid we cower to interests not our own' probably implies that most people don't want our countries (I'm saying 'our' because even though Rise Against is american the song could apply to Britain as well) to do this and we don't really have a say in the matter and our probably scared of our own countries power. 'The power to free or to control' is about our own army's influence over other countries and we can either control them or leave them alone. 'We let it skip through our fingers to the floor' means that we didn't do anything about what was/is happening to the world, even if we didn't like it. 'Watch as the bodies wash ashore, nobody lives here anymore' is referring to the state some countries are left in after another one has tried to take it over.
Bridge: 'How long will we fall for this' is basically asking foe how much longer will we believe our government when they say we should take over other places and keep fighting wars.
Ok, well I thought the bridge was longer than that so that's pretty much the whole song covered.
But this is only my view of it. -
One of the biggest things that sticks out to me is the "Storm the gates, raise the flags, but its just the same old story" and " "We seized the throne, subjugate, we should have burned it to the ground." harkens to revolutionists overthrowing leaders, but falling prey to the same power that the old 'tyrants'. Instead of these people installing themselves as leaders (even through proxy with the people 'wanting' them) they should have "burned it to the ground" meaning they should have gone along with their old business instead of being lured by the power and corruption of leadership.
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I think its either talking about chernoble and how japan could end up the same way :"The radiation creeps We scatter in the streets She asks me "do you think it's safe to breathe?" It doesn't look that way to me"
But then the chours sonds like its talking about a revolution and the 2nd verse could be the sate the country's in afterwards: "Watch as the bodies wash ashore Nobody lives here anymore" saying that the revolution failed. -
I think it's about revolution and overthrowing a corrupt goverment, but power ulitmately currupts. How we should rebuild the gov. instead of taking over to stop the circle. And asking how long we'll fall for this cycle.
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Seriously!! I've commented on a bunch of these! Does anyone see the kid on the front cover? I think the whole album is about our gov. falling apart and we kids are left with it trying to fix it but all in all, we fail epicly at it and things just get worse
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I saw a couple people with a similar view of the song as me, i think its about how Countries are always fighting wars against each other "We storm the gates Raise the flags Just the same old story", and the goal is always to be the victor and claim the land "We seize the throne, Subjugate" when all along they "should have burned it to the ground"
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think this song is about how the government, or the president, political figures etc. convince us that other nations, such as iraq, are in need of change or "that something has gone wrong" and that when the war has begun and the soldiers have been fighting it is quickly realized that the political figures have not been telling the truth.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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