Rise Against: Help is on the Way Meaning
Song Released: 2011
Help is on the Way Lyrics
I have my father's eyes,
You can't take that from me,
Just go ahead and try.
The Crescent City sleeps,
While giants in the sky,
Preparing to unleash,
Let loose a mighty cry.
Can nobody save us?
Will anyone...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:Rise Against has already come out and told us what this song is about...Katrina.
"The Crescent City sleeps"...New Orleans
"Watch giants in the sky Preparing to unleash"...Katrina
giants in the sky preparing to unleash does not represent BP executives, it symbolism for the storm forming in the clouds about to hit NO -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:I believe that this song represents BOTH Hurricane Katrina and the Oil Spill. AKA just the general hardship New Orleans has dealt with in the past decade or so. As somebody said;
"Crescent City"- New Orleans.
"Giants in the Sky"- The Hurricane, I believe.
"The Bayou is burning, the Cypress has died"- A bayou is a swamp (New Orleans terrain) and a cypress is a type of tree. Fires broke out after the Hurricane.
The next verse is quite obvious; "Five thousand feet below,
As black smoke engulfs the sky,
The ocean floor explodes,
Eleven mothers cry."- Oil Spill.
"Choking on the black gold,
Upon which we rely,
We keep axes in the attics,
To see cameras in the sky"- Originally I thought this song was JUST about the Oil Spill... but axes? This verse was meant to show contrast I think. First part refers to the oil spill, and the second refers to people being paranoid about another hurricane, when people broke through their roofs to get to safety, and the news crews flew over head but failed to help those stranded.
One final thing that leads me to believe it's about both; "One by land, two by sea"... I could be wrong but I think this refers to The Hurricane and The Oil Spill (two disasters by sea) and the lowering population in New Orleans (one disaster by land)
-JoeBobNX -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:Seems to be his interpretation of the BP oil spill...
"Crescent City" (not cursed city)is a nickname for the city of New Orleans...
"Giants" (not ions) in the sky seems to be the big heads at BP's organization...
"Five thousand feet below, As black smoke engulfs the sky, The ocean floor explodes, Eleven mothers cry"
...Gulf oil spill killed a total of 11 people...(Quote from - http://www.gulfspilloil.com/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-timeline - An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, around 40 miles south east of Louisiana, kills 11 workers and injures 17 others)...
"Choking on the black gold,
Upon which we rely,
We keep *actions* in the attics,
To see cameras in the sky"...
*(axes??)*
Axes in the attics seems more fitting, because was a term used when Katrina hit, because the water rose so high, people needed to get even higher (obviously chopping a hole in the ceiling to get out of the attic to the roof) comparing the severity of Katrina to the oil spill ...cameras in the sky...TV coverage, or how we could see the spill from space
"Help is on the way, they said, they said" gives emphasis to the cleanup taking way too long(emphasizing so THEY said)...
But it never came!!! - Even though the cleanup may have been complete, the toll we as humans took (in our own ways) whether the loss of a family member, sea animals dying (Rise against is pro PETA)
Well written song which leaves some interpretations open to the people who experienced this trauma first hand.
Thanks Rise Against!
Dip n Dab -
People who live in New Orleans keep axes in their attics because of the risk of flash flooding. We can chop a hole in the roof to get out. During Katrina, people cut holes in their roofs to climb out. They saw news helicopters. “We keep axes in the attics, to see cameras in the sky.”
-
This song is primarily about Hurricane Katrina and the Bush administration's failure to respond in a timely matter. However, it also has elements of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (which occurred in late April 2010; the album wasn't started until September of that year). However, even if it didn't contain elements of the Japanese tsunami in 2011, it was really written about natural disasters. While they were touring to promote the album, Tim McIlrath dedicated this song to the people affected by the tsunami for the majority of the tour.
-
i think it's talking about floods, just like in the video. what other use for axes is there for axes when there's a disaster other than to smash through a roof? "the ocean floor explodes" maybe a tsunami?
my opinions might be wrong though.. -
Consider the facts: 1) Rise Against SAID ot was about Hurricane Katrina. 2) This Song was released many years before either the BP Oil spill OR the Tsunami in Japan. So, I belive, this song is about Hurricane Katrina.
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giants in the sky preparing to unleash, let loose a mighty cry- H.A.A.R.P. It's a weapon created in conjunction with the Star Wars Program in the 1980's, during the Regan Administration. It is said to be an energy weapon capable of creating, manipulating and intensifying weather. (If you believe it, that is.)
Giants in the sky preparing to unleash--the weapon is said to be unleashed directly from a satellite onto the target on land.
A few conspiracy theories have blamed H.A.A.R.P. for Hurricane Katrina, among other things.
I'm surprised no one else said this.
Angels don't play this HAARP. -
the crescent city (new orleans) sleeps while giants (clouds) in the sky preparing to unleash a great and mighty cry (the storm)
5000 feet below = how deep the water was where the spill was
black smoke engulfs the sky = the rig was on fire
11 mothers cry = 11 workers died.
It is clearly about katrina & bp. -
It is about the oil spill and katrina, because it is part of a bigger story, Disasters!
-
Idk about the interpretation, but the "One by land, two by sea" refers to the Revolutionary war:
Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related to Paul Revere's midnight ride, of April 18, 1775, which preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution.
But idk what it means to the song, it just seemed that nobody knew that, just a quick history lesson -
Isn't it about hurricane katrina, the BP oil spil (BTW the ppl i kno that work with BP are very sorry 4 that) AND the Japanese earthquake/tsunami?
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I believe this song represents both hurricane Katrina and the Oil Spill.
"Crescent City" - New Orleans
"Giants in the Sky" - storm clouds
"preparing to unleash let loose a mighty cry" - the hurricane
"the bayou is burning the cypress is dying" - a bayou is a swamp (New Orleans terrain) and a cypress is a type of tree. and fires broke out after the hurricane.
"five thousand feet below, as black smoke engulfs the sky, the ocean floor explodes, eleven mothers cry"- the oil spill and eleven workers died.
"Choking on the black gold upon which we rely"- I am asuming that the black gold, or the oil, is causing the country great despair and we rely on oil for many purposes.
"we keep axes in the attic to see cameras in the sky" - people needed to get out of thier houses thru the roof because the water level rose so much. the cameras= the news helicopters that flew over ahead but was not able to save anyone.
"one by land, two by sea" - one disaster by land (fires and what not) two disasters by sea (the hurricane, and the oil spill)
oh and, " can anyone save us will anyone try? ""we we're told just to sit tight cause somebody will soon arive help is on the way... but it never came!" the government's failure to save and protect the people. they wonder can anyone save us? news helicopters flew above filming people in despair passing over people that were stranded "will anyone try?" None of the news helicopters attempted to save the victims even though they were in plain sight. people told the victims to just sit and wait because rescue will come. But, for most, it never came. they died... -
Okay, about the top one, with the "axes in the attic" part, they probably are talking about having to move on to the roof, but instead of rescue helicopters, its just news helicopters.
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If you watch the music video you can clearly tell that this has to do with hurricane Katrina
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Could it be that this track is aimed at the american governments failure to protect it's own people in any form of crisis be it natural (catrina) or man made (bp)?
a system that promised that help was on the way and didn't follow through "we we're told just to sit tight cause sombody will soon arrive" "but it never came"
im pretty sure there are large areas without sanitary water, electricity etc still today 21/05/2011 since catrina devistated the area.
"yes we can"????? but you wont....... -
This interpretation will cause an argument I'm sure.
I think it's actually about the gulf war not the gulf oil spill.
The crecent city is talking about irans Capitol. In the middle east, the crecent is a symbol of Islam.
The giants in the sky could mean planes bombing or" preparing to unleash.
" can nobody save us, will anyone try. " many people hated the new leaders in the middle east and wanted to be rid of them.
A bayou is a water formation that does not have to be in the us though most are by the gulf. It could refer to some shore line in Kuwait or something.
In the poem the "shahnameh"
a guy wants a cypress tree. So he cuts it down, but people are mad at him and kill him so he never gets the tree. This could be an allusion to sassan invading Kuwait but then being forced out and being at war with the u.s. By invading Kuwait, the "cypress" has been cut down and killed. Cyprus is also an island near the middle east, though I don't know what that could mean.
Help is on the way. Were trying to help.
One by land two by sea right there in front of me. Kuwait being invaded from the land to the north and on it's shore lines to the south.
The next part is a dead give away.
5000 feet below black smoke engulfs the sky. This means the oil fires burning below th 36th tactical fighter wing. Go to wikipedia and search "gulf war" and you will see a picture of fighter jets flying 5000 feet above black smoke oil fires.
The ocean floor explodes, perhaps the belief that Iraq and iran had WMDs and were testing them. 11 mothers cry, there were 11 Iranian jets shot down by the 36th TFW.
Basically this is what I think. I didn't spend too much time on this, but I wanted to say my interpretation. Hope u guys like it. -
New Orleans and filmed what became a dramatic and compelling narrative of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a family. As a band, we opted out of being a part of the piece for fear our role might diminish the importance of this video and skew it's reception. What follows is another video we are proud to put our name on.
This cam right off of rise against website. It obviously states that the video is about katrina so the song is prob about katrina. But i definally see how you could think that it was about the BP oil spill
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