Do you know what were fighting for green day

Do you know what's worth fighting for When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating? Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside? You're in ruins One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone When it's time to live and let die And you can't get another try Something inside this heart has died You're in ruins One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I

Lyrics submitted by bfg1024, edited by otislover

21 Guns Lyrics as written by Mike Dirnt Billie Joe Armstrong

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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anonymous Oct 31st 2009 report

"Do you know what's worth fighting for, When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating?" First two lines are pretty self explanatory. do you kow what's important to you, even if it isn't worth dying or? "Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside? You're in ruins" You're in pain, but you're just too proud to get help, so you're hiding your emotions. You're in pain or "ruis" becau you've lost someone very important to you. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" This to me is like... Someone is trying to deal with pain by themselves, and thi other person is knd of sying "give up on pushing people away and just let me help you through this" "When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul" This person is feling really lost and hurt, and thinking about what happened and analyzing things is making everything worse. "Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins" Maybe they're losing their faith in love or "forever" ("Nothing's ever built to last") or even god because of what happened. Secnnd line, the pain isn't get any better. They're in ruins. "Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone" they're trying to do things on their own and still trying to deal with eveything by themselves, and they're taking it to an extreme by not letting anyone in ("Did you stand too close to the fire")And they just can't do it alone, like you can't get forgiveness from a stone. "When it's time to live and let die And you can't get another try Something inside this heart has died You're in ruins" They're realizing that they can't get that person back and they have to move on and continue living their life, but soemthing is missing in their heart, and it's never going to heal; they're never going to be quite the same. They're going to continue to be in rins for a long time, ut they know they have to move on some time. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" Then I think when this is repeated at the end, the person is realizing they need help, and they need to stop fighting people who want to help and ind a new way to mourn their loss, mabe with someone who was also close to the deceased.

And I think taken into the context of the album it's about Christian losing Gloria.

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I wrote about this song in a paper I wrote for English about how environment impacts identity, so I looked at it in a way to fit that, and it ended up meking me think it's a legit meaning. Here you go, straight from my paper:

“21 Guns” by Green Day is about domestic abuse. Knowing the background of the singer, it is easier to tell the full impact of this song, other than a nice melody. The opening two stanzas talk about the fight and flight of living with domestic abuse. “Do you know what’s worth fighting for?” (1). Petty arguments, bills, dinner; the treasures of kids, family, friendship. “When it’s not worth dying for?” (2). Fighting for freedom, equality, choice. “Does it take your breath away/ And you feel yourself suffocating?/ Does the pain weigh out the pride?” (3-5). See the bruises, cuts, and scrapes of the bloody face lying on the floor. “And you look for a place to hide?/ Did someone break your heart inside?/ You’re in ruins.” (6-8) The little kid is peering out from under the bed, watching his mom and dad’s feet move about the room as they yell and scream. The middle two stanzas talk about the pain of waiting, of trying to just make it through from fight to fight, if only just to be able to see the sky one more time. “Your faith walks on broken glass/ And the hangover doesn’t pass/ Nothing’s ever built to last.” (17-19). People tip toe around, always on the edge, always ready to run and hide. The last two stanzas talk about how the victims of domestic abuse are broken by it – literally, if souls and spirits were tangible things, they would be in shards on the ground – and how when they finally get away from it, when they finally find a way out, they end up going back to it because it is all they know. “When it’s time to live and let die/ And you can’t get another try/ Something inside this head has died/ You’re in ruins.” (29-32). The chorus is the call for peace, the call for an end, the call for mercy, if nothing else. A twenty-one gun salute is a sign of surrender. “Lay down your arms, give up the fight… 21 guns/ Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I.” (38-40). Let there be surrender, no more fighting, just “you and I,” here, together. Armstrong is speaking out, not only about the ongoing domestic abuse that is happening today, but also about what happened in his home when he was a child. The experiences have gone, and the memories have lost some of their sting, but the events changed him as surely as they continue to affect others today.

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anonymous Nov 13th 2010 report

After having just watched the music video for "21 Guns", I don't think the song references Gloria's death anymore. The video shows Christian and Gloria in a room being peppered with bullets from the outside, ruining the room and putting a hole in a fish tank, which slowly empties out... but at the end of the video, we get a look inside the empty fish tank, and see the one fish inside a mason jar, still full of water, as Christian and Gloria embrace. It seems to me that this song can be seen in the context of the one line from "Song of the Century" - "of winning the war and losing the fight". Christian and Gloria have fought, each in their own way, and they lost... but life carries on. In most tragedies, we know that the protagonists have lost when they die, but in the real world it doesn't always work like that. You fight, you lose everything you stood for, and from that point, you have to carry on with what you do have. Christian and Gloria have lost their cause, and lost their desire to fight for it, but in the end, they still have each other. It's not much, given what's happened between them, but it's something.

Of course, given the next track "American Eulogy", it's still not a happy ending.

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anonymous Apr 14th 2010 report

as a US Marine, and dont get me wrong there's many ways this song can be heard, its all up to the individual... but it has a strong meaning to me as well as many others i serve with. i dont know many people who believe the war we're on right now is right, Marines and other people in the service, we're just doing what we're told. a lot of us signed up because we believe in protecting this country when needed and coming to aid others as well. but when its a conflict over something so senseless, its not worth dying for, and we see and hear about our brothers and sisters being killed for something we dont believe in every day. the pain this can cause, and the things that pain can do to you physically and mentally are terrible to witness or feel. to me, this song conveys that pain, and pleas for it to come to an end, as far as individuals and worldwide.

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PALENTIR Nov 7th 2009 report

How old are you guys? Very few of you really know what this song is about. No - it's not about Bush and war. Yes - in the context of the album it is about Christian and Gloria. In general, relating the rest of us, it is about the end of a long term relationship - most likely divorce. "Do you know what's worth fighting for, When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating?" Your relationship is worth fighting for, but when it fails it is not the end - you feel crushed, but suicide is not the answer. When you realize it's over it hurts so bad that you can barely breath. "Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside? You're in ruins" It hurts so much that you will break down in front of people - that's how diminished you're sense of pride has become, but you're still in enough control that you will seek some privacy. You are emotionally and sometimes physically destroyed (not abused - stress can make you sick) - you're in ruins. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" The "one" can have several interpretations: * square one - starting over * refering to the saying "a brave man faces one death, a coward faces many" and a call to face what is in front of you * one united 21 gun salute - you both agree it's over 21 guns - the only thing everyone gets right: It's the 21 gun salute of respect to the memory of something that was truely exceptional but is now gone. Lay down your guns, give up the fight - it's over, it's time to stop fighting and move on. Throw up your arms into the sky - surrender to the fact that it's over otherwise you will never heal. You and I - if you don't both give up the fight and surrender then the nightmare will continue. "When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul" When you realize it is all over and beyond your control, you think about all of the time and energy that went into the relationship that now seems wasted. You consciously make the decision that the relationship must end and it tears your soul apart. "Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins" Your faith in love and the human spirit has been shredded - it leaves a fog in your brain like a hangover. Even something with the strong foundation of your relationship couldn't last - you're in ruins. "Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone" Did you drift apart and start finding your identity again and leave your partner behind? Did it tear apart your relationship and make your home an unwelcome place? Did you stand there in the heat of things trying to fix it when your partner said they didn't know you anymore - and what's more - they didn't want to. Did you make promises you couldn't keep (liar) to someone who was no longer listening to you (stone) in an attempt to save it? "When it's time to live and let die And you can't get another try Something inside this heart has died You're in ruins" It's time to let the relationship go and move on, but you can't because your heart doesn't want to be vulnerable again - you're still broken - you're in ruins. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" This song has very good lyrics with very strong imagery, but it takes life experience to really see and feel it.

The lyrics and the music match so well that it's no wonder the song is so popular.

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anonymous Oct 9th 2009 report

Read the poem below written about the Great War. It was written by Wilfred Owen and has similar themes to "21 Guns," written almost 100 years previously. War was no good back then; it is no good now. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares2 we turned our backs And towards our distant rest3 began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots4 Of tired, outstripped5 Five-Nines6 that dropped behind. Gas!7 Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets8 just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime9 . . . Dim, through the misty panes10 and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering,11 choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud12 Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest13 To children ardent14 for some desperate glory, The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori

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Shelly Jul 6th 2009 report

"Do you know what's worth fighting for, When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating? Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside? You're in ruins" Because the album 21st Century Breakdown is a somewhat concept album, (to do with the story of Christian and Gloria, stuck living in the days of Bush) I think this part is referring to Gloria going through a break-up. She's in so much pain right now, which is clear from the 1st verse. Also, it seems that because of the pain, she's kind of cut herself off from the world. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" The chorus seems to refer to the 21-gun salute when someone dies in the line of duty... I'm thinking Gloria dies. Keeping in mind that this is the chorus, and probably isn't the chronological point where she dies. "When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins" Here, they're talking about hopelessness, uncertainty, and the ever-present pain. "One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I" Here, the chorus seems to have another significance, maybe it went over my head before but the obvious call for peace. Of course, not many like Christian would actually see the devastating effects of war unless it affects them directly, in the case of Gloria, who he fell in love with at some point, dying. "Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone" Here's a dose of cynicism for you... Christian talking about Gloria hurting herself unintentionally while searching for salvation. "When it's time to live and let die And you can't get another try Something inside this heart has died You're in ruins" I think he's talking about himself here... line one, coming to terms with Gloria's death, line two, pretty self-explanatory: life offers no second chances--like a quarter, you can spend it any way you like, but it's not much and you can only spend it once, line three and four, he's feeling the pain over Gloria's death... He's in ruins. One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky One, 21 guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, 21 guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I

And the call for peace... definitely related to the war in Iraq, in my opinion.