Sooner or Later
Breaking Benjamin Lyrics
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Just like a newborn child
I am a lover-hater
I am an instigator
You are an oversight
Don't try to compromise
I learn to love to hate it
I am not integrated
Just call my name
You'll be okay
Your scream is burning through my veins
Sooner or later
You're gonna hate it
Go ahead and throw your life away
Driving me under
Leaving me out there
Go ahead and throw your life away
You're like an infantile
I knew it all the while
You sit and try to play me
Just like you see on TV
I am an oversight
Just like a parasite
Why am I so pathetic
I know you won't forget it
Just call my name
You'll be okay
Your scream is burning through my veins
Sooner or later
You're gonna hate it
Go ahead and throw my life away
Driving me under
Leaving me out there
Go ahead and throw my life away
Sooner or later
You're gonna hate it
Go ahead and throw our life away
Driving me under
Leaving me out there
Go ahead and throw our life away
Throw our life away
Throw our life away
The lyrics of Breaking Benjamin’s Sooner or Later are open to interpretation, but at its core, the song seems to be about dysfunction and toxic relationships. The singer wants a normal life, like a “newborn child,” but they can’t have it because they are a “lover-hater” and an “instigator.” They are not integrated and struggle to understand themselves or their place in the world. On the other side of this relationship is someone who is an “oversight” trying to compromise, but the singer doesn’t want that either. They learn to love to hate, and although they recognize how pathetic they are, they keep going and can’t seem to let go.
The chorus emphasizes the inevitability of this downward spiral, with the person eventually hating their life and throwing it away. The singer feels pushed under, left out there, and ultimately, their life is thrown away. The bridge emphasizes the infantilization of the relationship, with the other person trying to play the singer like they’ve seen on TV. It all contributes to this toxic dynamic where both parties are unhappy and don’t seem to know how to get out.
Line by Line Meaning
I want a normal life
I desire an ordinary, uneventful life
Just like a newborn child
Similar to the way newborns live an uncomplicated life
I am a lover-hater
I vacillate between loving and hating things/people
I am an instigator
I am someone who provokes or starts conflicts
You are an oversight
You have been neglected or overlooked
Don't try to compromise
Do not attempt to find a mutually agreeable solution
I learn to love to hate it
I have come to enjoy hating or disliking something
I am not integrated
I feel disconnected or out of place
Just call my name
Simply summon me
You'll be okay
You'll survive
Your scream is burning through my veins
Your scream affects me deeply
Sooner or later
Eventually
You're gonna hate it
You will come to dislike it
Go ahead and throw your life away
Disregard and waste your existence
Driving me under
Pushing me down
Leaving me out there
Abandoning me
You're like an infantile
You behave like a child
I knew it all the while
I suspected this all along
You sit and try to play me
You attempt to manipulate me
Just like you see on TV
Like you've seen on television
Just like a parasite
Similar to a creature that feeds off of others
Why am I so pathetic
Why am I so pitiful or contemptible
I know you won't forget it
I am aware that you will remember
Go ahead and throw my life away
Disregard and waste my existence
Go ahead and throw our life away
Disregard and waste our existence
Throw our life away
Waste our lives
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Walt Disney Music Company, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BENJAMIN BURNLEY, AARON FINCKE, JEREMY HUMMEL, MARK JAMES KLEPASKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind