AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, The Art of Drowning (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, Sing the Sorrow (2003), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. The album was supported by popular singles "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold", both of which peaked at number seven on America's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2003. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also released as a single, reaching number 16 on the chart. Sing the Sorrow was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2006 and is AFI's best-selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies as of September 2009.
AFI's seventh album, Decemberunderground (2006), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the hit single "Miss Murder", which topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Love Like Winter", reached number four on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2013.[6] Decemberunderground was followed three years later by Crash Love (2009), and then four years later by Burials (2013); both albums were also successful, peaking at number twelve and number nine, respectively, on the Billboard 200. The band's tenth and latest album, AFI (The Blood Album), was released in 2017, and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it their second-highest chart position.
Heart Stops
AFI Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just left me in ribbons
With my heart sliced carefully
You wear it like a cheerful bow
There's a light that you now adore
But the bringer is cast down
I have never been before
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
You were my first faith, made of lies like all the others
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
I found my last light but it died like all the others (all the others)
Oh, my painful fatal flaw
May your cruelty find you
May the scars you left in me
Dig into you twice as deep
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
You were my first faith, made of lies like all the others
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
I found my last light but it died like all the others
I know you'll look away while I'm crying
I know you'll wear that bow with a smile
Everything I gave you, it was wasted
Love further down, adore that denial
I stopped feeling numb, now I have to be
Because I trusted you I cannot trust another
Heart stops beating, what was brutality?
You were my last light so I'll die like all the others
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
You were my first faith, made of lies like all the others, all the others
The song Heart Stops by AFI is a melancholic reflection of heartbreak and betrayal. The opening lines, "Oh, my pretty precious stone, Just left me in ribbons, With my heart sliced carefully, You wear it like a cheerful bow" conveys the idea of how the one he loved was his prized possession, but she shattered him into pieces and wore his heartbreak as a symbol of her happiness. The lyrics evoke a sense of sadness at the loss of something precious and loved.
The singer then goes on to talk about how the person he loved has found a new light, but it is a destructive one. "There's a light that you now adore, But the bringer is cast down, I have never been before, So unhappy in my whole life." He is unhappy, and the person who brought light into his life has cast him into darkness. The chorus "Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day, You were my first faith, made of lies like all the others" depicts the realization that the love he believed in was nothing more than a web of lies.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how he wants his partner to feel the pain that he has gone through. "Oh, my painful fatal flaw, May your cruelty find you, May the scars you left in me, Dig into you twice as deep." This shows the anger and resentment that the singer holds towards his partner. The line "I found my last light but it died like all the others" shows the singer has found new hope, but it is hopeless because it is just another heartbreak.
The bridge of the song "I know you'll look away while I'm crying, I know you'll wear that bow with a smile, Everything I gave you, it was wasted, Love further down, adore that denial" portrays the hopelessness of the situation. Finally, at the end of the song, the last line of the chorus "You were my last light, so I'll die like all the others, all the others" shows that the singer has given up on finding true love because he has been repeatedly heartbroken.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, my pretty precious stone
Addressing the person who was once loved as someone valuable and rare.
Just left me in ribbons
Abandoning the singer in misery and disarray.
With my heart sliced carefully
Leaving the singer brokenhearted, with great care and attention having been paid to their emotional pain.
You wear it like a cheerful bow
Describing the person who hurt the artist as flaunting their ability to cause pain with happiness.
There's a light that you now adore
Talking about the person moving on to something else they are obsessed with.
But the bringer is cast down
Suggesting the thing or person that the person now loves is cursed or fallen.
I have never been before
Indicating the singer has never felt such unhappiness before.
So unhappy in my whole life
Suffering through an unprecedented level of misery.
Heart stops beating, beat like a brutal day
Comparing the artist's heart stopping to experiencing a harsh and cruel day.
You were my first faith, made of lies like all the others
Describing the person who hurt the artist as an untrustworthy figure that betrayed their initial belief and hope.
I found my last light but it died like all the others (all the others)
Referring to the last hope or source of happiness as something that eventually betrayed and left the singer like everything else.
Oh, my painful fatal flaw
Calling out the artist's own imperfection that allowed them to be hurt.
May your cruelty find you
Wishing for the person who caused the hurt to suffer the same fate or even worse.
May the scars you left in me
Referring to the emotional wounds left by the person who hurt the singer.
Dig into you twice as deep
Hope for the pain the person caused to come back to them with even greater magnitude.
I know you'll look away while I'm crying
Expecting the person who hurt the artist to ignore or avoid the artist's pain.
I know you'll wear that bow with a smile
Expecting the hurtful person to continue flaunting their ability to cause pain.
Everything I gave you, it was wasted
Feeling as though everything the singer gave or did for the person who hurt them was in vain.
Love further down, adore that denial
Suggesting that the singer will move on to love someone else, but still be attached to the rejection and denial.
I stopped feeling numb, now I have to be
After finally feeling something, the artist now has to keep it under control.
Because I trusted you I cannot trust another
Having lost trust in the person who betrayed them, the artist now cannot trust anyone else.
Heart stops beating, what was brutality?
Questioning what could be more brutal than experiencing one's heart stop due to emotional pain.
You were my last light so I'll die like all the others
Referring to the person who hurt the singer as the last hope or source of happiness, and that without them, the singer will suffer the same fate as they did with everyone else.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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