In 2013, Architects parted with Century Media, self-releasing the documentary One Hundred Days: The Story of Architects Almost World Tour and joining Epitaph Records. They released their sixth album Lost Forever // Lost Together through the label in 2014, achieving widespread critical acclaim which has lasted since. Soon after the release of their follow-up All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us in 2016, principal guitarist and songwriter Tom Searle died after three years of living with skin cancer. In September 2017, the band released the single "Doomsday"—the last song that he was working on before his death—and announced Josh Middleton of Sylosis as their new lead guitarist. The single is included on their new album Holy Hell, which was released in November 2018 and is their first written without Searle.
All members of the band are vegan, having turned to veganism after watching several documentaries on the subject. They also promote the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, with Carter being one of its British ambassadors.
2) Architects was a screamo/emo-violence band brought up with members of Austin, Texas' own Toru Okada. Now known as the band Faithealer. Members went on to form, join or were in Body Pressure, Esclavo, Mindless, Askela, Hatred Surge, Chest Pain, Breathing Problem, Captive, Concave / Convex, Country Club, Interior One, Mental Abortion, The Snobs, Total Abuse and White Dog.
3) Architects (also ArchitectsKCMO) is also the name used by a Kansas City Soul Rock band who've released 4 albums (Keys To The Building 2005, Revenge 2006, Vice 2007 and The Hard Way 2009). They were formed from the ashes of Hellcat Records (and later Thick Records) Ska/Pop/Rock band The Gadjits. The Architects sound is a mature version of the later Gadjits material, dropping all ska influence for a Springsteen & The Who sounding rock approach. They are currently signed to Skeleton Crew Records.
Even If You Win You're Still A Rat
Architects Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Check the clock and stand in line.
Hibernate, till your life's passed you by.
Please stop living like you're waiting to die.
Keep up, keep up,
Don't get left behind
Don't slip up, slip up
They don't want you believing
That your life deserves a meaning.
Weary souls, trying to forget.
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt.
What a feeling, built to break,
Happiness with an expiry date.
Please stop living like you're waiting to die.
Stitched into our lives
Drained until we expire.
Weary soul's trying to forget
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt.
Keep two eyes on that intangible finish line.
In this race we're all reduced to vermin.
The song Even If You Win You're Still a Rat by Architects is a commentary on the monotonous and meaningless lifestyles of people who are solely focused on the pursuit of success and material possessions. The opening lines "Your life is ending one minute at a time, check the clock and stand in line" sets the tone for the song, emphasizing the societal pressure of time and the rat race we're all trying to keep up with. The lyrics advise to stop living life like it's a waiting room until we pass away.
The next few lines suggest that society is constantly urging individuals to keep up the pace, not to slip up, and catch up to the elusive finish line, which generates an overall race like atmosphere. However, it is countered with the lyrics, "They don't want you believing that your life deserves a meaning," indicating that society has an interest in keeping people distracted from their true dreams and aspirations, instead placing value on consumerism.
The song then discusses how human life is a fleeting experience plagued with an expiration date, much like happiness itself. The chorus emphasizes that humans are reduced to nothing more than puppets with a lifetime debt, manipulated by society to take part in the race to the finish line. The final line of the song, "In this race we're all reduced to vermin," suggests that in the rat race to achieve success and materialism, people are diminished to mere pests.
Line by Line Meaning
Your life is ending one minute at a time
Every minute passing means we are getting closer to our deaths.
Check the clock and stand in line.
We follow a routine, like robots, according to the constraints of time.
Hibernate, till your life's passed you by.
Spending life in lethargy leads to missing out on its opportunities and joys.
Please stop living like you're waiting to die.
Make the most of life instead of just surviving it, for it is temporary.
Keep up, keep up,
Be competitive and strive for success.
Don't get left behind
Don't lag behind in the rat race to attain success.
Don't slip up, slip up
Even a minor mistake could cost us our success.
Chase that finish line
Keep working hard to achieve success, which is the ultimate goal.
They don't want you believing
Society discourages us from developing our own purpose for life.
That your life deserves a meaning.
We must have our unique reasons or goals to live a fulfilling life.
Weary souls, trying to forget.
Tired individuals struggling to avoid thinking about the inevitability of death.
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt.
We owe everyone for helping and guiding us, and must repay our debts before dying.
What a feeling, built to break,
The feeling of happiness, often keeps us complacent, despite its brief duration.
Happiness with an expiry date.
Happiness may be temporary with an uncertain expiry, making it even more precious.
Stitched into our lives
We accept and embrace life the way it is and the way it will be.
Drained until we expire.
Working tirelessly for success leaves us drained and exhausted.
Keep two eyes on that intangible finish line.
Stay focused on our ultimate goals or purpose.
In this race we're all reduced to vermin.
We all are insignificant creatures trying to make it big in the rat race of life.
Contributed by Leah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@wessteyrn7746
+Bearolus In case you're still looking for the answer, I can help you.
"I'm all for having a successful life, but what's the point when it's all for someone with more money than you, and a "better standing" by social standards. You'll always be a rat no matter how hard you try in life. What'll it take to change that? Will it ever change? Doubtful, but only time will tell, and time is all that can tell."
No, you are a rat if your life is about winning a meaningless race, meaning exactly what you wrote. being successful, having more money or trying too hard for these things that don't really matter. I think what they were trying to pass with the song is "live a happy life and focus on the right race instead of jumping onto the one the world is trying to make you think is the right one, cause once you realise you won the wrong race, it might be too late". I think very few people realise it.
Just to give you a quick example: A lot of people hate on Bring me the horizon for changing their sound and becoming really soft, saying they sold out and they are just trash now. Put yourself in their place. if You just wanted to "win the race", you would have made another album that sounds like Sempiternal/Suicide Season and everybody would be happy. There, you are successful, make everyone happy and "win" the race. But they said several times that they don't enjoy heavy music that much anymore, that they just want to try new things. Which means that they find their happiness in making this new soft type of music. Luckily a lot more of people relate to that and they're one of the biggest bands out there to date. You see, they might have not won the race (which to a lot is about making heavy albums after heavy albums) but they are happy and enjoying their life just the way it is. They are not rats. The real rats are the ones who win a a race just to please others without actually knowing why they ran the race.
Live your life the way it makes you happy, but make sure you are winning the right race. Don't get distracted by becoming the richest man on earth or how many girls you can sleep with (you're still a teenager haha) orhow many Instagram followers you have or how many people you can impress in life...These are meaningless races that the world nowadays makes look like the ones you must win. Focus on what really matters to you and win it, make sure you use each second of your life to the fullest cause YOUR LIFE IS ENDING ONE MINUTE AT A TIME.
Sorry for the long and late reply, hope that helped after all ;)
@ivankostadinov5924
Your life is ending one minute at a time
Check the clock and stand in line
Hibernate till your, till your life's passed you by
Please stop living like you're waiting to die
Keep up, keep up, don't get left behind
Don't slip up, slip up, chase that finish line
They don't want you believing
That your life deserves a meaning
Weary souls, trying to forget
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt
What a feeling, built to break
Happiness with an expiry date
Please, stop living like you're waiting to die
Please, stop living like you're waiting to die
Stitched into our lives, drained until we expire
Weary souls trying to forget
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt
We're all weary souls, trying to forget
Keep two eyes on that intangible finish line
In this race, we're all reduced to vermin
Keep two eyes on that intangible finish line
In this race, we're all reduced, we're all reduced to vermin
Stitched into our lives, drained until we expire
Your life is ending one minute at a time
Weary souls, trying to forget
That we're all puppets with a lifetime debt.
@Tricksncrafts
"Even if you win, you're still a rat" - So very true. You win meaning, even if you achieve in life, e.g. get a degree, have a healthy family and live a well and full life, you're still a rat to the higher power.
@dogorman94
Dan Johnson dude, check out architects' last two albums if you want; they're packed with meaning. There's nothing generic about these guys, they're legit. Also these lyric videos they make really help to hammer their point home.
@tyrairvine6984
We all have the same graves
@wessteyrn7746
+Bearolus In case you're still looking for the answer, I can help you.
"I'm all for having a successful life, but what's the point when it's all for someone with more money than you, and a "better standing" by social standards. You'll always be a rat no matter how hard you try in life. What'll it take to change that? Will it ever change? Doubtful, but only time will tell, and time is all that can tell."
No, you are a rat if your life is about winning a meaningless race, meaning exactly what you wrote. being successful, having more money or trying too hard for these things that don't really matter. I think what they were trying to pass with the song is "live a happy life and focus on the right race instead of jumping onto the one the world is trying to make you think is the right one, cause once you realise you won the wrong race, it might be too late". I think very few people realise it.
Just to give you a quick example: A lot of people hate on Bring me the horizon for changing their sound and becoming really soft, saying they sold out and they are just trash now. Put yourself in their place. if You just wanted to "win the race", you would have made another album that sounds like Sempiternal/Suicide Season and everybody would be happy. There, you are successful, make everyone happy and "win" the race. But they said several times that they don't enjoy heavy music that much anymore, that they just want to try new things. Which means that they find their happiness in making this new soft type of music. Luckily a lot more of people relate to that and they're one of the biggest bands out there to date. You see, they might have not won the race (which to a lot is about making heavy albums after heavy albums) but they are happy and enjoying their life just the way it is. They are not rats. The real rats are the ones who win a a race just to please others without actually knowing why they ran the race.
Live your life the way it makes you happy, but make sure you are winning the right race. Don't get distracted by becoming the richest man on earth or how many girls you can sleep with (you're still a teenager haha) orhow many Instagram followers you have or how many people you can impress in life...These are meaningless races that the world nowadays makes look like the ones you must win. Focus on what really matters to you and win it, make sure you use each second of your life to the fullest cause YOUR LIFE IS ENDING ONE MINUTE AT A TIME.
Sorry for the long and late reply, hope that helped after all ;)
@havoren
+dogorman94
I wouldn’t say that there’s NOTHING generic about these guys. They’re pretty good but in NO way are they completely original. They’re no Asking Alexandria either but they’re basically in between the generic and unique path along with many other bands like Northlane or ERRA.
@heineagle2314
This is happening in the Philippines now, the elected president has no degree and a son of a former dictator. We're dead meat.
@inchaoswearereborn9586
Possibly the most powerful lyrics of any song. Really hits home for us in the states.
@JayBadloss1989
Especially right now in 2021
@jonerbonerlol
Jay Goodwin fr
@D0wNF4LLofficial
Hits home for every one who has been born into the capitalist machine. You're not alone.