The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success. The members met and played in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School under the name Pezz and remained underground in Toronto's indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into legal trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewicz's connection with an employee of Warner Music Canada's A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success. Since then, Billy Talent has made three multi-platinum records in Canada and continues to expand their success overseas; this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their third album, Billy Talent III, in 2009, and their fourth album, Dead Silence, in 2012. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour throughout October and November 2012. To commemorate the longevity since the release of their first studio album, the band has released a greatest hits album entitled Hits in 2014. In 2015, they began to prepare material for their fifth studio album. Just before entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk decided to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings was quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuk's studio stand-in, and, in early 2016, the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, which was released in July of that year. The band's most recent album is Crisis of Faith, released in January 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Talent
Studio albums
Billy Talent (2003)
Billy Talent II (2006)
Billy Talent III (2009)
Dead Silence (2012)
Afraid of Heights (2016)
Crisis of Faith (2022)
Nothing To Lose
Billy Talent Lyrics
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All the angels I know put concrete in my veins
I'd always walk home alone
So I became lifeless just like my telephone
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
Never played truth or dare
I'd have to check my mirror to see if I'm still here
My parents had no clue
That I ate all my lunches alone in the bathroom
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
But the days don't seem to change
There's nothing to lose
My notebook will explain
There's nothing to gain
And I can't fight the pain
Teachers said it's just a phase
When I grow up my children will probably do the same
Kids just love to tease
Who'd know it put me underground at seventeen
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
But the days don't seem to change
There's nothing to lose
My notebook will explain
There's nothing to gain
And I can't fight the pain
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
My notebook will explain
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
And I just died today
The lyrics to Billy Talent's song "Nothing To Lose" are a heart-wrenching portrayal of the isolation and loneliness that many individuals experience at some point in their lives. The singer highlights the desperate need for friends who can lift them up, but instead feels weighed down by the negativity of the people around them. They mention the angels they know that "put concrete in [their] veins," highlighting the feeling of being dragged down and held back by those around them.
The singer goes on to mention how they often walk home alone and feel lifeless, like their telephone. They've never played "truth or dare" or feel tethered to their own existence, needing to check their reflection to confirm they're still present. They even mention eating lunch alone in the bathroom at school, highlighting a sense of deep-seated shame and of not belonging.
The chorus of the song repeats the lines, "There's nothing to lose when no one knows your name, there's nothing to gain but the days don't seem to change." The singer feels trapped in their own existence, where nothing seems to have any meaning. They feel like they have nothing to lose, but nothing to gain either, and the days drag on, feeling interminable. They mention their notebook as a source of solace or explanation, suggesting that they may be writing about their experiences and feelings or perhaps using art or creativity as an outlet. The final line of the song, "I just died today," suggests a deep despair and sense of hopelessness for the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Need more friends with wings
I wish I had more angelic friends to help me through life's struggles
All the angels I know put concrete in my veins
Despite wanting angelic friends, the people around me seem to be bringing me down and making me feel trapped
I'd always walk home alone
I have no one to turn to or confide in, especially after a long and difficult day
So I became lifeless, just like my telephone
The isolation and loneliness has left me feeling empty and disconnected from the world, just like the inanimate object of my phone
There's nothing to lose
When no one knows your name
There's nothing to gain
But the days don't seem to change
Being invisible to the world makes it seem like there's nothing to look forward to, since the days all blend together with no one to share them with
Never played truth or dare
I'd have to check my mirror to see if I'm still here
I never got a chance to have fun or take risks with others, and now I struggle to feel like I even exist without looking at myself in the mirror
My parents had no clue
That I ate all my lunches alone in the bathroom
Even the people closest to me are unaware of how alone and isolated I really am, as I hide it from them by withdrawing completely
My notebook will explain
And I can't fight the pain
The only way to express my feelings and cope with the emotional pain is through writing, but it doesn't make the pain any less real
Teachers said it's just a phase
When I grow up my children will probably do the same
My struggles are often dismissed as just a temporary phase of adolescence, but I fear that the same fate will befall my future children
Kids just love to tease
Who'd know it put me underground at seventeen
The bullying and teasing I experienced growing up had a profound and lasting impact on my mental health, culminating in my current feelings of despair and isolation
And I just died today
The feeling of being invisible and alone has finally become too much to bear, and I feel like I am no longer alive in any meaningful sense
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Aaron Solowoniuk, Ben Kowalewicz, Ian D'sa, Jon Gallant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind