The Archer's Bows Are Broken
Brand New Lyrics


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Who do you carry that torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything?
Do you carry it around just to burn things down?

Meet me tonight on the turnpike, my darling
cause we believe in everything
If we sweat all these debts then we're sure to drown
so let's strap ourselves up to this engine now
With our God who we found laying under the back seat

What did you learn tonight?
You're shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You are freezing over hell
You are bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

Oh, order your daughters to ignore me think that will sort me?
and sweep me under the rug
While you're beating with a book everyone that book tells you to love

There is an ember in the heart of the kiln
And it's burning hot with love
Burning out my center till there's nothing but dust
rolling me with care into your cigarette
Cause the God I believe in never worked on a campaign trail

What did you learn tonight?
You're shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You are freezing over hell
You are bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

Who do you carry that torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything?
Do you carry it around just to burn things to the ground?

What did you learn tonight?
You're shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You are freezing over hell
You are bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

[Chorus continues in the background]
Feels like we could escape
and I don't mind throwing away this filthy silver song
If you try running a maze of your lies




It's too hard to save if you've thrown out everyone
Send "The Archer's Bows Have Broken

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Brand New's song The Archer's Bows Are Broken seem to contemplate the idea of belief and motivation. The song opens up with the first question directed toward a young man asking him who he carries the torch for and if he believes in anything. The singer is attempting to understand what drives the young man and if he carries around the torch to merely burn things down. The second stanza of the song meets the young man halfway, as he is invited by the singer to meet on the turnpike, where they both share a belief in everything. They also acknowledge that if they don't deal with their debts, they'll surely drown, so they should strap themselves up to the engine now. The engine seems to be a metaphor for movement and progress. The stanza ends with a reference to God that they found lying under the back seat of the car.


The questioning continues in the third stanza, where the singer asks the young man what he learned tonight since he's shouting so loud that he's a barely joyous, broken thing. The young man's voice is not one that sings, according to the singer, and he is bringing on the end and can only blame himself. The fourth stanza is directed towards someone else who is ordered to ignore the singer and sweep him under the rug. The singer calls out the person's hypocrisy, as they beat everyone with a book that tells them to love. The final stanza brings the song to a close with the singer acknowledging that there is an ember in the heart of the kiln that is burning hot with love. It is burning away at the singer's center until there's nothing left except dust. It's then rolled into a cigarette as a reference to death and being consumed by it. The singer ends the song by saying that the God he believes in never worked on a campaign trail.


Line by Line Meaning

Who do you carry that torch for, my young man?
Who is the one you are fighting for or representing, young man?


Do you believe in anything?
Do you have faith or trust in anything?


Do you carry it around just to burn things down?
Do you hold onto your beliefs just to destroy everything around you?


Meet me tonight on the turnpike, my darling cause we believe in everything
Join me tonight on the highway, my love, because we have unshakeable faith in everything


If we sweat all these debts then we're sure to drown so let's strap ourselves up to this engine now
If we let our debts overwhelm us, we will surely fail, so let's work hard and push forward now


With our God who we found laying under the back seat
With the God we discovered hidden in the back seat


What did you learn tonight?
What knowledge did you gain today?


You're shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You scream so fiercely, but you are barely happy or complete, you are broken.


You're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You never express yourself fully, you hold back and don't sing out loud.


You are freezing over hell, You are bringing on the end, you do so well, You can only blame yourself, it's what I say
Your actions are leading to disaster, and you are responsible for your own downfall, don't blame others.


Oh, order your daughters to ignore me think that will sort me? and sweep me under the rug
You can tell your daughters to disregard me and ignore my existence, but that won't make me go away, you are hiding me.


While you're beating with a book everyone that book tells you to love
You are using the words of a book to justify your harmful actions towards those who are supposed to be loved according to that same book.


There is an ember in the heart of the kiln, And it's burning hot with love, Burning out my center till there's nothing but dust, rolling me with care into your cigarette
There is a strong and passionate fire within me, it's burning and consuming everything until I'm left with nothing but ash, you can roll me up and smoke me like a cigarette.


Cause the God I believe in never worked on a campaign trail
The God I worship is not like a political figure who manipulates people to win or get what they want.


Feels like we could escape and I don't mind throwing away this filthy silver song, If you try running a maze of your lies, It's too hard to save if you've thrown out everyone
It seems like we can break free, and I'm willing to let go of this song, which is beautiful but tainted. If you keep living in a labyrinth of your own falsehoods, it will be hard to recover if you lose everyone who supports you.


The Archer's Bows Are Broken
The forces that once drove us to succeed or achieve have now been shattered.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JESSE LACEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

squörm

Who do you carry the torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything?
Do you carry it around just to burn things down?

Meet me tonight on the turnpike, my darling
cause we believe in everything
If we sweat all these debts then we're sure to drown
So we strap ourselves up to this engine now
with a God that we found, laying under the backseat

What did you learn tonight?
you're shouting so loud you barely enjoy this broken thing
you're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You were freezing over hell
You were bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

Order your daughters to ignore me, think that will sort me
and sweep me under the rug
And a beating with a book everyone
the book tells you to love
There is an ember in the heart of the kiln
And its burning hot with love
Burning out my sins until there's nothing but dust
holding me with care into your cigarette
Cause the God I believe in never worked on a campaign trail

What did you learn tonight?
you're shouting so loud you barely enjoy this broken thing
you're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You were freezing over hell
You were bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

Who do you carry the torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything?
Do you carry it around just to burn things to the ground?

What did you learn tonight?
you're shouting so loud you barely enjoy this broken thing
you're a voice that never sings, is what I say
You were freezing over hell
You were bringing on the end, you do so well
You can only blame yourself, it's what I say

Feels like we could escape this
I might throw it away for fear of the silver sun
If you try running a maze of your lies
It's too hard to save you've thrown out everyone



All comments from YouTube:

Liam Rehders

For me, the best part of this song is at 2:43 when the chorus kicks back in but the drums are different that time, they're playing a heavier, steadier beat. Amazing how a simple drum change can make it sound that much more awesome.

Qextil

was just thinking that.

Cutie Pants

Yep, this is the attention to detail that made Brand New a completely different band compared to other "similar" bands from that era. They are true musicians who care about the overall progression of a song, not just how a verse and chorus sound alone. The drumroll builds such intense tension throughout the song, all releasing in the final dance beat. Can't help but just jump up and down with a smile on your face.


Excellent, excellent music.

paulrichardhammond

The drums on this song are always my favourite part.

Stuart McGregor

Agreed. One of many amazing production decisions on this album. For me, the pace change really takes me back to YFW

RaptureAtomic

Speeding down the road with this song playing in the background is the best feeling when playing Burnout Paradise.

Grilled Stone

@TheDukeRises at least there's a remaster

Ethan S

This song slaps.
I just gun it singing "SO WHAT DID YOU LEARN TONIGHT" while side-swiping other racers

Ariel Feinstein

@Wyrmknight Mal never ran into a wall listening to this but I 100% agree this song coming on while I'm driving always gave me a lead foot

will knetzer

No no no, any burnout 3 players in the group.

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