Donegan didn't approach Fight Or Flight with a concrete plan. Instead, he allowed the music to arrive naturally, and that's exactly why it feels so alive and authentic. There wasn't a big social media reveal. He didn't even tell the record label or his management that he was writing songs. Rather, he picked up a guitar and held nothing back and started his collaboration with Chandler.
"After a few months home, I was going through withdrawals from the road," he laughs. "I actually met Dan Chandler online in 2011. I requested him on Facebook because I'm a fan of Evans Blue. I watched them at Rock on the Range that same year, and he sounded incredible. We had spoken about collaborating in passing that day, but I didn’t think much of it until Disturbed decided to go on a hiatus.”
They began sending each other songs back and forth via email and meeting in person anytime Chandler was in the Chicago area. Chandler had a bunch of unfinished ideas and was looking for an outlet to express those ideas. Donegan said,” We didn’t have a plan for it, we just wanted to write together, there was no discussion of the direction, we just let it happen naturally.” Soon, they had a bulk of material, so Donegan suggested getting his "Disturbed brother of over twenty years," drummer Mike Wengren and record the material properly. That proved to be a no-brainer for the spot behind the kit. Although there’s some trademark things in the way Mike and I play, when you add another writer and new voice with Chandler, it's going to be different." It's got edgy moments, but there's more melody across the board. We had the chance to experiment as well. There are acoustic guitars and some electronics even. Together, they cut fourteen hypnotic and hard-hitting songs fortified by Donegan's trademark riffing, Chandler's melodic sensibility and vocal harmonies and another solid foundation laid by Wengren.
“Still at this point, no one at the label was aware what we were doing, Donegan added. We still weren’t sure what this meant other than we had songs that we were proud of and a new creative direction.” Once the recording process was complete, they found themselves going to their manager and the Record Label for the first time with a finished album. It was at this point that they realized that their creation has come to life and was time to round out the band lineup. They turned to Ra's Sean Corcoran [bass, backing vocals] from the Boston area and Jeremy Jayson [guitar, backing vocals] a well-respected local staple in the Milwaukee music scene. When Donegan was invited by Wengren a few years back to see Jayson’s original unsigned band he knew this kid had something. He left that night thinking if Jeremy never gets his break with this band than he’d keep him in the back of his mind if another band was ever in need. “Little did I know that the band would be us years later”, Donegan laughs. We had met Sean nearly 10 years ago and he stood out to me on what a great player he was. When Donegan started reaching out to a few close friends to ask if they news of any great bass players that could sing, Sean’s name came up again. The call was made and a trip to Boston happened shortly after. “I already knew he had the talent, this was a trip for all of us to hang and be bros. before we would even play together.”
Everything kicks off with the stomping first single, "First of the Last." It's an energetic anthem that's meant to be cranked as loudly as possible. He goes on, "It's one of the more driving tracks on the record, and it's got my signature style. Lyrically, it's more cryptic. Dan and I spent a lot of time discussing conspiracy theories, and those conversations inspired the song."
Elsewhere, there's the heartfelt acoustic ballad "Leaving." The song builds from faint strumming into a powerful chorus paying tribute to troops coming home. "We've always been pro-military," affirms Donegan. "I really like the message. It basically talks about troops returning after war. Those memories stay with them so the song ponders how they come back to normal life after their experiences."
Meanwhile, they plucked the album title (Is Life By Design?) from the first line of the hulking slow burn "A Void." The guitarist continues, "Is life by our own design or is someone else designing our lives for us? That's the question. Do the billionaires and secret societies make the real decisions or do we? Is there a bigger agenda that someone may be laying out the design for your life? It was fun to explore that idea. We wonder that sometimes."
However, regardless of who pulls the strings, everybody has the ability to make certain choices. That idea stands encapsulated in the group's very moniker. "My wife said Fight Or Flight one day, and the phrase jumped out at me," Donegan remembers. "A few days later, I was watching an episode of Dexter, and he said it too! After hearing it twice in one week, it just made sense. I like the meaning behind it. It's the body's response when you're backed into a corner. It's about how you respond when you're threatened. You can cower or stand up and fight." Us, like most musicians also know what it’s like to fight and have to break down walls to try and survive in what could be a very difficult road to travel. But when you have that fight and passion in you, there’s no giving up.
We never backed away from a challenge or obstacle, and Fight Or Flight is a testament to that. "We wanted to do something that would be different enough from Disturbed and make the best effort to keep them separate from each other," Donegan concludes. "You can't worry about pleasing everybody. There were no expectations or rules. We did what we wanted, and this is the outcome. We have the hunger to go out there and prove ourselves again. This isn't a one-time deal. Mike and I have two things in our lives now. This is the next chapter."
It's Over
Fight or Flight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And even though I tried to hide the pain.
You're pure evil inside, it's so hard to make you happy,
You make it look easy to walk away
You're a waste of time and space
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving,
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
I'm starting a new life, and I won't stay another day
We've wasted enough time and now I'm done
I'm seeing from your lines
I'm not blind to all you have made
A terrible inside, I'll find a way
You're a waste of time and space.
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Determined to live life, was blind to all you gave me
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me, you always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
The Fight or Flight song "It's Over" is a powerful anthem about finding the strength to walk away from a toxic relationship. The lyrics describe a partner who has become a burden on the singer, with their faults consuming them like a cancer. Despite the singer's efforts to hide their pain, their partner's pure evil nature has made it impossible to make them happy. The partner's behavior is so unbearable that the singer sees them as a waste of time and space.
The chorus describes the singer's decision to leave the toxic relationship behind and start a new life. The weight of the world is no longer on them now that they've broken free. The partner is struggling with the realization that they were wrong about the singer always staying, but it's too late. The singer is determined to live their life to the fullest and won't waste another day on this toxic relationship.
The final line of the song, "always thought I would stay, you were wrong and now I'm gone," is incredibly empowering. It shows that the singer has found the strength to leave behind a relationship that was draining them, and now they're free to live their life on their terms.
Overall, the lyrics to "It's Over" are a powerful reminder of the importance of walking away from toxic relationships, even if it means starting over.
Line by Line Meaning
This beating me inside, your faults became a cancer
I can't take it anymore. Your actions have affected me deeply, like a cancerous growth.
And even though I tried to hide the pain
Despite my efforts to conceal the hurt from your actions, it just hurt more.
You're pure evil inside, it's so hard to make you happy
You have a wickedness within you that makes it impossible for me to make you happy.
You make it look easy to walk away
You act like walking away from me is easy, but it's not.
You're a waste of time and space
I have no use for you. You are a waste of time and energy.
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Now that I'm leaving, you're realizing the consequences and it's hard for you to accept.
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
You were so convinced that I would never leave, that you never considered the possibility of being wrong, until it happened.
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
I feel lighter, like a burden has been lifted, now that I've left you.
You always thought I would stay
You had this idea in your head that I would never leave you.
It's over, it's over
Our relationship is done, it's finished.
I'm starting a new life, and I won't stay another day
I'm moving on, starting fresh, and I have no plans to come back.
We've wasted enough time and now I'm done
Our time together has been pointless and it's time to call it quits.
I'm seeing from your lines
I'm able to sense the negative things about you and your actions.
I'm not blind to all you have made
I'm not ignorant to how you've hurt me and caused turmoil in our relationship.
A terrible inside, I'll find a way
Even though you have an awful personality, I'll find a way to move on.
Always thought I would stay
You believed I would always be there, but that wasn't the case.
You were wrong and now I'm gone
Your beliefs were incorrect and I'm no longer a part of your life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAN DONEGAN, DANIEL CHANDLER, MIKE WENGREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SplitLocked01
Lyrics:
This beating me inside, your faults became a cancer
And even though I tried to hide the pain.
You're pure evil inside, it's so hard to make you happy,
You make it look easy to walk away
You're a waste of time and space
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving,
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
I'm starting a new life, and I won't stay another day
We've wasted enough time and now I'm done
I'm seeing from your lines
I'm not blind to all you have made
A terrible inside, I'll find a way
You're a waste of time and space.
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Determined to live life, was blind to all you gave me
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me, you always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
SplitLocked01
Lyrics:
This beating me inside, your faults became a cancer
And even though I tried to hide the pain.
You're pure evil inside, it's so hard to make you happy,
You make it look easy to walk away
You're a waste of time and space
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving,
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
I'm starting a new life, and I won't stay another day
We've wasted enough time and now I'm done
I'm seeing from your lines
I'm not blind to all you have made
A terrible inside, I'll find a way
You're a waste of time and space.
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me
You always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Determined to live life, was blind to all you gave me
And now you're struggling with the thought of me leaving
Never thought you'd see the day you were wrong, and now I'm gone
And now the weight of the world is no longer on me, you always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
It's over, it's over
Always thought I would stay
You were wrong and now I'm gone
CASTA
Tremenda canción
Gaming, Tech & Non-Copyright
Love this non copyright music. There is only so much we can say to attract a audience.
Adan Vargas
You can feel the emotion behind this song, I love it!
FiresterOP
Maincraft
Mr. Wekax
hacia tiempo que lo escuche y se sigue escuchando realmente bien
Joshua Bodeen
One of the greatest times of my life. Thanks for for having us along for the ride.
KNOW NOISE music newsletter at Substack
These guys need to do more together.... this is tremendous.
José Augusto dos Santos
"MUITO BOM, ÓTIMO"!
ShadowReaper
this song has a lot of meaning