… Read Full Bio ↴Written by Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Peter Hook & Gillian Gilbert
Produced by New Order
Released May 1983 on Power, Corruption & Lies
We All Stand
New Order Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Three miles to go
At the end of the road
There's a soldier waiting for me
I've got three miles to go
Three miles to go
At the end of the road
At the end of the road
At the end of the road
At the end of the road
Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy
Forever to be still
Breath held tight inside of me
Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy
Forever to be still
Breath held tight inside of me
Life goes on and on
It's a red sky tonight
It's a red sky tonight
At the end of the road
Where all futures go
At the end of the road
There's a soldier waiting for me
He's got three miles to go
Three miles to go
At the end of the road
At the end of the road
There's blood on shore
Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy
Forever to be still
Breath held tight inside of me
Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy
Forever to be still
Breath held tight inside of me
The lyrics to New Order's "We All Stand" are open to interpretation, but they seem to be about a soldier who is waiting at the end of the road. The singer has three miles left to go until he reaches the end of the road where the soldier is waiting. The repetition of "three miles to go" emphasizes the distance that the singer must still travel. The soldier is a powerful symbol of the unknown and the uncertain, and his presence adds a sense of urgency to the song.
The chorus of the song is "Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy, forever to be still, breath held tight inside of me." This seems to suggest that life is a never-ending cycle, and even though the singer is on a specific journey, he is still caught up in the larger cycle of life. The "real life fantasy" could be a reference to the surreal experience of war, or it could be a comment on the way that life can sometimes feel like a dream.
The line "at the end of the road where all futures go" is particularly interesting, as it suggests that the end of the road is a place of endings and beginnings. It could also be a reference to the idea that life is a journey, and that we all end up at the same destination eventually.
Overall, the lyrics to "We All Stand" are somewhat opaque, but they seem to be about the uncertainty of life and the power of the unknown. The soldier waiting at the end of the road represents this unknown, and the repetition of "three miles to go" emphasizes the distance that the singer must travel before confronting it.
Line by Line Meaning
Three miles to go
The singer has three miles left to travel
Three miles to go
The singer reiterates that they still have three miles left to travel
At the end of the road
The ultimate destination is at the end of the road
There's a soldier waiting for me
The artist's arrival is anticipated by a soldier
I've got three miles to go
The artist reminds listeners of the distance left to travel
Three miles to go
The singer emphasizes that they still have three miles left to travel
At the end of the road
The destination is still at the end of the road
There's a soldier waiting for me
The anticipated arrival of the artist is still true
At the end of the road
The destination is still at the end of the road
At the end of the road
The end of the journey is powerful
At the end of the road
The end of the journey is still significant
Life goes on and on in this real life fantasy
The complexities of life continue to persist and amaze the artist
Forever to be still
The singer's delivery is calm and measured
Breath held tight inside of me
The singer is nervous, emotional, or suspenseful
Life goes on and on
The complexities of life continue to persist and amaze the singer
It's a red sky tonight
The artist describes the sky to set the tone
It's a red sky tonight
The artist describes the sky to convey a sense of urgency
At the end of the road
The journey ends with this significant location
Where all futures go
The destination is symbolic of the future and events to come
There's a soldier waiting for me
The arrival of the artist is anticipated by a soldier
He's got three miles to go
The soldier has three miles left until the artist's arrival
Three miles to go
The distance left for the soldier to cover
At the end of the road
The destination is still awaiting both the soldier and narrator
At the end of the road
The location of the artist's journey is significant and powerful
There's blood on shore
The destination is marked with blood, potentially indicating danger or conflict
Life goes on and on
The complexities of life continue to persist and amaze the singer
Forever to be still
The singer's delivery is calm and measured
Breath held tight inside of me
The artist is nervous, emotional, or suspenseful
Life goes on and on
The complexities of life continue to persist and amaze the artist
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: STEPHEN PAUL DAVID MORRIS, PETER HOOK, GILLIAN LESLEY GILBERT, BERNARD (GB 2) SUMNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind