Although the band started out playing at Christian music festivals, they shun the label of "Christian rock," with singer and guitarist Jon Foreman saying, "For us, it's a faith, not a genre. We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us `Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind -- and that's what we want." They started out on Charlie Peacock's label "re:think" and spent several years appearing at Christian festivals and enjoying Christian radio hits. Most of their early tours were with Christian bands and both of the band's new members were borrowed from Christian bands.
Switchfoot did not see success outside of the Christian rock scene until they were featured alongside singer Mandy Moore on the A Walk To Remember soundtrack. The band's first true commercial success came in 2003 with the release of their fourth major label (and first mainstream label) offering, The Beautiful Letdown. The album went on to sell more than 2 million albums and Switchfoot became the most popular rock band to be associated with Christian music.
They were featured on the British Edition of the Spiderman II soundtrack along with the likes of Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional to name a few, in 2004 with the song 'Meant To Live'.
In 2005 Switchfoot released "Nothing Is Sound". The album went gold within 3 months and received much critical acclaim.
Switchfoot's highly anticipated album, titled "Oh! Gravity." was released on December 26th, 2006.
On November 10th, 2009, Switchfoot released their first album produced under their own label, lowercase people. "Mess of Me", a single from the album released months before the CD, has enjoy chart-topping radio plays since its release.
In 2010 Switchfoot released their album, "Hello Hurricane".
On September 27th, 2011, to much anticipation and excitement, Switchfoot released their newest album, "Vice Verses".
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Revenge
Switchfoot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm everyone's fool
And I'm losing my cool at the end
I'm the loser
My numbers come up
I've been hung up with thoughts of revenge
Revenge, revenge
Oh! Oh!
I watched you from my terminal view
As you struggled to rise to your end
I laughed hard at the insults we threw
As the weight of the world found revenge
Revenge, revenge
Oh!
Have hatred and gravity won
Oh! Oh!
The world hung upside-down
I drew first blood, I drew first blood
With my hate for a crown
I drew first blood, I drew first blood
Revenge
I watched heaven dyin' today
And I'm gonna die here tonight
I'm a villian, I deserve to be dead
I've been hung up for wreckin' my life
Revenge, revenge
Oh!
So I stopped for a moment
To look at the sun dying today
That's when the irony hit me
That this was revenge
That love had descended
And stolen our pain away
We consumed heaven's Son
And I drew first blood, I drew first blood
And my hate was undone
I drew first blood, I drew first blood
Revenge
Here's a story
How thief had been robbed
How a murder had stolen my rage
Think of me Lord
I'm a few breaths away
As my lungs finally rip from the cage
Revenge
Oh!
The lyrics of Switchfoot's song Revenge portrays an individual going through an internal battle of hatred, self-loathing, and a desire for retaliation. Describing himself as a failure and a loser, he is consumed by thoughts of revenge and has a hate-filled crown. He even relishes at the insults being thrown at others while they struggle. The world is upside-down for him, and he draws first blood with his hate.
As the song progresses, the singer takes a moment to reflect on the sun dying and the irony of the fact that love had descended and stolen their pain away. He acknowledges that their hate had driven them to consume heaven's son, but now his hate was undone. He realizes that he had been robbed by a thief and had allowed murder to steal his rage. In the end, he turns to the Lord and asks for forgiveness before he dies.
The song Revenge is a powerful one, and its lyrics delve into the deep and dark emotions felt by the singer. It touches on themes of self-doubt, revenge, hate, and redemption. It serves as a reminder that forgiveness can break the cycle of hate and that life is too short to hold onto grudges.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm the failure
I feel like I've failed in life, and it's bringing me down.
I'm everyone's fool
I feel like everyone is taking advantage of me and treating me like a fool.
And I'm losing my cool at the end
I'm on edge and can't keep my emotions in check anymore.
I'm the loser
I feel like I can't win in anything.
My numbers come up
My luck seems to be running out.
I've been hung up with thoughts of revenge
I've been fixated on the idea of getting even with someone who wronged me.
I watched you from my terminal view
I observed you from afar, perhaps through the internet or some other technology.
As you struggled to rise to your end
I saw you fighting an uphill battle, trying to achieve something despite the odds against you.
I laughed hard at the insults we threw
I found amusement in the hurtful words we directed at you.
As the weight of the world found revenge
As you struggled under the pressure of life's challenges, it felt like the universe was getting back at you somehow.
Have hatred and gravity won
Has my negative attitude and the weight of the world overcome us?
The world hung upside-down
Things were turned completely around, and I was in control.
I drew first blood, I drew first blood
I initiated some kind of conflict or violence.
With my hate for a crown
My negative emotions had taken over and become my ruling force.
I watched heaven dyin' today
I saw something precious and beautiful being destroyed or lost.
And I'm gonna die here tonight
I feel like I'm in a hopeless situation that will lead to my demise.
I'm a villian, I deserve to be dead
I'm like a bad guy in a story, and I feel like I should face the ultimate punishment for my actions.
I've been hung up for wreckin' my life
I've been blaming myself for the problems in my life.
So I stopped for a moment
I took a break from my negative thoughts and actions.
To look at the sun dying today
To watch the end of the day, the sunset, perhaps symbolizing the end of something.
That's when the irony hit me
I realized something unexpected and strange about the situation I was in.
That this was revenge
That somehow my own negative actions and thoughts had brought me to where I was.
That love had descended
That there was still hope and positivity in the world, despite my own negativity.
And stolen our pain away
That something or someone had taken away our negative emotions and replaced them with positive ones.
We consumed heaven's Son
We found redemption and forgiveness in a religious or spiritual sense.
And my hate was undone
My negative emotions and actions were replaced with positivity and love.
Here's a story
I have a tale to tell.
How thief had been robbed
How the one who committed bad deeds ended up suffering the consequences of their actions.
How a murder had stolen my rage
The idea that something or someone has taken away my angry and vengeful feelings.
Think of me Lord
An appeal for help from a higher power.
I'm a few breaths away
I'm close to dying or giving up.
As my lungs finally rip from the cage
As a metaphor for death or giving up, and perhaps as a way of saying that my negative emotions and actions have finally fully consumed me.
Contributed by Riley A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sam Davidson
Finally a video that sports this awesome song. This song needs like 1 million views.
faceyourfears9
This is told from the perspective of either Judas Iscariot or the criminal beside Jesus who defended him. A point for both would be the references to being "hung up" and "gravity." With crucifixion and hanging, it's gravity that eventually kills a person. Point for a Judas telling - "I watched you from my terminal view as you struggled to rise to your end." Probably refers to Gethsemane, which the criminal did not see. (or it means the torture on Golgotha, in which case it could be a point for either).
For the criminal (most likely) - "I laughed hard at the insults we threw" - both criminals mocked him at first, but one had a change of heart. And Judas never saw Jesus's death. I can't tell if John is saying "to look at the Son dying today." or "the sun die in the day," either one makes sense.
"Think of me Lord, I'm a few breaths away" - for Judas, as he is about to die, or for the criminal being literally a few feet away from Jesus.
"as my lungs finally rip from their cage." With both hanging and crucifixion, suffocation is the ultimate cause of death.
Mason Norris
I never thought of the song this way but I whole heartedly age
James and games
great insight!. just found the song. these brothers are all gifted to say the least, amen?.
chrisbyerly
“Terminal view” can actually be a point for the thief on the cross too. His “terminal” view - being both stationary on the cross he’s hanging as well as about to die.. and he technically did watch as Jesus carried the cross up until he was crucified. I’m from the belief that the entire song is from the perspective of the thief. In fact, he even says ‘here’s a story how a thief had been robbed.’
Vegemitarian
that's very interesting that you'd think that, because i'm Sure that Out of Control is told from the perspective of Peter as Jesus dies (there's a lot of points for this throughout the song)
SEXY CHEESEBURGER name is for the LOLs
I like the acoustic version better
Joseph Reid
Guys, this is not Switchfoot, it's off Jon's Summer EP.
Tony Falbo
Hey! Actually this is a Switchfoot bonus track from back in the NIS / Oh! Gravity era - Jon re-recorded it later on for his Solo EP's. This specific recording is roughly 3 years older than the one put on the Spring EP.
Tannah Richens
I thought this was one of Jon's Solo songs. If you look it up it says its in his album "Spring" I could be wrong though.