The Word Alive was founded in 2008 by Craig Mabbitt (lead vocals) with Zack Hansen (lead guitar) and Tony Pizzuti (rhythm guitar) who were former members of the bands Calling of Syrens and Clouds Take Shape. As a side-project of Mabbitt during his part in Escape the Fate, the remaining required members he recruited to start The Word Alive were chosen to be Nick Urlacher (bass), Dusty Riach (keyboard) and Tony Aguilera (drums). The group recorded songs with the intention of releasing them as a self-titled EP, despite that it never surfaced. Later on, the band forced Mabbitt to leave due to their dissatisfaction with Escape the Fate's schedules, which required Mabbitt to work as a full-time member.
The day after, Mabbitt posted a blog to his fans via his Myspace account explaining that leaving the band was not his decision and that "[The Word Alive] pretty much replaced me while I was on the road due to the fact that they wanted to tour and couldn't until I was available, I started that band with those guys and I'm very hurt at how they replaced me while I was touring...it's bullshit." On December 3, the band officially announced that Tyler "Telle" Smith, who was formerly one of the vocalists for In Fear and Faith and bassist for Greeley Estates, joined The Word Alive as their new frontman.
Feeling somewhat stagnant in their progression beforehand, the addition of Smith catapulted the band’s ambitions to the forefront. With this initiation, their goals and aspirations were much more a reality, and they set to work on what would become their record label debut, Empire.
During March 2009, the band were taken in with a contract by a new label, later on during the 26th of that month the group officially confirmed that the label they were then signed to was Fearless Records. Smith stated "We hope to just keep touring, touring, touring... we couldn't be happier or more appreciative to be on tour right now, I think despite having some of the worst luck in the early beginnings of being a touring band yet never missing a show, we always have a positive attitude and that will make us a stronger band." The band set out to create an EP to be released through the label wherein it was titled Empire and was recorded with producer Andrew Wade in Ocala, Florida. It was released on July 21, 2009 where it reached #15 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.
During February the band reached an agreement to leave founding drummer, Tony Aguilera out of the group. Both parties (Aguilera and the rest of the band) shared their concerns and reasoning for the matter publicly. It was overall described that the band wanted to pursue a different percussionist of alternate talent than the founding member. Aguilera was replaced with Justin Salinas, whom previously was a part of the bands Scars of Tomorrow and Catherine as well as serving as a past live drummer for MyChildren MyBride.
In April 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in Ocala, Florida with Andrew Wade to record their debut full-length album, Deceiver. By June, Deceiver was fully mastered and engineered. On June 23, 2010 the band premiered their first single from the album, “Epiphany” as streaming media online.The following day, Fearless Records released their 2010 Summer Sampler which also featured the track "Epiphany". A week later, the album's album art and track listing was released. Guitarist Zack Hansen explained upon this premiere that "We all felt like that was going to be the best choice considering how comfortable the recording process is with Andrew. The tracking was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. We got the opportunity to stay in a house while we recorded and surprisingly we didn't party as much as I thought we would haha." Hansen later followed along explaining that his favorite track on the record is “The Hounds of Anubis”, which was written by him and Pizzuti and stated that he "wrote this song with an 'Egyptian feel' to it and I think we got our point across." Smith described that its lyrics describe the times of when The Word Alive overcame their hardships that they face with the help and support from their fans. "The Hounds of Anubis" was released as the album's second single on July 26, 2010. It premiered on the official Revolver website.
By November of 2011, the band made plans to return to the studio on February 7, 2012 with Joey Sturgis to begin recording their next album, with an expected recording session lasting from that time until mid-March. However by February (and before the date of entering the studio), the announcement of two members leaving occurred; keyboardist, Dusty Riach and drummer, Justin Salinas were simultaneously confirmed to no longer be a part of the band. Salinas stated his reason was because he grew tired of touring, although Riach's reason was preferred to be kept silent.
In regards to the band's second studio album, it was reported that 17 songs were recorded in its process. 13 of those will be on the standard edition of the album, while the another three will be included on the deluxe edition. The name of the album will be Life Cycles and both editions will be released the same day.On March 23rd of the year, the group issued a statement that 18-year old Arizona resident Luke Holland has joined as the new drummer, however, Holland was not included for the recording sessions of Life Cycles. The drumming for the record was done by a friend of the band named Matt Horn wherein Holland joined after these sessions were already completed.
On March 18, 2014, the band released a new single entitled "Play the Victim." Along with the song, they also announced their third full-length album Real. would be released on June 10. The album would be the first to feature Luke Holland on drums.
The band released their fourth album, Dark Matter, on March 18, 2016. The band also revealed the tracklist and a headlining North American tour with support from Fit for a King and Out Came the Wolves. The album's lead single, "Trapped", was released January 8.
In November 2016, Luke Holland announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016 after finishing their last tour of the year to pursue other musical endeavors. In February 2017, the band announced that Matt Horn would be taking Holland's place as drummer. Shortly after, a new single "Misery" was released.
On August 7, 2017, The Word Alive and Daniel Shapiro mutually announced they were parting ways due to a "new musical adventure" of Shapiro's. The next day, The Word Alive announced that they would be joining I Prevail on their Rage on the Stage Tour along with We Came as Romans & Escape the Fate.
Bar Fight
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Am I still a burden?
Am I still a burden to you now?
Fading away from sight and sound
What will you say when they take me away
What will you say?
You should have been more careful
your words forced love to crumble
You should have been more careful
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed, this is goodbye
Good bye
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
What was the purpose of your destruction
Will you sleep sound at night?
I kept begging for the answers
You could not seem to reply
You could have saved a life
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
How could you be so naive?
Not even death could save you from me
Not even death could save you from me
I tried and tried to show you the light
You could have saved a life
It's so simple, When I tried to explain,
you didn't believe
It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
I just wanted you to stay
It's so simple, When I tried to explain
you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run?
Let's not live life this way
The Word Alive’s song “Bar Fight” is a haunting reminder of the consequences of not listening to someone’s plea for help. The opening lyrics of the song, “Am I still a burden to you now? / Fading away from sight and sound / What will you say when they take me away / What will you say?” suggest a person in distress and feeling ignored. The singer is contemplating the consequences of what will happen when they reach a breaking point and decides to take extreme measures. The singer is asking if they are a burden to someone, indicating that they feel they are not being taken seriously.
The lines, “You should have listened / You should have been more careful / your words forced love to crumble / You should have been more careful,” suggest that someone failed to recognize the signs of distress in the singer and their words led to creating more problems. The chorus, “It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe / It's so simple, It's so simple / Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way / Let's not live life this way,” captures the desperation of someone trying to make themselves heard; the simple explanation was not enough to reach out to the one who needed to listen.
The song ends with an ominous warning, “How could you be so naive? / Not even death could save you from me,” suggesting that the singer took fatal measures. The song highlights the importance of taking someone’s plea for help seriously and realizing that even simple things can have grave consequences if ignored.
Line by Line Meaning
Am I still a burden to you now?
As time goes on, have I become less of a burden to you?
Am I still a burden?
Do I still weigh you down?
Fading away from sight and sound
Gradually becoming less noticeable and disappearing
What will you say when they take me away
What words will you speak when I am taken away from you?
You should have listened
It would have been better if you had paid attention
You should have been more careful
You were not cautious enough and made mistakes
your words forced love to crumble
Your words caused the love between us to fall apart
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
You will carry the burden of regret for the remainder of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
You quit when you should have persisted
this is goodbye
This is farewell
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
The solution is easy, but you chose not to accept my explanation
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Why do humans avoid their problems? Let's try not to live our lives in that way
What was the purpose of your destruction
Why did you intentionally bring about damage?
Will you sleep sound at night?
Will you be able to rest peacefully in your sleep?
I kept begging for the answers
I constantly asked for the truth
You could not seem to reply
You appeared to be unable to respond
You could have saved a life
If you had acted differently, you could have prevented a death
How could you be so naive?
How could you lack knowledge and understanding?
Not even death could save you from me
Even death would not be able to separate us
I tried and tried to show you the light
I made numerous attempts to guide you towards enlightenment
I just wanted you to stay
I simply desired for you to remain with me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY PIZZUTI, ANTHONY JOHN JR. PIZZUTI, DANIEL SHAPIRO, DANIEL HARRISON SHAPIRO, TYLER SMITH, ZACK HANSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zander J
Am I still a burden to you now?
Am I still a burden?
Am I still a burden to you now?
Fading away from sight and sound
What will you say when they take me away
What will you say?
You should have listened
You should have been more careful
Your words forced love to crumble
You should have been more careful
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed, this is goodbye
Good bye
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
What was the purpose of your destruction
Will you sleep sound at night?
I kept begging for the answers
You could not seem to reply
You could have saved a life
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
How could you be so naive?
Not even death could save you from me
Not even death could save you from me
I tried and tried to show you the light
You could have saved a life
It's so simple, When I tried to explain,
You didn't believe
It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
I just wanted you to stay
It's so simple, When I tried to explain
You didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run?
Let's not live life this way
JP
dude this song is very addicting. the entire sound of it just makes my ears feel amazing! i love everything about this band, not one other band sounds like they do. BEST 10 DOLLARS SPENT EVER!!
David Reyes
This is style of The Word Alive and never be able to compare previous songs
Josie Laaa
MY FAVORITE! Can't wait to see this live!
Zander J
Am I still a burden to you now?
Am I still a burden?
Am I still a burden to you now?
Fading away from sight and sound
What will you say when they take me away
What will you say?
You should have listened
You should have been more careful
Your words forced love to crumble
You should have been more careful
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed, this is goodbye
Good bye
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
What was the purpose of your destruction
Will you sleep sound at night?
I kept begging for the answers
You could not seem to reply
You could have saved a life
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
Now you'll live with regret for the rest of your life
Gave up when you should have stayed
It's so simple, When I tried to explain, you didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
How could you be so naive?
Not even death could save you from me
Not even death could save you from me
I tried and tried to show you the light
You could have saved a life
It's so simple, When I tried to explain,
You didn't believe
It's so simple
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
Let's not live life this way
Oh, why do people run? Let's not live life this way
I just wanted you to stay
It's so simple, When I tried to explain
You didn't believe
It's so simple, It's so simple
Oh, why do people run?
Let's not live life this way
hapki9
I wanna get in a bar fight to this song
AmericanJarppi
Best song on Life Cycles!
yayho hsm
this song is amazing.
JP
this is my favorite song on the album, idk what it is about the song that draws me but i love this song.
Silencieuse0
Life. that's all I can say about this band. <3
Taylor Duke
This makes me want to get in a bar fight!