Thursday released their debut album, Waiting, in late 1999 with original guitarist Bill Henderson, who left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Steve Pedulla. The band gained popularity with the release of their second album, Full Collapse, in 2001, and released their third album and major label debut, War All the Time, in 2003, which reached number seven on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Thursday released their fourth album, A City by the Light Divided, in 2006, and two further albums, Common Existence and No Devolución, before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2011. In a January 2013 interview, Geoff Rickly confirmed that the band had actually disbanded. However, the band announced a reunion in 2016. Their reunion would conclude with a performance at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY in March 2019.
The band has been considered influential to the post-hardcore music scene in the 2000s, and is credited as one of the key bands to popularize the darker emo sound and screaming vocals which came to prominence at the time.
Counting 5-4-3-2-1
Thursday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Burn this town from inside out.
Till no ones left alive.
And you can't feel the rhythm of your steps when you hit the street.
Sixteen is so far away from here, when you're counting every step.
5-4-3-2 what are you waiting for?
The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back.
Leave it all behind.
All his life he lived in this same house.
Same white fence surrounding him, he swore he would get out.
But he can't cause his foot got caught in between in the rails.
And all his friends were all up ahead
They can't hear him yelling, yelling for some help.
And it's much too late to call the doctor now.
This town is full of sympathies, we're drowning in it all.
5-4-3-2 What are you waiting for?
The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back.
Cause its 10-9-8-7 everybody's yelling to burn this city, burn this city down tonight.
Leave it all behind.
This is the sound of the gate coming down, no flashing lights, no warning.
When we press our ears to the ground we feel the shake.
But it's under the skin, so we welt like violets.
Can't get up, to put the petals in their place.
5-4-3-2 What are you waiting for?
Burn this city, burn this city tonight.
"Counting 5-4-3-2-1" by Thursday is a song that expresses the frustration and desperation of a person trapped in a small town with big dreams. The song starts with the lyrics "5-4-3-2-1 Let's start a fire, burn this town from inside out. Till no ones left alive." This is a clear indication of the anger that the person feels towards their current situation, and their desire to break free from it by any means necessary, even if it means destroying the town that has been their home.
As the song continues, the person becomes more and more desperate to escape, singing "And you can't feel the rhythm of your steps when you hit the street. Sixteen is so far away from here when you're counting every step." Here we can see that the person is feeling trapped and suffocated by their surroundings, and the only thing they can think about is leaving.
The chorus of the song is a call to action for the person to take control of their life and start running towards their dreams. "5-4-3-2 what are you waiting for? The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back. Cause it's 10-9-8-7 everybody's coming to burn this city, burn this city down tonight. Leave it all behind." The urgency in the chorus is a representation of the person's desire to escape and move on with their life.
The song talks about the struggles of living in a town where nothing ever changes, and the constant struggle to make something out of your life. The desperation that the person feels is a relatable feeling for many people who have also felt trapped in their hometowns.
Line by Line Meaning
5-4-3-2-1 Lets start a fire.
We need to ignite a destructive flame and burn this town to the ground.
Burn this town from inside out.
We want to completely destroy this town, starting from within.
Till no ones left alive.
Our intention is to kill everyone in town and leave no survivors.
And you can't feel the rhythm of your steps when you hit the street.
The severity of this situation is causing you to lose your sense of coordination and direction.
Sixteen is so far away from here, when you're counting every step.
The passage of time seems much slower when you're in a dire situation and every move counts.
5-4-3-2 what are you waiting for?
Why are you hesitating? We need to act quickly.
The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back.
Our time is running out and we need to escape without turning back.
Cause its 10-9-8-7 everybody's coming to burn this city, burn this city down tonight.
More people are involved and we're intensifying our mission to completely destroy everything in the city.
Leave it all behind.
We need to abandon everything and start anew somewhere else.
All his life he lived in this same house.
He has been stuck in the same situation for his entire life.
Same white fence surrounding him, he swore he would get out.
The monotony and limitations of his life circumstances made him desperate to escape.
But he can't cause his foot got caught in between in the rails.
He's unable to move forward due to unexpected obstacles and limitations.
And all his friends were all up ahead.
Everyone else has already progressed past the hurdles that he's stuck on.
They can't hear him yelling, yelling for some help.
Even though he's calling out for assistance, no one can hear him or help him at this point.
And it's much too late to call the doctor now.
The situation has become too severe and cannot be fixed by conventional means.
This town is full of sympathies, we're drowning in it all.
The town has become overly sentimental and it's overpowering us.
This is the sound of the gate coming down, no flashing lights, no warning.
We're approaching a critical point with no clear indication of what's about to happen.
When we press our ears to the ground we feel the shake.
We can sense something coming, but we're not exactly sure what it is.
But it's under the skin, so we welt like violets.
The upcoming event is causing us to feel physical pain and emotional distress.
Can't get up, to put the petals in their place.
We're struggling to hold ourselves together and regain our composure.
Burn this city, burn this city tonight.
Our main objective is to destroy this city as soon as possible.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raconbacon 564
5-4-3-2-1 Lets start a fire.
We'll burn this town from inside out.
Till no ones left alive.
And you can't feel the rhythm of your steps when you hit the street.
The city seems so far away from here, when you're counting every step.
5-4-3-2 what are you waiting for?
The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back.
Cause it's 10-9-8-7 everybody's coming to burn this city, burn this city down tonight.
Leave it all behind.
All his life he lived in this same house.
Same white fence surrounding him, he swore he would get out.
But he can't cause his foot got caught in between the rails.
And all his friends were up ahead
They can't hear him yelling, yelling for some help.
And it's much too late to call the doctor now.
This town is full of sympathies; we're drowning in it all.
5-4-3-2 What are you waiting for?
The train is catching up, keep on running don't look back.
Cause it's 10-9-8-7 everybody's coming to burn this city, burn this city down tonight.
Leave it all behind.
Is that the sound of the gate coming down? No flashing lights, no warning?
When we press our ears to the ground we feel the shake.
But it's under the skin, so we wilt like violets.
Can't get up, to put the petals in their place.
5-4-3-2 What are you waiting for?
Burn this city, burn this city tonight.
Damien Kitty
This was my favorite song by them. Loved seeing them play it live!
Sophia Daugh
mine too, I hope I get to see them play it live someday!
Nhoj
this is an extremely underrated band
SubstanceD91
Not really, they have a lot of fans and critical acclaim compared to most bands that play music like this. This was their one attempt at making a mainstream song I'll agree that this song specifically is underrated but there's never gonna be thousands of people packing a stadium to see "Cross out the Eyes" or any of their other popular songs.
Alexandra Klein
The second half of their discography really is underrated. I wish more people paid attention to their post-Full Collapse and War All The Time stuff.
dominick Martino
Such an underrated track
aortiz103187
i love this band so much. been listening since i was a freshman in 2002. so much influence from them helped me get through high school. plus i love that they're anti-war, thus why i have they thursday dove tatted on my right bicep.
psxixlovedxyouxx
Love how Geoffs hair during the stage set up part is like it was in the "understanding" music video. Their music is constantly changing but they never get old. 10+ years of greatness, and hopefully many more. <3
Joey Wheeler
I was like 13 when this album came out and my sister got me a shirt from these dudes cause she thought I liked them. I had never heard them but I ended up falling in love.
Bobby Dunn
Just seen them last Thursday. Best show I've seen in a long time. Absolutely fucking amazing! \m/ \m/