Thursday is a post-hardcore band, formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1… Read Full Bio ↴Thursday is a post-hardcore band, formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1997. The band consisted of Geoff Rickly (lead vocals), Tom Keeley (lead guitar, backing vocals), Steve Pedulla (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Tim Payne (bass guitar), Andrew Everding (keyboards, backing vocals), and Tucker Rule (drums).

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.

Dying in New Brunswick
Thursday Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You told me on your birthday all the things that this place had done to you
And in the streets you walk
You hide your face because they don't believe that it's true
They say it doesn't happen that often
But it's happening right now

I'm writing you this letter to let you know I'm not alright
And in this city the streets are paved with hate

And you cry yourself to sleep tonight
And say, "No, there aren't enough love songs in the sky."
You counted down the days till you could say, "Bye-bye, city, bye-bye."
You're walking down on Union
You see the roads and know they're apart of you

They say it doesn't happen that often
But it's happening right now

I'm writing you a second time
To let you know nothing here has changed
The streets are still paved with hate
So, you can cry yourself to sleep tonight

Will you look back on this night
As the day that ruined your life?
Will you look back on these city streets and say,
"Oh, God, where are you?"
In these city streets I hide my face
I turn away when you look at me
And every night when I try and sleep
I feel your hands all over my body

You stripped away the street signs and shot out all the stop lights
If you smashed away all the building, what would you have left?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Thursday's song "Dying in New Brunswick" tell a story of a person who feels trapped and hurt by the city they live in. They reveal the emotional and psychological toll that the environment has on them. The first verse is addressed to someone who the singer spoke to on their birthday, who disclosed the pain that the city has inflicted upon them. The individual, however, feels like no one believes them and hides their face, as they know that this reality is happening despite what others say.

The chorus repeats twice, highlighting the message the individual wants to convey: they are not okay and the streets are filled with hate. The second verse is a continuation of the first, but the singer describes their own feelings of despair towards the city where they reside. They, like the person addressed in the first verse, tried to leave, but they are still stuck and cannot escape the turmoil of the city. The passage, "I feel your hands all over my body," could be an allusion to the city's chokehold; it suffocates the individual and is always present, no matter what they do.

The third verse questions whether the night will be the one that ruined their life, which speaks to the idea that the city can transform a person's life, either negatively or positively. The last phrase, "If you smashed away all the building, what would you have left?" is an introspective question, asking what would remain if everything that constitutes the city were removed. It is as if the singer is saying that the city is more than just physical buildings, but it is the people, the streets, and the experiences that shape the environment.

Line by Line Meaning

You told me on your birthday all the things that this place had done to you
On your birthday, you confided in me about all the negative experiences you've had in this place.

And in the streets you walk You hide your face because they don't believe that it's true They say it doesn't happen that often But it's happening right now
You walk the streets but feel the need to hide your face because people don't believe the bad things that happen here. They think it's uncommon, but these events are actively occurring.

I'm writing you this letter to let you know I'm not alright And in this city the streets are paved with hate And you cry yourself to sleep tonight And say, "No, there aren't enough love songs in the sky." You counted down the days till you could say, "Bye-bye, city, bye-bye."
I'm informing you that I'm not doing well in this city where hate seems to flourish on the streets. You've cried yourself to sleep, knowing that there aren't enough happy or loving moments to offset the bad. You've been waiting to leave.

You're walking down on Union You see the roads and know they're apart of you
You wander down Union, knowing that these roads are intimately linked to who you are as a person, for better or worse.

I'm writing you a second time To let you know nothing here has changed The streets are still paved with hate So, you can cry yourself to sleep tonight
I'm updating you on the situation - nothing here has changed for the better, and the culture of hate on the streets is still present. It's okay to cry and recognize the situation's gravity.

Will you look back on this night As the day that ruined your life? Will you look back on these city streets and say, "Oh, God, where are you?"
You wonder if this night will be the definitive one that breaks you. You imagine a moment in the future when you recall these city streets and feel abandoned by a higher power.

In these city streets I hide my face I turn away when you look at me And every night when I try and sleep I feel your hands all over my body
You feel ashamed to be seen on these ugly streets and can't even be looked at. Every night, you re-experience the traumatic events that have occurred here.

You stripped away the street signs and shot out all the stop lights If you smashed away all the building, what would you have left?
You envision a scenario where even the physical elements of this city are dismantled. You ponder what would be left in a place where hate has festered so deeply.

Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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