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 DevoluciĆ³n, 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.
We Will Overcome
Thursday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's suicide, but we will overcome.
Another life is swinging in the breeze.
These southern trees have the strangest fruit.
If you follow the path that's straight and narrow,
Go hand in hand because our roads are paved with broken arrows
Our fathers plant arms in foreign soil.
Our brothers die and no one knows
Where it ends (it ends between the cross hairs)
All lies weave a thousand deaths around us.
We will overcome if no one sleeps tonight.
We've been waiting to receive the promised land.
We can wait no more, we must stand and make the promised land.
The opening lines of the chorus, "We walk alone until the end of night. It's suicide, but we will overcome," signify the struggle for freedom and the fight against oppression, which the song encapsulates. The line "It's suicide" highlights the dangers that activists and freedom fighters face in their quest for liberation. However, the phrase "we will overcome" represents hope, determination, and the desire to keep fighting, even when the odds seem insurmountable.
The next verse, "Another life is swinging in the breeze. These southern trees have the strangest fruit," references Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit." The imagery is chilling and refers to the lynchings and murders of black people in the South. The line "These southern trees have the strangest fruit" demonstrates that the violence against black people is not a rare occurrence; it is deeply ingrained in the fabric of southern life.
The line "Our fathers plant arms in foreign soils" refers to the military-industrial complex and the U.S.'s history of invading other countries. The following line "Our brothers die and no one knows where it ends (it ends between the cross hairs) all lies weave a thousand deaths around us" speaks to the moral ambiguity of war and the loss of life that it entails. The song's message is that these issues, whether they involve racism, war, or other forms of oppression, are all interconnected, and it takes collective action to overcome them.
Line by Line Meaning
We walk alone until the end of night.
We must face our fears and continue on our path, even when it seems like no one else is around to support us.
It's suicide, but we will overcome.
Even when the odds are against us and we feel like giving up, we will push through and prevail in the end.
Another life is swinging in the breeze.
Another innocent life has been lost, and the memory of this tragedy hangs heavy in the air.
These southern trees have the strangest fruit.
The horrors of racism and inequality in the Southern United States are personified by the hanging bodies of Black individuals from trees.
If you follow the path that's straight and narrow,
If you stick to the path of righteousness and morality, even when others stray off course, you will overcome the challenges you face.
Go hand in hand because our roads are paved with broken arrows
We must band together and help each other navigate the difficulties of life, as our paths are often littered with setbacks and failures.
But we will overcome.
Despite all of the obstacles and setbacks we face, we will ultimately triumph over adversity.
Our fathers plant arms in foreign soil.
Our ancestors fought in wars and conflicts far away from home, sacrificing their safety and comfort for the greater good.
Our brothers die and no one knows
Tragedies occur where lives are lost and the families of the departed suffer silently, without recognition or support from others.
Where it ends (it ends between the cross hairs)
The ultimate outcome of a conflict or struggle is often uncertain, as it depends on the decisions and actions of those involved.
All lies weave a thousand deaths around us.
Falsehoods and deceit can have disastrous consequences, leading to loss of life and widespread suffering.
We will overcome if no one sleeps tonight.
We must remain vigilant and diligent in our efforts to overcome oppression and inequality, refusing to rest until our goals are achieved.
We've been waiting to receive the promised land.
We have been waiting patiently for change and progress to occur, hoping for a brighter future that has yet to arrive.
We can wait no more, we must stand and make the promised land.
We must take matters into our own hands and work tirelessly to create the world we want to live in, rather than waiting for someone else to do it for us.
Lyrics Ā© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: III, ANDREW EVERDING, GEOFFREY RICKLY, ROBERT KEELEY, STEVEN PEDULLA, THOMAS RULE, TIMOTHY PAYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind