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Pyro Lyrics

A single book of matches gonna burn what's standing in the way.
Roaring down the mountain, they're calling on the fire brigade.
Carry out the pictures and tell the kids that I'm okay.
If'n I'm forgotten, you'll remember me for the day.

I won't ever be your cornerstone.
I

All the black inside me is slowly seeping from the bone.
Everything I cherish is slowly dying or it's gone.
Little shaking babies and drunkards seem to all agree,
Once the show gets started it's bound to be a sight to see.

I won't ever be your cornerstone.
I don't want to be here holding on.
I won't ever be your cornerstone.
I

Watch her roll, can you feel it?
Watch her roll, can you feel it?
Watch her roll, can you feel it?
Watch her roll, can you feel it?

I won't ever be your cornerstone.
I don't want to be here holding on.
I won't ever be your cornerstone.
I
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Bmg Rights Management, O/b/o Distrokid
Writer
Anthony Caleb Followill, Ivan Nathan Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill
Duration
4:10
Producer
Angelo Petraglia, Jacquire King
Release date
Jul 13, 2010
Sentiment
Positive
Submitted by
llscience On Oct 02, 2010
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38 Meanings

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Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

No matter what the overall meaning behind this song is, in my opinion "I won't ever be your cornerstone" means that he won't support someone else's beliefs anymore. He wants to stand on his own morals and values. I think the burning theme ties in here because he wants to burn down the figurative foundation of all the things he has built up until this point to disconnect himself from the pain and hopefully start over again in a more pure form.

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

In the interview Caleb said the songs about a guy who has lost faith in the world in which he lives. In his opinion he doesn't think the world in which he lives is as perfect as everyone says. He becomes so disgusted by the world in which he lives that he wants to burn it down. The song starts out with the narrator thinking that he knows how "its" supposed to be and then realizing that even he himself cant be that way. The name pyro fits perfectly once you hear the song.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

even though caleb has explained the lyrics(basically about a person who has lost faith in the world and wants to burn it down because it's not the place he hoped it would b

but, I must say this is one of those songs where you could relate it to alot of things like being angry with someone's death, alcoholism, depression, losing your girlfriend / boyfriend. that's the beauty of good music if you ask me.

@scottishman89 I came to this looking to see if anyone else might think he's talking about alcoholism. Every time I hear the song, I think of my friend who is suffering. He is at that point where he has to see the destruction in his wake. "Everything I cherished is slowly dying or it's gone" I one time suffered too. 2 1/2 years.

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

My Interpretation: This song is about a man throwing it all away. "I don't wanna be your cornerstone" basically states that I'm not going to be the one you can rely on or the one who's going to hold it all together. The song starts with him starting a metaphorical "fire storm" that consumes everything good in his life. He can longer contain the "black" in his soul and he's reached the point of breaking. An aside, I think the lyric "If'n I'm forgotten, you'll remember me for today" means exactly what is says and that is: if for nothing else you'll remember me for this "fire storm". The rest of the song, "Watch her roll, can you feel it?" is essentially just Watch it Burn.

My Interpretation

@ryanmar yeah, when we were breaking up, i told my wife "don't you remember when that song would come on, how i would turn it up"? and explained that i wasn't trying to say it at the time to her, but i sure felt, that i wouldn't ever be her cornerstone, which is what she wanted from me...she said well you don't want to be...and i said yeah, that's the next line of the song, (as i was pretty sure it was at the time). so i pretty much left, and i sometimes like he seemed to be implying in the...

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

i perceived 'i dont want to be your cornerstone' as 'i dont want to be the one holding it all together when its bound to fall apart'. the stone in the corner being an important stone in the formation of a wall, and taking it out, the wall falls down. I always see things in a relationship point of view so i'm referring to this song in that way as usual. love this song it is just the kind of song i like.

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

Awesome song, I crank it up everytime its on the radio. I've been going through a phase for awhile where I feel like I've lost hope that the world is going to pull back from the edge of disaster and save itself, and that the people who have elected themselves to lead us don't care, have cremated care, and are only interested in themselves at the expense of the rest of us. I want it all to burn away so they end up with nothing and have to suffer like the rest of us. I think the phrase "watch her roll" is correct and signifies standing there watching her, whoever she is, maybe the earth, burn without doing anything to stop it. Like when someone is on fire and they stop, drop, and roll, and if you saw that happening the instinctual thing to do would be to smother the fire with a coat or blanket. Except in this song, the feeling is to let it burn away completly and not suffer anymore. Its a very deep and meaningful song that gets me everytime, my wife doesn't understand why it affects me so much, but then again she doesn't want to see how the world is changing either, because its painful to watch something beautiful die.

I agree it's an awesome song and it gets me everytime too... but on the rest of it I can't agree. My best advice for you is to STOP reading all the crap you're reading... STOP listening to the people you're listening to... and STOP believing all the BS you're believing. The WORLD is not at the edge of disaster. The world is always been in turmoil and has been since the beginning of time. Why are we still here? Why are YOU still here? You're still here because everyone before you stood the hell up and fought. We all...

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

the fifth line the one after "Even if I'm forgotten you'll remember me for a day "is clearly "I, I WON'T ever be your cornerstone "

and not i dont

Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

I believe "watch her roll" refers to observing that which he is burning down. I have heard the term of a fire "rolling" when it is at full blaze. I think that Caleb attibutes the pronoun "her" to the object he is burning, much like you often refer to a ship in that fashion. In the context of this song it seems to me that he is actually burning down a cabin or home, which may just be a symbol of all that is "standing in the way". He references his kids and burying pictures so I take it to mean he is burning down his own empty home and realizes he will likely be caught for doing so. "Can you feel it" I believe refers to both the heat of the fire as well as the gesture of the act of burning something down. He seems to realize he won't be the "cornerstone" or foundation of his family once the act is complete. The line about "little shaken babies" is very poignant and somewhat unsettling. Overall I love this song.

what it says is "little shakin babies and drunkards seem to all agree" so it is trying to show that not just one group of people agree but many different walks of life agree, all the way from little shakin babies to drunkards.

Not Valid
Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

On their website Caleb says that he was inspired to write this song because of something he saw on the news. He said that it was about a Christian group that lived way up in the mountains (kind of like a cult) and federal agents went to go an investigate and they ended up killing everyone there.

Yeah, I thought he was referring to Ruby Ridge, not sure though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge

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Also the burning theme could have something to do with the Waco Siege. Just a thought...

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llscience - you are correct. I was listening to XM radio the other day and Caleb was talking about his inspiration for the song.

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Cover art for Pyro lyrics by Kings of Leon

I was confused over the 'cornerstone' bit and looked it up. According to online dictionaries a cornerstone can be either;

explanation - thought that makes something comprehensible meat and potatoes - the fundamental part; "successful negotiation is the meat and potatoes of arbitration" supposal, supposition, assumption - a hypothesis that is taken for granted; "any society is built upon certain assumptions"

Song Meaning

Something that might be of worth... Jesus in the Bible is referred to the cornerstone in the Bible, and given KOL's background, they are probably aware of this.

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