So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
We're a ship without a storm
Cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness lit at peace
We're a laugh without a tear
Hope without the fear
We are coming home
We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
We're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself but the only way is down
We don't come alone
We are fire we are stone
We're the hand that writes and quickly moves away
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line, yeah
We're the last in line
Two eyes from the east
It's the angel of the beast
And the answer lies between all good and bad
We search for the truth
We could die upon the tooth
But the thrill of just the chase is worth the pain
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line yeah
We're the last in line oh
Yeah
We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
You know, we're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself but the only way is down
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line oh
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in
We're the last in line
We're a ship without a storm
We're cold inside the warm
We're the last without a tear
We're the throw without the meal
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in line
Cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness lit at peace
We're a laugh without a tear
Hope without the fear
We are coming home
We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
We're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself but the only way is down
We don't come alone
We are fire we are stone
We're the hand that writes and quickly moves away
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line, yeah
We're the last in line
Two eyes from the east
It's the angel of the beast
And the answer lies between all good and bad
We search for the truth
We could die upon the tooth
But the thrill of just the chase is worth the pain
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line yeah
We're the last in line oh
Yeah
We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
You know, we're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself but the only way is down
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line oh
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in
We're the last in line
We're a ship without a storm
We're cold inside the warm
We're the last without a tear
We're the throw without the meal
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in line
Lyrics submitted by zekey baby
The Last In Line Lyrics as written by Ronnie James Dio Jimmy Bain
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
I'm gonna agree with trapezoid on some of this.
The intro into the song is about the unborn child and innocence. An unborn child is a pure thing; not yet tainted by the corruption of the world. The child is born, or "coming home."
"We're a ship without a storm The cold without the warm Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah
We're a laugh without a tear The hope without the fear We are coming - home"
We're off to the witch. I agree with trapezoid, the witch means the world or the state of. Dio is saying the world is a sketchy place and you might not make it out alive but the journey is completely worth the time and effort. Rock on!
We're off to the witch We may never never never come home But the magic that we'll feel Is worth a lifetime
The next verse is a religious reference IMO. "We're all born upon the cross" could (and I think) is a religious reference. Jesus, God, and Christ are everywhere and constantly being shoved down our throats. You can release yourself, but the only place to go is Hell, so says the "Christians."
We're all born upon the cross The throw before the toss You can release yourself But the only way is down
The rest of the song starting with "We don't come alone" reinforces the fact that we aren't by ourselves. There are others out there that think and act such as we do.
We don't come alone We are fire we are stone We're the hand that writes Then quickly moves away
We'll know for the first time If we're evil or divine We're the last in line We're the last in line
Two eyes from the east It's the angel or the beast And the answer lies between The good and bad
We're the Last in Line; The Last to Die. The last to find out the truth for ourselves. What happens after death.
Actally this is what i think.The fall of the elevator means the fall of man from heaven.The underground world it is the world we are living in it with all the games and stuff.And we all try to come home(heaven).And Dio is the savior(Christ i believe).The elevator is like a stairway to heaven:)).
i think lawofthetrapezoid is right this song to me is the best dio ever did.......the guy is rock and roll royalty.....i cannot wait to see heaven and hell live.......
Oh, and I agree with Generico! :)
Yeah soundoff has it good i would just say that we are all born with good and bad inside of us. It"S the road that we take that makes the difference. We have the choice of being a killer or not to be.
Just because a person look good on the other side does not mean is it a good person at all. A person could be badly seen and inside be the best person in the world. You just don'T know.
All right, you guys are all full of garbage. If you've seen the music video you know it's all about a kid that crosses Dio and as such ends up in Dio world. Mother fucker learns his lesson and then Dio lets him go with a warning to the world: Dio is king.
your a moroon.
your a moroon.
your a moroon.
Guyonstilts is right i have seen the video and thought the same thing.<br />
For me it's about how humanity is the last in the production line of god "we're the last in line - See how we shine!" but it's uncertain wath path we will take "we'll know for the first time, if we're evil or divine" and at the end of day it doesn't matter which path you choose it's the chance to choose your journey "we may never never never come home, but the magic that we'll feel it's worth a life time" what matters because at the end saints and sinners end in the same place 6 ft under "you can release yourself but the only way is down".
So for me this song is about free will and embracing the great potencial we as humans as the last in (the divine assembly) line have.
Between two hearts
The video really illuminates the lyrics. To me this song is talking about the search for truth and our journey of illumination and the challenges we face on this journey...the worldly traps we can fall into and never escape from if we're not careful (in the video the mind controlled zombies...the ultimate trap). Dio saves the kid and he escapes (ie if you listen to the words they can save you).
@natcheraly the devil has told ronnie that this is the generation of armageddon it will occur soon enough those standing on earth will find out where they are headed
Your full of shit lasiewicz.
<br /> Lasiewicz is right; Trapezoid is the one who is full of shit. (Is everything symbolic of Mother Earth???)<br /> <br /> Two background points: First, in 1984 Reagan was referring to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire” and a lot of people — not just the wingnuts but regular folks with responsible jobs — seriously believed that there would be a nuclear apocalypse within the decade. Second, an apocalypse, even if it is of our own making, is generally equated with Judgment Day. I don’t mean that God will judge each of us individually — presumably he does that whenever someone dies — but that He will judge the entire species. Are we evil or divine? If the former, then we will just go extinct and the future Earth will have some new plan, one that doesn’t include humans. If the latter, then the survivors of the apocalypse will rise up to create a glorious new civilization. <br /> <br /> The most important lyrics are, naturally, the chorus:<br /> <br /> We’ll know for the first time,<br /> Are we evil or divine?<br /> We’re the last in line.<br /> <br /> “We” refers to my generation, that is, everybody who was a teenager in 1984. “We’re the last in line” means that we are the last generation before the apocalypse. “We’ll know for the first time, are we evil or divine?” means that God will soon judge humanity. Basically, the chorus is saying that the teenagers of 1984 are humanity’s last chance to impress God and thus avert extinction.<br /> <br /> We’re the last in line,<br /> See how we shine.<br /> <br /> This means that Dio has confidence that we will shine, that is, that we will impress God favorably.<br /> <br /> We’re off to the witch,<br /> We may never, never, never come home,<br /> But the magic that we’ll feel is worth a lifetime.<br /> <br /> This is a reference to Dorothy’s mission against the Wicked Witch’s castle. Dorothy was brave. She was four against an evil sorceress who commanded both ground troops and an air force, and yet she persisted. “The magic that we’ll feel” refers to how brave people are also often lucky people. “Is worth a lifetime” means that it is better to die fighting bravely than to live a long life as a coward. Basically, God is going to judge us on our courage.<br /> <br /> You can release yourself,<br /> But the only way is down.<br /> <br /> This is a reference to mountain climbing. Your fingers hurt from gripping the rock, your muscles ache, your brain is clouded with fear. All this will go away if you just release yourself; but the only way is down. Basically, retreat is always an option, but there is nowhere to retreat to. Retreat is equivalent to death.<br /> <br /> Note that 1984 was also the year when The Terminator movie came out. It too tapped into this same apocalyptic mindset, the idea that humans would soon be called on to fight an epic battle between good and evil. When we listened to The Last in Line by Dio we were thinking we were going to be like John Connor, the one brave man who leads humanity back from the brink.<br />
to Grozny: Why does there have to be an apocalypse? We can make it work right now, we just have to try hard... For our future, we need to try hard. Balance it, don't let us fall into oblivion. We can do it