T H E G R E A T D I E - O F F

I D O N T W A N T T O B E H E R E A N Y M O R E
T R A G E D Y + T I M E
T H E B L A C K M A R K E T
T H E E C O - T E R R O R I S T I N M E
S U D D E N L I F E
A B E A U T I F U L I N D I F F E R E N C E
M E T H A D O N E
Z E R O V I S I B I L I T Y
A W A K E T O O L O N G
P E O P L E L I V E H E R E
B R I D G E S
P R O D U C E D B Y B I L L S T E V E N S O N A N D J A S O N L I V E R M O R E
M I X E D B Y C H R I S L O R D - A L G E
i
PC 2014 Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Manufactured and
Distributed in the United States by Universal Music Distribution. All rights reserved. B0021102-02
R I S E A G A I N S T . C O M
1 . THE GREAT DI E- OFF
theres a re on the borders and
its burning down the walls you built high
theres steady stream of anger and
its spilling from the coasts, a tidal wave
and the words say we reap what we sow
so where i bury you ill build my home
in line to reclaim
but were sick of the wait
we want it all and we want it now
tonight I watched your res burn out
the cold dead hands we pried
these guns from are yours
we want it all and we want it now
a tide is coming to drown you out
we make ourselves at home
while your bodys still warm
tradition tethers us to rituals and
are we all just clocks on wrong times?
and something triggers each
and every time i hear you say
god bless this place
but your numbers are dwindling now
though endangered well still hunt you down
with heads on a stake
long may you reign
we want it all and we want it now
tonight I watched your res burn out
the cold dead hands we pried
these guns from are yours
we want it all and we want it now
a tide is a coming to drown you out
make ourselves at home
while your bodys still warm
theres a re on the borders
and its burning down the walls you built high
and theres steady stream of anger
and its spilling from the coasts, a tidal wave
we want the world and we want it now
tonight I watched your res burn out
the cold dead hands we pried
these guns from are yours
no i dont wanna wait
i know a better way
so step aside come on
or better yet just go away
our chance has nally come
there might not be another one
now
no were not gonna wait
we want it now
were dousing the ames
we want it now
2. I DONT WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE
on pins and needles we are waiting for the fall
we count the days scratching lines on a wall
always there at someones beck and call
no longer recognize the place that i call home
no longer recognize this face as my own
somewhere, this fate, i lost control
we backed down
we took no for answers far too long
we felt those walls close around
i dont wanna be here anymore
i dont wanna be here anymore
i dont wanna be here anymore
i know theres nothing left worth staying for
your paradise is something Ive endured
see i dont think i can ght this anymore
im listening with one foot out the door
and something has to die to be reborn
i dont wanna be here anymore
on hand and foot we answered every single call
and weathered every day like passing storms
but when they break we will all be gone
wont back down
wont take no for answers
anymore these walls close
we pace back and forth
i dont wanna be here anymore
i know theres nothing left worth staying for
your paradise is something Ive endured
see i dont think i can ght this anymore
im listening with one foot out the door
but something has to die to be reborn
i dont wanna be here anymore
the point where we break
gets closer everyday
but where do we go?
but where do we go?
i dont wanna be here anymore
i dont wanna be here anymore
i dont wanna be here anymore
i know theres nothing left worth staying for
your paradise is something Ive endured
see i dont think i can ght this anymore
im listening with one foot out the door
but something has to die and reborn
and I dont wanna be here anymore, anymore
3. TRAGEDY + TI ME
on the edges of the sharpest knives
in the middle of the darkest nights
always knew that i would nd you here
in a puddle of the bravest tears
ive seen enough to know
its lonely where you are
above the crowd, feet dangling
from a rooftop
she waits from ledges
for a voice to talk her down
and nothing matters but the
pain when youre alone
the never-ending nights
when youre awake
when youre praying
that tomorrow its ok
there will be a time to
crack another smile
maybe not today or for awhile
but were holding on to
laugh again someday
laugh again someday
all that matters is the time we had
doesnt matter how it all went bad
never wonder what it might be like
shut the door, say goodbye
when faced with tragedy
we come alive or come undone
dont look back
let it shape you like an ocean
even the deepest scars
in time will fade
and nothing matters but the
pain when youre alone
or the nights when your awake
praying that tomorrow its ok
there will be a time
to crack another smile
maybe not today or for awhile
but were holding on
to laugh again someday
but were holding on
sometimes you have to go back
to know just where you have been
but were old enough
to know that
what has been will be again
and again
and the bravest of faces
are the ones where we fake it
in the roles that we play
but nothing matters when
the pain is all but gone
when you are nally awake
despite the overwhelming odds;
tomorrow came
and when they see
you crack a smile
and you decide to stay awhile
youll be ready then
to laugh again
nothing matters but the pain
we are tragedy
we are sympathy
you see what you want to see
we are misery
and distant memories
but we all learn to laugh again
4. THE BLACK MARKET
a currency of heartache and sorrow
the air we breathe is stale with mold
to shadows we are slaves
digging deeper everyday
but emptiness is growing so old
headlamps light the tunnels we wander
they shimmer and they dance on the walls
were lost inside these caves
as the chances of escape
grow slimmer til theres no chance at all
this ink it travels from the page
up my hand into my veins
choking on the stories Ive told
if there are words here left to say
i just wanna let you know
im falling on my knees right now
im covered in the mess i made
these colors used to wash right out
but now they are a part of me
ive been searching for a remedy
when all along its been in front of me
i need you here
i need you now
right now
we trafc in the blackest of markets
trade misery like diamonds and gold
the angst that we exchange
for applause and petty praise
is nally now taking its toll
but theres a world above the ground
a life that we can lead

where we cant shed a light
on true criminals
when business and suffering
is one and the same when
laws fail the people
they turn to the ame
i found love i found life
as a thorn stuck in your side
and you wonder why
when it all comes down
will you say you did
everything you could?
when it all comes down
can you say that you never gave up?
or were you standing by
to watch it fall away
will you hold on
did you hold on or just let it fall?
did you fall?
when it all comes down
will you say you did
everything you could?
when it all comes down
can you say that you never gave up?
when it all comes down
will you say you did
everything you could?
when it all comes down
when it all comes down
when the lights all go out
and roadblocks go up
as we sleep to the sound
of alarms going off
when it all comes down
will you say you did
everything you could?
were washing off the dirt from our clothes
i dont wanna live without
no i just wanna let you know
im falling on my knees right now
im covered in the mess i made
these colors used to wash right out
but now they are a part of me
ive been searching for a remedy
and all along its been in front of me
i need you here
i need you now
right now
black stains
they mark me like a letter
dont fade
cracking under the pressure
black stains
nothing stays gold
theres a world above the ground
a life that we can lead
but were lost deep down in these holes
and i have seen the way out
now i just wanna let you know
im falling on my knees right now
im covered in the mess i made
these colors used to wash right out
but now they are a part of me
ive been searching for a remedy
when all along its been in front of me
your voice it washed the stains away
5.THE ECO-TERRORIST IN ME
spray paint the cameras
jam the frequency
what you kill just comes alive in me
hoods and bandanas make not an enemy
you cant dene us anyway you please
you make the rules we make the calls
my conscience clean my sins absolved
because i found god
in the sound of your factories burning down
now i sleep so sound
when it all comes down
will you say you did
everything you could?
when it all comes down
can you say that you never gave up?
or were you standing by
to watch it fall away?
will you hold on or just let go?
instead of doing whats right
they built higher walls
6. S UDDEN LI FE
oating in the clouds, im giving up the ght
a voice is calling out, im walking into the light
we used to race a thousand miles a day so fast
feet they barely even touched the ground
we used to y to places out beyond our own little world
the fury and the sound
i saw it icker like a television set
bright ashes of a warning sign
ipping channels in a world gone static
eroding away line by fading line
underwater for years we found
so much harder to swim than drown
the current takes us now were walking into the light
are you dying all your life?
broken, beat, and tired out
you want to live but dont know how
diagnosis sudden life can no one revive me now?
feels like im walking into the light
woke up oating on a wave of golden sound
tunnel vision and a great beyond
heart beating like a rhythm slowing
down til its gone an echo of a song
at line and a closing bell whisper a warm farewell
the ames are beckoning as were walking into the light
are you dying all your life?
broken, beat, and tired out
you want to live but dont know how
diagnosis sudden life can no one revive me now?
feels like im walking into the light
dont suppose that you know the way?
dont suppose that you care?
i see lights up ahead and
hear choirs of angels ring in my ears
but you know that had you a choice
you would go back do it again
we all have unnished business to tend
so no i wont go gentle into that good night
you can keep your candle
im walking away from the light
diagnosis: sudden life
i woke up my heart racing
im at a loss explaining why
are you dying all your life
then put your darkest days behind
let life ash right before your eyes
and for the very rst time
it feels like Im walking away from the light
7 . A BEAUTI FUL I NDI FFERENCE
theres a struggle coming but
to conquer rst they must divide
the machine keeps humming night and day
how are we so unaware?
why are you not afraid?
protests are drumming
while you turn your nose
and roll your eyes
knee-jerk reactions so engrained
judging from an armchair
there is hate and there is love
and there is loss
and there is light and
there is dark than there is us
and whether this world burns
is none of your concern
caught up in a ticker-tape parade
but I have learned to stand up
and just to walk away
sometimes the cold hearts arent
worth the love or the hate
learn to let go
learn to walk away
out from the shadows
im seduced by the light of the ame
and this time im here to stay
gunpowder residue
bright lights and turpentine
true colors shining through
as we are stripped of all exteriors
because there is hate and there
is love and there is loss
but there is right
and there is wrong than
there is us were falling
until we learn to stand up
and just to walk away
sometimes the cold hearts arent
worth the love or the hate
learn to let go
learn to walk away
out from the shadows
im seduced again by the
light of the ames
this time Im here to stay
feet rst into the quicksand
every day we are surrendering
never straying from the game plan
I keep hoping you will take
my hand and stand up
the waters overowing
the walls are breaking
but i will wait here knowing
that we can make it
and theres light still glowing
a light Im chasing
ive been lost before
and I have been led astray
but this time Im here to stay
8. METHADONE
love like needle full of methadone
potent but not real left you wanting more
lipstick track-marks bleeding wet
like Montagues and Capulets
for us, child, the stars refuse to shine
why for us, child, do the stars refuse to shine?
somewhere strung out on the lam
we wound up back here again
like unstable chemicals
combining only to explode
what would it take for you to notice
i am heart on re and all the
worlds a fuse so dont get close
the trouble and the worth
am i better off on my own?
contaminated quarantined then left alone
shipment refused address unknown
damaged goods they soon forget
in choking dust where we got left
for us all the stars refuse to shine
so tap the vein and light the match
we burn like stars before the crash
but for you theres still a chance
just let go
what would it take for you to notice
that i am heart on re and all the
worlds a fuse so dont get close
the trouble and the worth
im better off on my own
but now theres nowhere to run
and now theres nowhere to hide
theres nothing under the sun
we havent already tried
what would it take for you to notice
that i am a hand grenade
pin already pulled so dont let go
as we chase the sun
my shadow slows us down
without me along
youre better off, I know
9. ZERO VI S I BI LI TY
settling in here for the long haul
cant hide forevers what they say
in like the wind
out with a bang
meanwhile nothing has changed
with each word slowly uttered
a storm brews in her eyes
a missed shot at the buzzer
time whether wasted
or well-spent is still time
we are not brave we are not wise
we stand at the end of the longest lines
but we stand here all together
we have been damned
but we have survived
we came back to homes we dont recognize
but we returned here all together
moments of clarity here are short-lived
bled through the bandages again
when is a lie
no longer white
but black as a day without sun
passed out in gutter
woke up in your arms
nursed back and recovered
the same touch that heals me
left a scar
we are not brave we are not wise
we stand at the end of the longest lines
but we stand here all together
we have been damned
but we have survived
we came back to homes we dont recognize
but we returned here all together
and the world works in ways that i never
have claimed to know
we got out in front of the weather
but it followed
and view from here isnt better
but its all we know
its all we know
we are not brave we are not wise
we stand at the edge of the border lines
but we stand here all together
we have been damned
but we have survived
and who weve become you wont recognize
but we became them, all together
1 0. AWAKE TOO LONG
i watched the rise and the fall of the common man
i lived to see all our steps walked back
i watched the walls all crash down crumbling
just to be rebuilt while we slept
we threw swords in the oceans wide and deep
we promise peace but the peace wont last
because now we forge new blades so nervously
waiting for this harmony to pass
i stand guard and roam
like a sentinel and i see it all
ive been awake too long
wish there was something
that could close my eyes
to all that i see
awake too long
it would be easier
to fall asleep
we fell in love but the love kept running out
we followed roads but the roads all end
we lived and learned and learned to live without
falling from the ladders we ascend
ive seen the eyes of the widows left behind
ive seen the child of a fallen man
and never once did our leaders apologize
for battles they began
cant look away
or pretend not to see and so I stay
ive been awake too long
wish there was something
that could close my eyes
to all that i see awake too long
it would be easier
to fall asleep, asleep
maybe I would dream if I could sleep
maybe Id see what this could be
instead of what it is
is there bliss in ignorance
is this our demise we cant prevent
should we fall asleep?
ive been awake too long
and like constant vigils
we are burning eternal ames
a surgery
blades in an open heart
and through it all it all
every single cut
ive been awake.
1 1 . PEOPLE LI VE HERE
my god is better than yours
and the walls of my house
are so thick i hear nothing at all
i followed you out in the storm
but it carried you off
and I burned every picture of yours
was that not enough
my gun is bigger than yours
so lets arm the masses
and see what the bastards do then
walking tall once set us apart
now were down on all fours
do you cry my name in the dark
like I do yours?
these storms are getting stronger now
the trusses all bend and sway
the lightning hits, the power goes out in the fray
as the waves crash high
and the shoreline disappears
i will scream to the sky
hey people live here
but my dreams are not unlike yours
they long for the safety and
break like a glass chandelier
but theres laughter and oh there is love
just past the edge of our fears
and theres chaos when push comes to shove
but its music to my ears
may you be in heaven before
the devil knows youre dead
and may these winds be always at your back
because when were all just ghosts
and the madness overtakes us
we will look at the ashes
and say people lived here
from the penthouse to the holy martyr
sea to shining sea
from the cofns full of kindergarteners
is this what you call free?
from the hate that drips from all your crosses
are your hands so clean?
theres a wildre
and its spreading far
from sea to shining sea
when were all just ghosts
and the madness overtakes us
i will scream to the sky
yeah Ill scream to the sky
yeah Ill scream to the sky
hey people live here.
1 2. BRI DGES
in a world of uncertainty
the night sky told us all to be patient
but when the ground started shaking
i wondered for how long?
but theres a place that Id rather be
and there a voice deep inside of me
saying the progress we are making
is not progress at all
into a world of promises
is where we let ourselves be led
we built the bridges
we now sleep under
we framed the doorways
but may not pass through
the very same roads
that we now wander
the ones you pass us by on
we paved with our bare hands
a black cloud hovers over me
but without all this guilt I feel naked
something about the way it
wraps its arms around
white snow covers everything
an angel watches over me praying
she asks me for a favor
catch me if i fall
a rush of blood straight to the head
i wonder what this could have been
we built the bridges we
now sleep under
we framed the doorways
but may not pass through
the very same roads
that we now wander
the roads you pass us by on
we paved with our bare hands
no i never meant to hurt you
no i never meant to do you wrong
i stood waiting but
a man said move along
we laid the tracks down
but now theyve rotted
and like a runaway train
we brace for the crash
we were in love once
have you forgotten?
and like a runaway train
bearing down upon a gap
we built the bridges
and underneath their
shadows we now live
All songs written and performed by Rise Against
Al l l y r i c s b y Ti m Mc I l r a t h
Do It To Wi n Mus i c / Sony ATV / ASCAP
Ri s e Ag a i ns t i s :
Ti m Mc I l r a t h Voc a l s / Gui t a r s
J oe Pr i nc i pe Ba s s / Ba c k i ng Voc a l s
Br a ndon Ba r ne s Dr ums / Ba c k i ng Voc a l s
Za c h Bl a i r Gui t a r / Ba c k i ng Voc a l s
A&R: Thom Pa nunz i o
Ma na g e me nt : Mi s s y Wor t h f or Ar t i s t i c Li c e ns e
Book i ng : Cor r i e Chr i s t ophe r f or Pa r a di g m
Int ernat i onal Booki ng Agent : Marl ene Tsuchi i f or CAA
Int ernat i onal Market i ng Di rect or: Karen Goodman
Le g a l : S t a c y Fa s s
Ma r ke t i ng : Ka t i e Addi s
Ma r ke t i ng Coor di na t or : S a ma nt ha Tr i ps e s
A&R Admi ni s t r a t i on: J e a nne Ve nt on a nd Ma r t a Na v a s
Bus i ne s s Af f a i r s : Tr a c y Ki e s
Pr oduc t i on: Gr e t c he n Ande r s on
Cr e a t i v e : I a nt he Ze v os
Phot og r a phy : Le Ann Mue l l e r
Al b um Ar t wor k : Di na Hov s e pi a n
Ri s e Ag a i ns t woul d l i ke t o t ha nk a l l our f r i e nds ,
f a mi l y a nd a l l t he b a nds t ha t we ha v e pl a y e d wi t h.
Produced by Bi l l St evenson and Jason Li vermore
Engi neered by Jason Li vermore, Bi l l St evenson,
Andrew Berl i n, and Chri s Beebl e
Recorded at The Bl ast i ng Room, Fort Col l i ns, Col orado
Addi t i onal Product i on by Andrew Berl i n and Chri s Beebl e
Mi xed By Chri s Lord-Al ge at Mi x LA, Tarzana, Cal i forni a
Addi t i onal Engi neeri ng: Kei t h Armst rong and Ni k Karpen
Addi t i onal Assi st ance: Dmi t ar Di m-E Krnj ai c
Mast ered by Ted Jensen at St erl i ng Sound, New York, NY
Ba c k i ng Voc a l s b y Cha d Pr i c e
Vi ol i n by Ian Short on The Great Di e-Of f and Peopl e Li ve Here
Vi ol a by Adri enne Short on The Great Di e-Of f and Peopl e Li ve Here
Ce l l o b y Amy Mor g a n on Pe opl e Li v e He r e