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Help Is On The Way Lyrics

I have my mother's dreams
I have my father's eyes
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try

The crescent city sleeps
While giants in the sky
Preparing to unleash
Let loose a mighty cry

Can nobody save us?
Will anyone try?
The bayou is burning
The cypress has died

And all along they're saying

"Help is on the way", They said
They said, "Help is on the way", They said
They said one by land, two by sea
Right there in front of me
Help is on the way

Five thousand feet below
As black smoke engulfs the sky
The ocean floor explodes
Eleven mothers cry

My bones all resonate
A burning lullaby
You can't take that from me
Just go ahead and try

She stands at the shoreline
With hands in the air
Her words pierce the dark night
"Does anyone care?"
And all along they're saying

"Help is on the way", They said
They said, "Help is on the way", They said
They said one by land, two by sea
Right there in front of me
Help is on the way

Right here
Right here

Right here
Right here

Right here
Right here

Choking on the black gold
Upon which we here rely
We keep axes in the attics
To see cameras in the sky

"Help is on the way", They said
They said, "Help is on the way", They said
They said
We were told, just to sit tight
'Cause somebody will soon arrive
Help is on the way

But it never came
They never came

"Help is on the way", They said
They said, "Help is on the way", They said
They said one by land, two by sea
Right there in front of me
Help is on the way

On the way.
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32 Meanings

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Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

This song has a very clear and not as an interpretive meaning than most other of Rise Against's songs. This is pretty much directly about the Oil Spill in the gulf. Some things that support this interpretation are: Crescent city - Crescent city is a nickname for New Orleans "Five thousand feet below, as black smoke engulfs the sky, the ocean floor explodes" - the sky being a metaphor for the ocean surface, and the black smoke is the oil. "Choking on the black gold, upon which we rely" - Black gold is a term for oil, and which we rely is referring to how we use oil on a daily basis.

The whole chorus about help never coming is a reference to how BP always said they'd deal with the spill and clean it up, but they took forever to do so.

Song Meaning

yea totally agree with this but is also about hurricane katrina. When it says help is on the way it can also mean that the american government said they were coming to help all of the american people that were there but never did because it was too much money and america values its money more then its citizens, i have seen many videos and interviews with Tim and Rise Against about this song because it is just an amazing song

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You're both right! I recognized the Gulf oil spill reference as soon as I heard it, but I didn't know about it also being about Hurricane Katrina until I looked up the song. The chorus about help being on the way definitely reminds me of New Orleans in the days and weeks following the disaster.

This is an incredible song.

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Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

When the song comes to the part 'It never came!' I feel blazing and bitter fury.

100% agreed.

Not Valid

@KatieDementie Me too. Me too. Such a chilling song/video. Definitely my personal favorite from the band.

Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

"the ocean floor explodes 11 mothers cry"

For those unaware, 11 people died when the oil rig exploded in the gulf. Hence this line.

Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

This is the best I could do, message me on here if you want to mp3 or you have changes to the lyrics :) awesome song.

A few suggestions on lyrics here:

While giants in the sky => watch Ions in the sky (planes) My bones are resining => My bones all resonate she says that's a sure line => she says that's a shoreline And it's always 'in front of me' in the chorus, it doesn't change into 'inside of me'

Not Valid

Personally, it makes more sense as "While giants in the sky are preparing to unleash and let loose a mighty cry" It also sounds like "The severence is dying" And I also believe it isn't she says it's a shoreline, it sounds more like "She stands at the shoreline" which would make more sense as well. We won't know the official lyrics until Rise Against releases them, so until then we can use our ears to decipher their poem.

Not Valid

Personally, it makes more sense as "While giants in the sky are preparing to unleash and let loose a mighty cry" It also sounds like "The severence is dying" And I also believe it isn't she says it's a shoreline, it sounds more like "She stands at the shoreline" which would make more sense as well. We won't know the official lyrics until Rise Against releases them, so until then we can use our ears to decipher their poem.

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Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

The first part seems to refer to Katrina:

"The crescent city sleeps/While giants in the sky/preparing to unleash"

Because Hurricane Katrina caught us (I llive in NO) completely off guard since we all thought it was just going to dissipate after it hit Florida. The second part is quite obviously referring to the oil spill but the first part stuck out from that so I thought I'd mention.

Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

I think its actually "She stands at the shoreline, with hands in the air" "her words pierce the dark night, does anyone care?" Meaning, that This girl (presumabally stranded) is yelling and screaming and waving her arms to try and get the attention of one of the supposed "rescuers"

Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

it still is a problem commander. there still is oil in the gulf just the media isnt talking about it anymore

exactly, the media is NEVER an unbiased source, they blame everyone but themselves for everything. they can be a cause for some of these events too

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Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

the media doesn't talk about it because the general population lost interest and i think this song speaks on that saying the help never came because people lost interest and no one is fretting over it anymore thinking "oh its no big deal, the news hasnt said anything so it must be all better now"

same thing with Haiti, the media had a field day over it but then lost interest

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Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

I find it very interesting to listen to the tone of voice used in the song.

You start with a statement that eventually works it's way into a desperate cry. Immediately followed by the chorus saying "Help is on the way".

I find this interesting because after the chorus if repeats, starts with a calm statement then back to a desperate cry for help.

Almost as if when you ask for help and it is offered, you can never really fully rely on anyone else but yourself.

I think it has more to do with direct action then anything else.

Cover art for Help Is On The Way lyrics by Rise Against

It's really:

choking on the black gold upon which we rely we keep axes in the attic to see cameras in the sky

The first part is addressing the oil spill, but the second part is about Katrina. They told us to keep axes in our attics so if the water rose too fast you could still get out. I'm not completely sure about the "cameras in the sky," I think it might be about all the helicopters flying around video taping all the people on the roofs.