Cease

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1996
First release
The Gray Race (album)
Songwriter
Greg Graffin

Lyrics

Cease

Blacktop pavement cover me, Like a chemical reaction or a steam roller Spreading randomly. There's a distant buzz at low frequency It tickles my ear, rumbles under my feet And it shakes the leaves off of every tree Violently. What pretension, everlasting peace, Everything must cease. Institution on the hill, Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor To ignite a people's will. There's a shadowed stain on the west facade, It has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud And the descendants find it oh so odd. Oh, so odd. What pretension, everlasting peace, Everything must cease. Grave memorial, hewn white stone, Like the comforting caress of a mother Or a friend you've always known. It evokes such pain and significance, What was once is reduced to rememberance And the generations pass without recompense. What pretension, everlasting peace Everything must...

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Song Interpretations

What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.

9

legacy memberJan 14, 2015

Was just listening to this song and thinking about the second stanza. While a more obscure meaning could be taken from it, but I think more simply it's referring to the US Capitol Building. The West Facade faces the National Mall and the Washington Memorial. It's also where the President is sworn into office. But the stain could be the shadow of the Washington Memorial, or just the stains of corruption within gove…

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Was just listening to this song and thinking about the second stanza. While a more obscure meaning could be taken from it, but I think more simply it's referring to the US Capitol Building. The West Facade faces the National Mall and the Washington Memorial.

It's also where the President is sworn into office. But the stain could be the shadow of the Washington Memorial, or just the stains of corruption within government.
legacy memberMar 4, 2012

"Institution on the hill,/Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor/To ignite a people's will. There's a shadowed stain on the west facade,/It has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud/And the descendants find it oh so odd." I think this is referring to the Chartres Cathedral built in the 13th Century. It took 66 years to build. 'The fraud' would be the orchestration of a ruse by the Master Builder and/or Bishop t…

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"Institution on the hill,/Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor/To ignite a people's will.
There's a shadowed stain on the west facade,/It has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud/And the descendants find it oh so odd."

I think this is referring to the Chartres Cathedral built in the 13th Century. It took 66 years to build. 'The fraud' would be the orchestration of a ruse by the Master Builder and/or Bishop that the Virgin Mary's tunic survived the fire that consumed the earlier cathedral. 'The shadowed stain on the west facade' would be the largest stained glass window in the Cathedral that was made to represent the Virgin Mary.

Maybe it's coincidence, but the story fits. Just throwing it out there.
legacy memberOct 8, 2010 · edited Oct 8, 2010
I think this song is about tiredness. People are tired of war, destruction of nature and degradation of mankind. People want "everlasting peace"; they want problems to cease.
legacy memberJun 4, 2005 · edited Sep 16, 2010
He is basically saying there is no point in attempting to make the world a better place; it never will be.
legacy memberFeb 22, 2005 · edited Sep 16, 2010
I believe this song is about that numbing feeling that slowly encroaches as life progresses that in fact everything comes to an end. A fairly obvious interpretation yes. I think it could be also about how progress and advancement in some areas halts the the traditional ways of other people.
droogiedroogieNov 7, 2004 · edited Sep 16, 2010

It's a bitterly depressed poem of disillusionment with the progressive movement's efficacy. From our inability to save the environment to the corruption of our philosophers' ideas by opportunists to the cultural hegemony of the church to the deaths of our leaders to the simple fact that we have never been able to create a lasting solution in any of these areas, Graffin simply can't see a way to a better world anymor…

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It's a bitterly depressed poem of disillusionment with the progressive movement's efficacy. From our inability to save the environment to the corruption of our philosophers' ideas by opportunists to the cultural hegemony of the church to the deaths of our leaders to the simple fact that we have never been able to create a lasting solution in any of these areas, Graffin simply can't see a way to a better world anymore.
BryanJOct 20, 2004 · edited Sep 16, 2010

"Blacktop pavement cover me/ Like a chemical reaction or a steam roller/ Spreading randomly/ There's a distant buzz and low frequency/ It tickles my ear, it rumbles under my feet/ And it shakes the leaves off of every tree/ (Violently)" - this verse is from nature's perspective of the destruction of nature. "Institution on the Hill/ Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor/ To ignite a people's will/ There's a shado…

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"Blacktop pavement cover me/ Like a chemical reaction or a steam roller/ Spreading randomly/ There's a distant buzz and low frequency/ It tickles my ear, it rumbles under my feet/ And it shakes the leaves off of every tree/ (Violently)" - this verse is from nature's perspective of the destruction of nature.

"Institution on the Hill/ Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor/ To ignite a people's will/ There's a shadowed stain on the west facade/ It has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud/ And the descendents find it oh so odd/ (Oh so odd)" - This is about the fleeting status of institutions, countries, empires, religions and maybe mankind itself.

"Grave memorial hewn white stone/ Like the comforting caress of a mother/ Or a friend you've always known/ It evokes such pain and significance/ What was once is reduced to remembrance/ And the generations pass without recompense"- This takes place in the future after mankind has lost its place as top dog on this planet.

"What pretension! Everlasting peace./ Everything must cease." - The chorus and the song in generally basically mean: "Nothing lasts forever."
legacy memberJul 17, 2004 · edited Sep 16, 2010

My personal interpretation is that since America's foundings (the 'instiution on the hill', a clever play off of 'city upon the hill', which was the name given to the New England colony of America), we as a society have been sliding out of control, and the inevitable result of this tailspin is for everything to cease. And when it does cease, considering all of the madness occurring all around us, perhaps the resultin…

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My personal interpretation is that since America's foundings (the 'instiution on the hill', a clever play off of 'city upon the hill', which was the name given to the New England colony of America), we as a society have been sliding out of control, and the inevitable result of this tailspin is for everything to cease. And when it does cease, considering all of the madness occurring all around us, perhaps the resulting quiet will not be so bad after all...'a comforting caress of a mother, or a friend you've always known.'
legacy memberJul 17, 2004 · edited Sep 16, 2010
This song is pretty much about how everything has a beginning and an end--life, hope, history, the universe. It seems to be an inescapable resolution, all will cease to be.