No Control

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1989
First release
No Control (album)
Songwriter
Greg Graffin

Lyrics

No Control

Culture was the seed of proliferation but it's gotten melded Into an inharmonic whole, to an inharmonic whole. Consciousness has plagued us and we cannot shake it Though we think we're in control, though we think we're in control. Questions that besiege us in life are testament of our helplessness. There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. When we all disintegrate it will all happen again, yeah. Time is so rock solid in the minds of the hoards but they can't Explain why it should slip away, explain why it should slip away. History and future are the comforts of our curiosity but here we are Rooted in the present day, rooted in the present day. Questions that besiege us in life are testament of our helplessness. There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. When we all disintegrate it will all happen again, yeah. If you came to conquer, you'll be king for a day, But you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away. And believe these words you hear when you think your path is clear... We have no control. We have no control. We have no control, we do not understand. You have no control, you are not in command. You have no control. We have no control. No control. No control. You have no control.

Versions & recordings

Grouped by recording

7

First released on Between Heaven And Hell · 1990

Appears on

Operation Rescue: Live In Dusseldorf Germany 12 4 1992 FM BroadcastBootleg · 2023View 1 version →Punk Rock Am Ring 2002Bootleg · 2002View 1 version →Live in Denver 2003Bootleg · 2003View 3 versions →Florida 2002Bootleg · 2002View 1 version →

Song statistics

Archive coverage at a glance

140release versions
#10

10th most featured song

1,054documented shows
#8

8th most played song

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Song Interpretations

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

7

TatheirOct 20, 2010

One of the questions in Dr. Graffin's doctoral study questionnaire poses two statements for participants to choose from: a) All biological organisms are locally determined by heredity and environment but humans still possess free will. or b) All biological organisms are locally determined by heredity and environment and humans have no free will. (for anyone interested it is question 7). He polled many of the world's…

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One of the questions in Dr. Graffin's doctoral study questionnaire poses two statements for participants to choose from: a) All biological organisms are locally determined by heredity and environment but humans still possess free will. or b) All biological organisms are locally determined by heredity and environment and humans have no free will. (for anyone interested it is question 7). He polled many of the world's eminent evolutionary biologists, and found that 14.09% of the people who returned the questionnaire believe humans have no free will. Many of them seem to believe that we have no free will due to the fact that everything that we are, including our physical being, our psychological being, and our actions, are all directly influenced by our genetics and our environment. "[i]But the impression that our will is 'free' in the sense of completely independent of genetic and environmental influence must be an illusion since our minds and actions are inevitably shaped by those things.[/i]" This, in a very personal rather than cultural sense is what No Control is all about. "consciousness has plagued us and we cannot shake it" really speaks to the idea that free will is an illusion. One respondent to Graffin's questionnaire notes that "[i]Based on strictly neurobiological facts free will is most likely a useful illusion.[/i]" Many see it as an illusion, but an illusion so rooted in our minds that it might as well be called free will. However, in the end, if something is an illusion, no matter how hard we try to rationalize it, we're never going to be able to make it reality. Again, this is a very personal interpretation of this song, although the main themes are cultural. However, in many cases, and I believe including this one, it is possible to explain certain cultural phenomena by examining personal behavior. Because we have no free will over our own actions, we have no control over what happens in our world or our entire universe for that matter. In the end we die and more people come around and it all happens again. We have no control.
legacy memberOct 6, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

To me, No Control is about the biological reality of humans. Even though we can think, even though we can conform our behavior to these thoughts, that is really the exception to the rule and only window dressing. The rule is that we are the animals encapsulated in our DNA. And though we have our plans and our memories, we are oblivious to the largeness of time, the millennia and our minuscule place in it. And there i…

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To me, No Control is about the biological reality of humans. Even though we can think, even though we can conform our behavior to these thoughts, that is really the exception to the rule and only window dressing. The rule is that we are the animals encapsulated in our DNA. And though we have our plans and our memories, we are oblivious to the largeness of time, the millennia and our minuscule place in it. And there is nothing we could do about it even if we were not oblivious to it.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

This song is about how humanity has absolutely no control over the past, nor does it have the power to change the future. We are just another doomed species that has no say in what happens, we're just along for the ride. We too will deteriorate, and quickly fade away, only to be replaced by the next dominant species. This planet was not made for us, we don't own it, we don't hold power over it. When our species bec…

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This song is about how humanity has absolutely no control over the past, nor does it have the power to change the future. We are just another doomed species that has no say in what happens, we're just along for the ride. We too will deteriorate, and quickly fade away, only to be replaced by the next dominant species. This planet was not made for us, we don't own it, we don't hold power over it. When our species becomes extinct, the Earth will go on like we weren't even here; it wont miss us.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

It is a song about Geological time and how history and the present have affected the earth. It also talks about the evolutionary process and the fact that we are not able to control it. Consider the following quote: "We have no control, we do not understand, you have no control, you are not in command." This also opens the song's interpretation to anthropological aspects as well; since Homo Sapiens have not entirely…

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It is a song about Geological time and how history and the present have affected the earth. It also talks about the evolutionary process and the fact that we are not able to control it. Consider the following quote: "We have no control, we do not understand, you have no control, you are not in command." This also opens the song's interpretation to anthropological aspects as well; since Homo Sapiens have not entirely mastered the science of Natural Selection.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010
I think the lines "If you came to conquer you'll be king for a day, but you too will deteriorate an quickly fade away" have something to do with fame and how fast it is used up in our society. I think it means that if you're at the top you won't be there for long and then people will just move on to another person or fad.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010

The explanations to the creation of the world are either god or science, the big bang. The human race had no control over its creation nor will it have control over its demise. If it's God, he will decide. If it's science, whose to say the elements, molecules, atoms , whatever, don't line up again causing another big bang to our disadvantage. This song has little to do with human control, our leaders will suffer the…

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The explanations to the creation of the world are either god or science, the big bang. The human race had no control over its creation nor will it have control over its demise. If it's God, he will decide. If it's science, whose to say the elements, molecules, atoms , whatever, don't line up again causing another big bang to our disadvantage. This song has little to do with human control, our leaders will suffer the same fate, power can't save you, we as a human race don't have control.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010
Basically, we're in this tiny spot between history and the future, both of which we have very little understanding of. And we have no control over either. There's nothing we can do that will last forever, we'll all be forgotten and fade away at some point as if we never existed, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.