Lyrics
Skyscraper
Come let us make bricks
And burn them hard,
We'll build a city
With a tower for the world
And climb so we can reach
Anything we may propose,
Anything at all.
Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can't climb at all.
I know why it tore down that day,
You thought that if you got caught,
We'd all go away.
Like a spoiled little baby
Who can't come out to play,
You had your revenge.
Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can't climb at all.
Well, madness reigned
And paradise drowned,
When Babel's walls came crashing down,
Now the echoes roar
For a story writ
That was hardly understood
And never any good.
Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can't climb at all.
Versions & recordings
Grouped by recording
First released on Recipe For Hate · 1993
Song Interpretations
What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.
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This song made me look up Genesis 11, the story of the Tower of Babel. And then I thought of the Richard Dawkins quote: "The God of the Old Testament is the most unpleasant character in all fiction..." What an insecure shithead! Or as Brett would say, "The story was never any good." All the people of the world spoke the same language and they built an amazing city and a tower deep into the sky. And god realized, "T…
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All the people of the world spoke the same language and they built an amazing city and a tower deep into the sky. And god realized, "These people can do anything working together." So he destroyed the Tower of Babel and scattered the people throughout the world, giving them different languages to speak so they would not work together, apparently. And I am supposed to worship this God? No thanks, I will condemn him.
[quote=Guest]I agree that the song's about the Babel Tower and the presence of God, but your interpretation is wrong. Look, Bad Religion are against christianity, not against God. This song is against the stupid beliefs that were written in the Old Testament and are believed in even now, that God is vicious and vindictive. Bad Religion says that if God is vicious and vindictive, then people with all their humanism ar…
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I 100% agree with you, Jake. The lines,
"I know why it tore down that day,
You thought that if you got caught,
We'd all go away.
Like a spoiled little baby
Who can't come out to play,
You had your revenge."
proves this irrefutably. "You thought if you got caught" - as though it would be physically possible to build a tower to heaven, and that God would feel threatened by such a silly concept. The rest of that verse goes on to illustrate how ridiculous and spiteful a God who would do this for that reason would be. Surprisingly, many Christians do view this story as "We tried to literally build a tower to heaven, and God punished us for it." This song is about how wrong that common interpretation is.
I agree that the song's about the Babel Tower and the presence of God, but your interpretation is wrong. Look, Bad Religion are against christianity, not against God. This song is against the stupid beliefs that were written in the Old Testament and are believed in even now, that God is vicious and vindictive. Bad Religion says that if God is vicious and vindictive, then people with all their humanism are more intell…
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first of all, this is, in my opinion, the greatest song of all time, not just by bad religion, but by anyone, ever. this song is about civilization. before civilization, humans lived in gatherer/hunter bands. they were egalitarian/non-hierarchical and life didn't require much labor. no religion. "primitive communism" according to marx and engels. nature "gave" everything; much like "eden". as the bible clear…
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this song is about civilization. before civilization, humans lived in gatherer/hunter bands. they were egalitarian/non-hierarchical and life didn't require much labor. no religion. "primitive communism" according to marx and engels. nature "gave" everything; much like "eden".
as the bible clearly states, after the "fall of man" humankind was punished in many ways, but also one of a life of hard labor through agriculture.
after the agricultural "revolution," humans began living in cities, developing language, developing technologies, and other cultural artifacts like religion.
so while these early civilizations built cities with towers, they denigrated themselves by placing responsibility for their actions (and for everything that occurred) on their 'god.'
the bible is therefore a (someone useful, allegorical) retelling of the story of early civilization.
so when some of these people tried to break with the authority of god, and built the so-called tower of babel, they were guilty of hubris (in the eyes of their obviously non-existent god).
sort of summation:
1. people live under repressive religion in early civ.
2. some try to break from this and reach "anything we propose"
3. random happenstance destroys the tower (or poor planning)
4. confused, the people don't make a complete break with their belief in god. and begin to criticize him. ("i know why you tore it down that day...etc")
5. this is obviously a false conclusion because god doesn't exist.
6. this is not an obvious or common interpretation: "hardly understood"
7. "the echoes roar" we're still living in the shadow of the false conclusions of the tower people.
8. it is not enough to question the dictates and decrees of gods and other authority figures. we must question their status as authority. (which, in the case of god, includes his existence)
instead of demeaning ourselves by saying god exists and that he controls our destiny and doesn't want us to be arrogant and have hubris, we should come to the conclusion that god doesn't exist, that we are responsible for our actions (individually AND collectively), that we can, in fact, reach "anything we propose" once we stop thinking we're separated and alienated from each other because of god.
by the way, this is a work in progress.
Ants don't work together? I've gotta back up Jolt Cola here...he's right on the money. Who do you think is being addressed with the lines that begin "I know why you tore it down that day..."? Greg or Brett (I don't know who the hell wrote it) is talking about the vicious, arrogant, vengeful, spoiled, idiotic God that supposedly confounded our speech just to keep us from reaching a level comparable to his. As a side n…
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I've gotta back up Jolt Cola here...he's right on the money. Who do you think is being addressed with the lines that begin "I know why you tore it down that day..."? Greg or Brett (I don't know who the hell wrote it) is talking about the vicious, arrogant, vengeful, spoiled, idiotic God that supposedly confounded our speech just to keep us from reaching a level comparable to his.
As a side note, if you speak Spanish, check out the song "Mesias" by Ricardo Arjona if you want to hear some mind-blowing coincidences with 9/11. Again: not a prophet, just a coincidence, but mind-blowing nonetheless.
But this song is not about the Tower of Babel, even though he said the name of the city. We are all one species and we should be working together, like monkeys or something. But instead we are like ants, destroying each other's constructions, each other's skyscrapers.
To me this one's about how fucked up and sad the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) is. Most people seem to think the Tower of Babel story was about how God rightly punished a bunch of humans for being arrogant. But if you read the story it's about how the humans of the world spoke the same language and wanted to work together to make a great city and accomplish anything they put their minds to. For some reason…
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The song is about The Tower of Babel. It uses lines straight out of the bible. "Let us make brick and burn them thoroughly" was changed to, "let us make brick and burn them hard". Also "let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven" was changed to "we'll build a city with a tower for the world." It is clearly about the story of the Tower of Babel. Read the story or look it up on the internet and you…
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Personally I thought this was a pretty simple, broad song that could be interpreted many ways. I felt it was about idealistic notions and how they can be built up in the minds of people, yet in reality when it comes to fruition, their ideals come crashing down. For example early communism in Russia (now let it be said I'm not all that learned when it comes to political history so bear with me); now that was hailed…
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I felt it was about idealistic notions and how they can be built up in the minds of people, yet in reality when it comes to fruition, their ideals come crashing down.
For example early communism in Russia (now let it be said I'm not all that learned when it comes to political history so bear with me); now that was hailed by the masses, especially the working class, and built up as the great white hope. However their idealistic vision turned into an opressive regime. Perhaps nazi Germany and Hitler is a better example. He was a very charismatic man and the public 'built him up' (and nazi ideals) to be the next saviour, yet when that all turned to shit, they blamed the evil regime. Which is all well and good, but the people who voted for them must accept some responsibility (even if it's just a tiny iota) for pumping up a "story writ that was never any good".
It can apply to modern democracy, or people or even bands people seem to 'build up' and idolise. or proposed or actual revolutions. You can't just grab and ride the coat tails of the next big thing and hope this one will be the one. At some stage you've got to think "hang on...what if we're wrong, what if it comes crashing down?".
To simplify what I'm trying to convey perhaps it's just simply about shattered dreams, unrealised expectations or promises unfulfilled.
One line that I'd like to (over)analyse though is "we'll build a city with a tower for the world". I was thinking that this could mean building a city from scratch, and building a big skyscraper for all the people in the city to live, all the businesses to be run from etc. If these "joining walls" that built the skyscraper in the first place crumble, the whole city will. It's best to place your trust, or dedicate your efforts in many vessels rather than just the one, or in keeping with the whole skyscraper/city theme, it's best to build a city by building many small houses.
i have to agree with Captian. Though hellboy's argument was both intellegent and well thought out, i think the song is simply about the story of Babel's tower, but with a significant underlying message, as opposed to a metaphor. i think this message is basically just saying "hey look what happened, doesnt it suck? doesn't it kind of remind u of today's society?" much like the sarcastic "better off dead" message of "s…
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I have to throw in my two cents here. As Hippie Killer said, Brett isn't a prophet, and would be shocked and horrified to be categorized as such. It kind of goes against the entire ethos of Bad Religion. Essentially, the people that call Skyscraper a prophecy about the WTC bombing have made Bad Religion into a bad religion, as defined by the band themselves. It's about the story of Babel and the sad contradictions…
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It's about the story of Babel and the sad contradictions present therein.
I must say that all these interpretations have been interesting, I still believe that the 'tower of Babel' bible story seems to fit like a glove. This tends to be one of my favorite BR songs due to the lyrics (like every song they write) and the infectious melody. However, I really want to get something off my chest, Steve Montiel, I really think that your explanation is really off the mark. Yes, I understand that th…
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I know it was asked not to talk about my 'personal relation' to the song, but in this case, it seems most appropriate. I worked overnight Sept. 11th, 2001 and I spent the later part of my shift glued to the TV watching all the events in New York and Washington unfold live. I left work about 8:30am AZ. time, after the Towers had fallen and all hell had broken loose. Already shaken because of the attacks and then findi…
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I worked overnight Sept. 11th, 2001 and I spent the later part of my shift glued to the TV watching all the events in New York and Washington unfold live. I left work about 8:30am AZ. time, after the Towers had fallen and all hell had broken loose. Already shaken because of the attacks and then finding out that a member of my extended family was unaccounted for in NYC, I sat in my car for a few minutes and tried to settle down before driving home. On my way to work the night before, I'd been listening to a BR compilation CD I made and left off with 'Skyscraper.' I hadn't realized it, but when I turned the car on and my stereo started playing, it was at the line, 'We'll build a city with a tower for the world and climb so we can reach anything we may propose,' then into 'Build me up, tear me down like a skyscraper.' It was one of the most chilling moments of my life.
The parallels seemed truly scary. The Tower of Babel was leveled because God felt the people that built it were arrogant for thinking they could reach Heaven and it seemed to me that the WTC towers were leveled because some lunatic feels the US is getting too big for it britches and these towers were a symbol of our arrogance. But, just as Mr. Brett said, 'I know why you tore it down that day, You thought that if you got caught, we'd all go away, Like a spoiled little baby, who can't come out and play, you had your revenge.' Sounds like a certain terrorist hiding out in Afghanistan, doesn't it? 'Skyscraper' was always one of my favorite songs on 'Recipe for Hate' because of the way it was written, great lyrics, but amazing melodies and great vocals, but now it seems to hold more significance to me and hits a little closer to home. I doubt Gurewitz could have even guessed how true his words could be.
Every interpretation is individual and represents the reader's own view based upon his own acquired knowledge and experiences. I think this song can have multiple 'interpretations' depending on how you twist and turn things..... Personally I have a feeling it's joking about the Bible.( There is a huge contradiction in the Bible: 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' - Exodus and 'Thou shalt not kill' one of the co…
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In light of the recent attacks on the World Trade Center towers, this song now seems to early foretell the future. America has most definitely 'climbed to reach anything they may propose' which angered these terrorists so profoundly. Though I know nothing of the Bible, Babel's tower seems to analogize the current situation in the US. If the people of the world cannot see eye to eye, Babel's tower may be just the firs…
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Well boys, here we go again...hope I don't break down. The thing about poetry, or stories or songs or anything artistic at all is, once it is released to the public, any original meaning is gone, and replaced by what the viewer brings to it. every interpretation is right, and speculation is just that...a speculation. Perhaps if Mr. Brett were to come on and tell you what he thought at the time.....sorry....but it's t…
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In the words of Denis Miller 'I don't wish to go off on a rant here' but here we go. First off, I'd like to say that Hellboy's interpretation is intelligent, original, and very well might be what Mr. Brett meant, but in my opinion Hellboy has (as often happens when analyzing literature) 'over read' what I consider a much more straight forward song. One of Mr. Brett's favorite things to do in Bad Religion is criticiz…
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This might be a bit off from what most people understand from this song, but here's what I think. Skyscraper lyrically, is a quick telling of the story of Babel. Not much more to it than that. Which is why I think the song is actually ABOUT something metaphorical and does not involve God at all, for all intents and purposes. To me, the first verse relates to the community. They have a shared goal, and all work togeth…
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