Someone, Anyone by Anberlin

Album: Vital (2012)

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This song was inspired by the Egyptian revolution of 2011. "Watching a country unit without mass destruction or an overwhelming amount of fatalities is awe inspiring," said vocalist Stephen Christian. "I understand that there will be war, but [their protest] gives me hope that, in the future, others will learn from this form of non-violence for massive worldwide reform."
Stephen Christian spoke to us in late 2012 shortly after viewing the attack on the American consulate in Libya that left four people dead, which he feels have left "an ironic twist" to this song. The violent reaction was blamed at the time on the clips posted on YouTube of the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims, though it was later confirmed they were a planned terrorist attack and unrelated to the film.

Christian explained that initially he "was really inspired by the Egyptian revolution," as it appeared to be "very, very peaceful in comparison to what it could have been." It was amazing to him to "see an entire country come together without picking up weapons. Instead they protested and they told the government, 'This has to change.'" However "several months later, and we just had four Americans die at an embassy because of a video that one person put together and put online."
For Stephen the irony lies in his admiration for a culture whereby "through simple protests and non violent movements in the vein of Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr., changed an entire government." However watching the deaths of four people at the American consulate in Libya made him decide "that the people can only go so far with that."
Stephen concluded that the lesson he's "learned is that we have come far as a civilization. But we still have a lot to work on. And 'Someone, Anyone' talks about how once you step into the realm of violence, no one can walk away truly alive, i.e., the people that sadly passed away. But also the Egyptian people I feel have lost something. The movement that made them who they are is now seen as not having come far enough.
And so it's just admonishment to the world as a whole that there are ways to solve problems other than violence."

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