The End

Album: Battles (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lead single from Battles, In Flames guitarist Björn Gelotte described "The End" as "a fairly straightforward In Flames song."

    "Having said that," he added, "it's a really positive vibe [to] the song. It's not a slash-your-wrists kind of vibe; it makes you realize to just make sure you appreciate that moment."
  • The song imagines a person's thoughts who knows they are about to die. Vocalist Anders Friden explained to Metal Hammer:

    "You're going to die in five minutes, what are your thoughts? Are you happy with your life? Do you feel you've done everything you could? Do you want to relive it? And how important is it that we talk to each other and treat each other in a good way? It's sort of questioning, 'Have we done everything that we could?'

    "In today's society everything is so fast, it's like, 'Next one, next one, next one…' All we judge other people on is the way they look, the last vacation they've been on, the last beer they've had… with social media, what I want you to see is how happy I am, how great my life might be," Friden continued. "It's very superficial and we never say, 'Dude, you're a really friendly person, you're good to me, I like the way you help others'. That's sort of where that inspiration comes from. Like the world is getting more and more hostile and that's not where we should be."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets

Curt Kirkwood of Meat PuppetsSongwriter Interviews

The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.