The Decline
by NOFX

Album: The Decline (1999)
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  • Where are all the stupid people from?
    And how did they get to be so dumb,
    Bred on purple mountain range,
    Feed amber waves of grains
    To lesser human beings,
    Zero feelings

    Blame it on
    Human nature,
    Man's destiny
    Blame it on the greediocracy
    The fear of god,
    The fear of change,
    Fear of truth.

    Add the bill of rights subtract the wrongs
    Memorize and sing star spangled songs
    There's no answers when the questions aren't ever asked is anybody learning from the past,
    Were living in united stagnation
    Father...what have I done,
    I took that 22,
    A gift for me from you,
    To bed with me each night,
    Kept it clean,
    Polished it well,
    Cherished every cartridge every shell,

    Down,
    By the creek,
    Under brush,
    Under dirt there's a carcass of my second kill,
    Down,
    At the park,
    Under stone,
    Under pine there's the carcass of my brother william.
    Brother where have you gone to I swear
    I never thought I could see so many times
    They told me to shoot straight,
    Don't pull the trigger squeeze,
    That will insure a kill,
    A kill is what you want,
    A kill is why we breed.

    The christians love their guns
    The church and nra.
    Pray for their salvation,
    Prey on the lower faiths.
    The story book's been read and every line believed.
    The curriculum's been set logic is a threat reason searched & seized.

    Jerry spent some time in michigan,
    A 20 year vacation after all he had a dime,
    A dime is worth a lot more in detroit,
    A dime in california...a 20 dollar fine

    Jerry only stayed a couple months
    It's hard to enjoy yourself while bleeding out the ass
    Asphyxiation is simple and fast
    It beats 17 fun years of being someone's bitch

    Don't think,
    Drink your wine,
    Watch the fire burn,
    His problems not mine,
    Just be that model citizen.

    I wish I had a schilling,
    For every senseless killing,
    I'd buy a government.
    America's for sale,
    And you can get a good deal on it,
    And make a healthy profit,
    Or maybe tear it apart,
    You start with assumption,
    That a million people are smart,
    Smarter than 1

    Serotonins gone,
    She gave up,
    Drifted away.
    Sara fled thought process gone,
    She left her answering machine on,
    The greeting left spoken sincere,
    Messages no one will ever hear,
    10,000 messages a day
    A million more transmissions lay
    Victims of the laissez faire
    10.000 voices 100 guns, 100 decibels turns to one, one bullet one empty head
    Now with serotonin gone

    The man that used to speak performs a cute routine.
    Feel a little patronized.
    Don't feel bad about what they found a way inside your head.
    And you feel a bit misled.
    It's not that they don't care.
    The televisions put a thought inside your head
    Like a barry manilow
    Jingle I'd like to
    Teach the world to sing
    In perfect harmony
    A symphonic blank stare.
    It doesn't make you care.
    Not designed to make you care.
    They're betting you won't care.

    They'll place a wager on your greed.
    A wager on your pride
    Why try to beat them when a million others tried
    We are the whores
    Intellectually sprayed
    We are the queer
    Dysfunctionally raised

    One more pill to kill the pain,
    One more pill to kill the pain,
    One more pill to kill the pain,
    Living through conformity

    One more prayer should keep us safe,
    One more prayer to keep us warm,
    One more prayer to keep us safe,
    There's gonna be a better place,

    Lost the battle
    Lost the war
    Lost the things worth living for
    Lost the will to win the fight
    One more pill to kill the pain

    The going gets tough the tough get debt
    Don't pay attention pay the rent
    Our next of kins pay for your sins
    A little faith should keep us safe

    Save us
    The human existence
    Is failing.
    Resistance essential.
    The future
    Written off.
    The odds
    Are astronomically against us only
    Moron and genius
    Would fight a losing battle
    Against the super ego
    When giving in is so damn comforting
    And so we go
    On with our lives
    We know the truth
    But prefer lies lies
    Are simple.
    Simple is bliss.
    Why go against tradition when we can
    Admit defeat.
    Live in decline.
    Be the victim of our own design
    The status quo
    Built on suspect.
    Why would anyone stick out their neck
    Fellow members
    Club we've got ours,
    I'd like to introduce you to our host
    He's got his and
    I've got mine,
    We got decline Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 11

  • Jonny from Montreal, QcDoesn't this song have to do with "The Decline of Western Civilization?" (The movie AND the concept)Personally, I haven't seen the movie but they make enough references to it in their album covers...just sayin... (I've seen NO MENTION on any other site of this idea)
  • Anaïs from Paris, United Statesfrom the nofx site,one of the band members says,"Nightmare! Recording this f--k was a total nightmare. Writing it was a total nightmare. I'm glad we did it but I wouldn't do it again. We went back to the studio 3 different times and added stuff and remixed and remastered 4 times. It ain't no rock opera like song remains the same or nothing. We got the idea from subhumans, not rush. Why an 18 minute song? Just to do something different. We've done enough short songs, time for a long one. Anyway, my advice, never try this song at home."
  • Kim from Stuart, FlI wouldn't call it one of the most difficult songs. I mean, I've been playing it on bass for two years. Hell of a peice to learn, only because it's so long it's hard to stop and practice particular parts. I feel sorry for the poor bastard who sat down and tabbed it out.
  • Laura from Marysville, WaThis song is the only thing that can make me happy and depressed at the same time.
  • Trevor from Toronto, CanadaI expected a way better explination of this songs amazing yet complicated lyrics. The Decline is most definately one of the best and most difficult songs ever written. And P.S. I HAVE SEEN IT LIVE!!!!!!!!
  • Justin from Montreal, CanadaIf you'll notice, at 420 in the song. Fat Mike starts to sing about a guy who gets arrested for WEED. This is too perfect to be a coincidence.
  • Neil from Swansea, Europe(safe)
  • Neil from Swansea, EuropeI think the title pretty much sums it up. its about the decline of america and how everyone sits back and accepets it. listen to the lyrics including melvins backing vocals at 5:10 dont think (stay) drink your wine (home) watch the fire burn (be) his probelms not mine
  • Jared from Memphis, TnFirst of all any link between this song and any silly movie gimmick is absolutly absurd. This is absolutly the best punk rock song of all time and deserves more than a Pink Floyd reference. I'm sure Fat Mike didnt write this around the wall, and after reading this I tried it out. The few simularities are purely coincidental.
  • Hans from Oakdale, CaNOFX is f*cking awesome sweet and simple
  • Spando from Perth, AustraliaFat Mike denies any reference to the wall outright on the nofx site. It is pretty cool, ive tried it myself, but it is just a coincidence. The song is basically about all the problems in america today from drug laws to gun control to religion in washington. It also discusses all the distractions and easy answers we obsess over. A couple of points, a 'dime bag' is a small amount of weed, and is being used in this case to show the inconsistant drug laws between states. Asphixyation can mean suffocating yourself as a form of suicide among other things, but thats what it means here. 'the christians love their guns' isnt in reference to the religion in general, just the christians in congress lobbying against gun control. 18 minutes of total punk poetry. If you haven't heard it you really need to.
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