Walking Is Still Honest

**lex** · Subject: Walking Is Still Honest Wed 30 Jan 2008, 9:17 pm

Discuss. This song fucking rocks. I'll add my two cents later.

Sam Jones! · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 31 Jan 2008, 12:30 am

i dont know what its all about. but that song gives me the special feeling inside. its my most favorite.

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mullets suk · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 31 Jan 2008, 7:24 pm

in a live concert i have he mentions how its about his mom raising two kids by her self.

Guest

Ah, I don't even know..this song seems like it could be about so many things. I'm sure Tom wrote it about something specifically, but it just seems like it could hold a lot of meaning for a lot of people. Definitely one of my most favorite AM! songs.

**billy pilgrim** · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Fri 15 Feb 2008, 12:17 pm

I donno, I'm probably projecting a little bit here, but I get the feeling that a lot of it is about the way some parents raise their kids with certain religions [I believe I read that Tom's family was Catholic?] and some parents don't. Although based on the lyrics, if that's the meaning of it then I'd assume his mom was in the non-religious camp.

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Yeah, I get what you mean. The song definitely has something to do with religion. Maybe it has to do with a poor single mother raising kids, and depending on her religion to get her by? I actually just got this AMP magazine from a long time ago with them on the cover, I'll type up what Tom said about his family's religion:

"My father is Roman Catholic and my mother is Irish Catholic and well, being raised with the beliefs and everything they weren't avid church-goers or anything, but I did go to church for periods of time here and there. Also, I grew up with my father in the military and we traveled around a lot, and I spent a brief period of time in Italy and Germany, and stuff like that. So, moving around there wasn't a lot of time necessarily for becoming 'church members.'"

nickno · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Mon 18 Feb 2008, 6:56 pm

the song the acoustic version from crime sounds exacly like a CCR song i like it. i prefer the Crime version miles over the Axl Rose version

Cliche Guevara · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 10 Apr 2008, 8:40 pm

I prefer the Crime version too. The slower pace really seems to work better with the theme of the song.

Patron · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 10 Apr 2008, 8:45 pm

What a great song. I bought an acoustic guitar last week for the sole purpose of learning Against Me! songs. Before this week, I've never played guitar before; I've got RAR and Baby down pat. Tomorrow I'm going to learn this song.

Gary - IRL · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 10 Apr 2008, 9:10 pm

Quote:

Dear mother,
This is just survival.
Cannot promise your children everything,
But you would lie so they can sleep tonight.
Defeat tasted nothing like you said.
Still 22 days left till the end of the world.
My legacy was making you a man
For a justice I could not change.
This is one voice not to forget;
"Fight every fight like you can win;
An iron fisted champion,
An iron willed fuck up."

Can anybody tell me why God won't speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you're on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven't given up on me.

Dear shithead,
This isn't happening;
The sky is really falling,
The paint's all made of lead,
There's asbestos in the walls,
Hell's coming to rip off the doors
To your priveleged heaven.
Do you want to love and feel it?
You can look but you can't taste it.
You can reach but you'll never have it.
We are untouchable;
Untouchable is something to be.

Can anybody tell me why God won't speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you're on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven't given up on me,
And you haven't given up on me,
And you haven't forgotten me...

i think the song is about tom feeling pressured to believe in the religion of his family. His mother "would lie so they can sleep tonight" meaning she would tell her children about religion, prayers and god to comfort them as kids.

And the chorus is about him questioning whether it's true and him saying "not my son, not my family" meaning his son and family won't be force fed religion.

the "DEAR SHITHEAD!" verse is his letter to either god, or more likely a religious preacher. he's singing about how shits falling apart (asbestos), and hell's coming to rip off your doors (reality is coming into) of your priveledged heaven (heaven's reserved to the religious).

And the "untouchable is something to be" means that Tom thinks that god can't mess with us. We're untouchable. There is not god that "touches" us.

"Walking is still honest" is about getting off your knees and praying and just keep moving along, working harder. Keep trying, keep walking, because it's more honest/real/truthful then spending your time praying on your knees.

but then the very end of the song fucks everything up. because he sings about "and you haven't given up/forgotten me". meaning he still believes in a god that may be fighting for him to survive. unless he's singing about his mother not giving up on his faith?

Yeah so the whole song is about him questioning the religion his mother brought him up on. Well, atleast thats how I see it.

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Fight every fight like you can win; An iron fisted champion, An iron willed fuck up.

Patron · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 10 Apr 2008, 9:17 pm

Quote:

And the "untouchable is something to be" means that Tom thinks that god can't mess with us. We're untouchable. There is not god that "touches" us.

I'd say it's more likely to be God that is untouchable. As in: not responsible for any mistakes.

Gary - IRL · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Thu 10 Apr 2008, 9:20 pm

Patron wrote:

Quote:

And the "untouchable is something to be" means that Tom thinks that god can't mess with us. We're untouchable. There is not god that "touches" us.

I'd say it's more likely to be God that is untouchable. As in: not responsible for any mistakes.

hmmm, but the very next line is "untouchable is something to be" --- so does that mean that there is a god to him? That means "untouchable" exists?

Or is he being sarcastic, like, god is "untouchable", and thats something we should try to be?

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Fight every fight like you can win; An iron fisted champion, An iron willed fuck up.

Patron · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Fri 11 Apr 2008, 7:07 am

I'd guess the latter. He's untouchable because he can show absolutely no remorse for anything that happens in his name.

Either that, or people only credit good things to him. If something bad happens, it's usually blamed on people.

Joaquin_Honest · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Fri 11 Apr 2008, 9:03 am

Gary - IRL wrote:

but then the very end of the song fucks everything up. because he sings about "and you haven't given up/forgotten me". meaning he still believes in a god that may be fighting for him to survive. unless he's singing about his mother not giving up on his faith?

Good stuff there, man! I think you got a great interpretation with that whole post. As for this bit that I specifically quoted...

I would say that the chorus is directed at his mother, partially. I can see how the bit "and you haven't given up on me" is, maybe, his own appreciation of her having faith in her son to either do well or go back into the religion. I say that because I feel that with my own mother. She's a very strong Christian and while I reject religion in general she still prays for me and believes that later in my life I'll go back to christianity. I really can't help but appreciate that even though she knows I'm not anything religious and that I dislike a great majority of religious people she still believes in me. She's had the struggle of raising 32 kids, only 3 being her own - the rest being her younger brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and my father's first three children from his first marriage. So I feel like I can really relate to this song!

I wish I could find a way to fully express my own interpretation of this song but I'm too sleep deprived at the moment to muster up the words. I certainly do like to think the "we are untouchable; untouchable is something to be!" bit is in reference to not being touched by god. What greatness is that? We may not be any chosen vessel of god, but doesn't that mean that when we set out to do something great and for ourselves it really means something more? We're doing something good, real, honest and pure because WE WANT to, not because we're told to by some higher being. Not because there's the promise of eternal damnation if we don't! We're doing it because we fucking honestly want to and we're doing it by the blood, sweat and strength of our own wills and lives. Something that we believe in that's not from or for a "higher purpose" than our honest desire to do it. I mean, I don't know about you but when I meet religious people who are at charities and such and ask them what motivates them all they say is "for the reward in heaven that God promised me" it just makes my fucking blood boil! So if there was no promise of some riches in a place that might not even fucking be there you wouldn't bother with this? What about YOUR OWN desire to do something good for someone else or for yourself that benefits others around you? I just figure that if you're going to do something good do it because you honestly fucking want to not because you'll get a pat on the back for it or whatever greatness might ensue because most of the time good deeds go unrecognized and unrewarded. If people are only in it for the rewards then the honesty just seems sapped from it! Coming away from doing a good deed of my own free will and not for the promise of heaven certainly leaves me feeling untouchable. I did something good for the sake of doing it. That's honesty. And you can't touch that. You can't fucking tarnish it!

On re-reading that I feel that I sound ungrateful. True, it's annoying that it seems like plenty of people wouldn't bother with the charities and generosity if not for being rewarded by a higher being, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate their efforts. Sure, I have more respect and appreciation for the efforts of the person who does it for the sake of doing it and for the honest desire to do it, but I don't think I under-appreciate the one who's doing it just for the reward. Some people, apparently, need such incentives to do such things.

Gary - IRL · Subject: Re: Walking Is Still Honest Fri 11 Apr 2008, 11:56 am

Joaquin_Honest wrote:

Gary - IRL wrote:

but then the very end of the song fucks everything up. because he sings about "and you haven't given up/forgotten me". meaning he still believes in a god that may be fighting for him to survive. unless he's singing about his mother not giving up on his faith?

Good stuff there, man! I think you got a great interpretation with that whole post. As for this bit that I specifically quoted...

I would say that the chorus is directed at his mother, partially. I can see how the bit "and you haven't given up on me" is, maybe, his own appreciation of her having faith in her son to either do well or go back into the religion. I say that because I feel that with my own mother. She's a very strong Christian and while I reject religion in general she still prays for me and believes that later in my life I'll go back to christianity. I really can't help but appreciate that even though she knows I'm not anything religious and that I dislike a great majority of religious people she still believes in me. She's had the struggle of raising 32 kids, only 3 being her own - the rest being her younger brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and my father's first three children from his first marriage. So I feel like I can really relate to this song!

I wish I could find a way to fully express my own interpretation of this song but I'm too sleep deprived at the moment to muster up the words. I certainly do like to think the "we are untouchable; untouchable is something to be!" bit is in reference to not being touched by god. What greatness is that? We may not be any chosen vessel of god, but doesn't that mean that when we set out to do something great and for ourselves it really means something more? We're doing something good, real, honest and pure because WE WANT to, not because we're told to by some higher being. Not because there's the promise of eternal damnation if we don't! We're doing it because we fucking honestly want to and we're doing it by the blood, sweat and strength of our own wills and lives. Something that we believe in that's not from or for a "higher purpose" than our honest desire to do it. I mean, I don't know about you but when I meet religious people who are at charities and such and ask them what motivates them all they say is "for the reward in heaven that God promised me" it just makes my fucking blood boil! So if there was no promise of some riches in a place that might not even fucking be there you wouldn't bother with this? What about YOUR OWN desire to do something good for someone else or for yourself that benefits others around you? I just figure that if you're going to do something good do it because you honestly fucking want to not because you'll get a pat on the back for it or whatever greatness might ensue because most of the time good deeds go unrecognized and unrewarded. If people are only in it for the rewards then the honesty just seems sapped from it! Coming away from doing a good deed of my own free will and not for the promise of heaven certainly leaves me feeling untouchable. I did something good for the sake of doing it. That's honesty. And you can't touch that. You can't fucking tarnish it!

On re-reading that I feel that I sound ungrateful. True, it's annoying that it seems like plenty of people wouldn't bother with the charities and generosity if not for being rewarded by a higher being, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate their efforts. Sure, I have more respect and appreciation for the efforts of the person who does it for the sake of doing it and for the honest desire to do it, but I don't think I under-appreciate the one who's doing it just for the reward. Some people, apparently, need such incentives to do such things.

you sir, are the man.

oh by the way, i don't believe "untouchable is something to be" as not being touched by God is something negative. granted this is such a great line because it's so powerful and ambiguous at the same time.

I feel like it's about they don't need god to "touch them". tom's beyond that, we can't be touched by god, because we're better then him, because atleast we exist (we're "something to be"). I don't want you to think I have a negative conoctation with that line. I think it's powerful and more like a middle finger to god.

_________________
Fight every fight like you can win; An iron fisted champion, An iron willed fuck up.