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Papa Roach—"Lifeline"
Photo by www.discoservicemusicheria.com
Per Wikipedia
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California.
Since their inception in 1993, the band has sold more than 20 million album copies worldwide.
"Lifeline" was their second single from their fifth album entitled "Metamorphosis" (a good album to binge).
The song was originally titled "Hanging On", and was changed to "Lifeline" after lead singer Jacoby Shaddix decided to alter the lyrics of the chorus.
It was released on January 27th, 2009 (via iTunes) and as a Hot Topic exclusive CD single on February 10th.
An accompanying music video was released on March 6th, 2009.
Since their inception in 1993, the band has sold more than 20 million album copies worldwide.
"Lifeline" was their second single from their fifth album entitled "Metamorphosis" (a good album to binge).
The song was originally titled "Hanging On", and was changed to "Lifeline" after lead singer Jacoby Shaddix decided to alter the lyrics of the chorus.
It was released on January 27th, 2009 (via iTunes) and as a Hot Topic exclusive CD single on February 10th.
An accompanying music video was released on March 6th, 2009.
Luke's Take
During an interview, lead singer Jacoby Shaddix talked about the song's meaning and what it truly represents.
"We know right now America is crazy times. People are hurting. Sacramento, near where we are from, is the leading region for home foreclosures in America, so they are setting up tent cities and shit is going down. We want to send love to people going through hardships."
In this particular music video, the band focuses on said homelessness by following the life of a working class man (let's call him Bob for discussion sake).
It appears as though Bob has been fired from his job at an industrial complex.
As he walks towards his truck, Bob is clearly stuck in his own head as thoughts of his wife and son swirl around his brain.
He ends up dropping to his knees in despair near his truck before regaining enough strength to finally climb into the vehicle.
Upon sitting down, Bob looks at some unpaid bills on the seat next to him and is further plagued by images of his wife and son as he presumably ponders how he will cover his family's living expenses without a job.
As he re-opens the car door (deep in thought), the scene shifts to Bob running from another man wearing a 'toque' (or 'beanie' if you're not Canadian) with scars on his arms.
The hat-wearing man turns out to be what is presumably a homeless version of Bob. To me, this alter-ego metaphorically represents Bob running away from his worst fear—being homeless and alone.
The rougher version of Bob also shouts "I'm never gonna fade away" at real Bob as the chase scene comes to a close. This line causes real Bob to stop and think before running full speed towards alternate Bob.
In my opinion, this shows that real Bob has had an epiphany—tackling your problems head on is better than worrying or running from them.
As he begins to drive home he continues to notice all of the foreclosed houses around him; however, his face seems relaxed. Upon arriving home to his son and wife, he appears to have completely calmed down.
As he watches his family play in the living room, he notices a newspaper on the kitchen table with an article entitled "$275 Billion Plan Seeks to Address Crisis in Housing".
A smile crosses his face as the video begins to fade out.
He's realized that although things seem bleak, there is still hope in regards to addressing homelessness. All he can do is stick by his family, and push through.
At the time of this video's release, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development had conducted an Annual Homeless Assessment Report which had revealed some startling results.
Between October 1st of 2008 and September 30th of 2009, approximately 1.56 million people (0.5% of the U.S. population) used some sort of housing program or emergency shelter. Of those 1.56 million, 643,000 were officially homeless (sheltered or unsheltered).
As Shaddix mentioned earlier, a lot of those homeless people were very present near Sacramento, California.
It makes sense because, at the time, more than 66% of sheltered homeless people were residing in principal cities. The man in the video (remember Bob?) had good reason to be concerned.
Especially since 44% of the homeless people from that survey were actually employed. Can you imagine having a job but still not being able to afford a home?
Such is the unfortunate reality.
"We know right now America is crazy times. People are hurting. Sacramento, near where we are from, is the leading region for home foreclosures in America, so they are setting up tent cities and shit is going down. We want to send love to people going through hardships."
In this particular music video, the band focuses on said homelessness by following the life of a working class man (let's call him Bob for discussion sake).
It appears as though Bob has been fired from his job at an industrial complex.
As he walks towards his truck, Bob is clearly stuck in his own head as thoughts of his wife and son swirl around his brain.
He ends up dropping to his knees in despair near his truck before regaining enough strength to finally climb into the vehicle.
Upon sitting down, Bob looks at some unpaid bills on the seat next to him and is further plagued by images of his wife and son as he presumably ponders how he will cover his family's living expenses without a job.
As he re-opens the car door (deep in thought), the scene shifts to Bob running from another man wearing a 'toque' (or 'beanie' if you're not Canadian) with scars on his arms.
The hat-wearing man turns out to be what is presumably a homeless version of Bob. To me, this alter-ego metaphorically represents Bob running away from his worst fear—being homeless and alone.
The rougher version of Bob also shouts "I'm never gonna fade away" at real Bob as the chase scene comes to a close. This line causes real Bob to stop and think before running full speed towards alternate Bob.
In my opinion, this shows that real Bob has had an epiphany—tackling your problems head on is better than worrying or running from them.
As he begins to drive home he continues to notice all of the foreclosed houses around him; however, his face seems relaxed. Upon arriving home to his son and wife, he appears to have completely calmed down.
As he watches his family play in the living room, he notices a newspaper on the kitchen table with an article entitled "$275 Billion Plan Seeks to Address Crisis in Housing".
A smile crosses his face as the video begins to fade out.
He's realized that although things seem bleak, there is still hope in regards to addressing homelessness. All he can do is stick by his family, and push through.
At the time of this video's release, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development had conducted an Annual Homeless Assessment Report which had revealed some startling results.
Between October 1st of 2008 and September 30th of 2009, approximately 1.56 million people (0.5% of the U.S. population) used some sort of housing program or emergency shelter. Of those 1.56 million, 643,000 were officially homeless (sheltered or unsheltered).
As Shaddix mentioned earlier, a lot of those homeless people were very present near Sacramento, California.
It makes sense because, at the time, more than 66% of sheltered homeless people were residing in principal cities. The man in the video (remember Bob?) had good reason to be concerned.
Especially since 44% of the homeless people from that survey were actually employed. Can you imagine having a job but still not being able to afford a home?
Such is the unfortunate reality.
Video is property of www.youtube.com and the VEVO YouTube channel.
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