Famous Last Words: 13 Broken-Up Bands’ Final Messages

When bands break up, the focus is always placed on the breakup itself: Why did the band break up? What’s the drama behind the breakup? But an interesting thing about broken-up bands is they all have last words: the final lyrics from the final song the band released. Can these lyrics tell us anything about the breakup? Here we analyze the final lyrics from 13 broken-up bands and see if we can find anything.

1. Underoath
Last words: “I'm the only one still standing here.”
Song: “Unsound”

Looking back, Underoath frontman Spencer Chamberlain signing off with these lyrics is interesting, because, musically, he’s the only member of the band still standing. The end of Underoath was not the end of Chamberlain’s career, which would continue on with his new band, Sleepwave.

“Unsound” was one of two new tracks released on Underoath’s 2012 compilation, Anthology: 1999-2013.
 

2. Attack Attack!
Last words: “So take some notes, and you can step aside, while we change the world.”
Song: “No Defeat”

This is an oddly confident last line from a band who broke up not too long after the release of this song. Did they mean that their next band, Nativ, would change the world? So far, all that’s come of Nativ is drama and physical altercations between band members.

“No Defeat” was released as a standalone song in 2012.
 

3. Straylight Run
Last words: “I need her now/Need her more than anything.”
Song: “Mile After Mile”

Hopelessly romantic lyrics to finish out the career of a hopelessly romantic band. The band’s final message shows them staying lyrically true to themselves to the end.

“Mile After Mile” was released on the band’s final EP, 2009’s About Time.
 

4. Woe, Is Me
Last words: “Why did it take so long to see that I'm just fine without you/Fine without you.”
Song: “Fine Without You”

Maybe the band realized they were ready to break up, and they would be just fine without their fans. Or maybe the band were going to be fine without each other.

“Fine Without You” was the last track on 2013’s American Dream EP.

5. Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows
Last words: “The world was wrong this time/My voice is strong this time.”
Song: “Scream If You’re Crazy”

Was this a clue that D.R.U.G.S. singer Craig Owens would be returning to Chiodos? (Never mind the fact that the song sounds like a Chiodos song.) Was the world wrong about Owens never returning to Chiodos? If anything, the line would suggest that D.R.U.G.S. were strong and would carry on, but the band came to a halt shortly after the release of this song.

“Scream If You’re Crazy” was released as a standalone song in 2012.

6. Conditions
Last words: “I’m not giving up.”
Song: “Not Giving Up…Not Yet”

These lyrics might have been the biggest giveaway that Conditions were on the verge of breaking up. They suggest a band in conflict, struggling with whether or not to continue. Still, “I’m not giving up” is an odd last set of words from a band who did just that.

“Not Giving Up…Not Yet” is from Conditions’ 2013 release, Full Of War.

7. The Mars Volta
Last words: “Saint Christopher.”
Song: “Zed And Two Naughts”

According to legend, Saint Christopher carried a very heavy child across a river. The child turned out to be Jesus Christ with the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. Little else is known about the saint whose name was the last word to come from the Mars Volta. In their last words, the band are cryptic as ever.

“Zed And Two Naughts” is from the band’s 2012 album, Noctourniquet.

8. My Chemical Romance
Last words: “‘Cause it makes me who I am/Who I am.”
Song: “Burn Bright”

MCR would never compromise who they were. The band always had strong sense purpose and identity. They would simply not move forward with new music unless it was true to who they were.

“Burn Bright” is from the band’s Conventional Weapons compilation.
 

9. The Academy Is…
Last words: “I've found that skeletons grow stronger when kept in the rearview.”
Song: “In The Rearview”

This one’s easy: The band had become a skeleton of its former self, so they were leaving it behind, and as a result, the band’s legacy would remain strong. Maybe? Yes?

“In The Rearview” is from the band’s 2009 EP, Lost In Pacific Time.

10. The Chariot
Last words: “Now that we have painted faith, shout, 'Victory is ours!'”
Song: “Cheek”

Coming from the Chariot, it’s easy to take these lyrics as a victorious sign-off. The lyrics are part of a very heavy, slow, dragged-out and epic ending to the song. It just sounds like they wanted to go out with a bang.

“Cheek” is from 2012’s One Wing.

11. Thrice
Last words: “Now that you have been disarmed, we will cross over unharmed.”
Song: “Disarmed”

These words give the band a proper death in lyrics—crossing over like some sort of spirit unharmed.

“Disarmed” is from Major/Minor, which was released in 2011.

12. Thursday
Last words: “Whatever else you do, stay true.”
Song: “Stay True”

For a band who may have struggled with identity at one point or another, staying true is an appropriate final message to their fans. Maybe breaking up was necessary for the band to stay true to themselves.

“Stay True” is from 2011’s No Devolución.

13. A Rocket To The Moon
Last words: “I swore I’d never let you go.”
Song: “While The World Let Go”

Maybe the world had let go of the band, but the members had sworn they would never let go, and this final message is the band realizing they had broken a promise to themselves.

“While The World Let Go” was a bonus track on 2013’s Wild & Free.