Brand New’s ‘Science Fiction’ lyrics and callbacks, explained by fans
Brand New shook up the scene this week with the release of Science Fiction. In no time, fans were sharing photos of the album art, theories about the future of Brand New, and are now explaining some of the lyrics and possible callbacks in the album. Here are some of our favorites.
Read more: Unmasking the mystery behind Brand New’s long-awaited Science Fiction
“Lit Me Up”
Lyrics: “I don’t mind having all this going on inside of me”
What it means: papaheck on Genius points out this “perhaps [refers] to the raging of the Devil and God.”
“Can't Get It Out”
Lyrics: “I'm strumming with a heavy wrist/Were you one of the cured kids?/My shins burn for the replica youth/I hope that we can eject soon”
What it means: Genius user Iarsggg believes Jesse Lacey is playing his songs with reluctance, hence the “heavy wrist” lyric. “Jesse plays with Brand New these depressing and negative songs, and it may not feel completely right… Asking if the listener is one of the “cured kids” is asking if the songs did anything good for the listener, as sometimes they might also let one feel down. He hopes that he can stop soon playing as Brand New.”
Lyrics: “Because I don't want to surrender/Or lose your face in the crowd”
Callback: lizzzzzzbeth points out on Reddit this likely references “I'll never have to lose my baby in the crowd” from “Limousine (MS Rebridge)” on The Devil And God.
“Waste”
Lyrics: “Every night you were tripping out/In the morning you were coming down/If it's breaking your heart, if nothing is fun/Don't lose hope, my son/This is the last one”
What it means: User MattThorson thinks these lyrics are about more than just drugs. “Every night he’s… facing the realities of the come down in the morning after the high has worn off. It’s become a routine and isn’t as fun as the initial highs anymore, so it’s weighing down on his heart and wants to find a way ‘To climb on up out of your grave.’ The narrator tells him to hang on because every time can be the last time.” Makes sense.
Lyrics: “Yeah, we feel so American laying in the road/Was a shoe-in for the crash of the day/And we're never going to walk away”
Callback: dmfserv on Reddit points out how the “American” lyric in “Waste” is likely a callback to “all-American” in “Limousine” on The Devil and God: “We found your man, he's drinking up, he's all-american/And he'll drive/He's volunteered with grace to end your life”
Lyrics: “Always begging for some grace when there's no time/We get no reply”
Callback: This reminds us of “Well I love you so much, but do me a favor baby, don't reply” from “Limousine (MS Rebridge)” on The Devil And God.
“Could Never Be Heaven”
Lyrics: “And all of the songs were about you/And all of the songs were about you/And all of the songs were about you”
Callback: “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad” in Your Favorite Weapon to the lyrics: “No more songs about you/After this one I am done.”
Lyrics: “I was drowning in the lake dammed” and “There were people I love below me singing”
Callback: On Reddit, user JackP6 points out these particular lyrics relate to the lyrics in “At The Bottom” on Daisy: “And there’s a lake/And at the bottom you’ll find all my friends”
Lyrics: “I’ve heard the outer darkness is really nice this time of year”
Callback: This is likely a reference to lyrics in “Sealed To Me,” Reddit user TheTruestblue1 points out: “You gonna cast me away into outer darkness/Cause I couldn't cover rent/To stay at God's apartment?”
“Same Logic/Teeth”
Lyrics: “And then you cracked your head, and broke some bones”
What it means: Genius user Leerkat thinks this lyric has something to do with Jesse Lacey’s many injuries. Just read what he wrote: “Very tentative and maybe far-fetched but during 2003-2007, Jesse spent a lot of time in the hospital with broken legs and sprained ankles. A famous instance is when he apparently jumped from several stories during a laser tag game on the Brand New/Manchester Orchestra/Kevin Devine 2007 tour, or when he had to walk around on crutches for a whole leg of a tour in 2004. A tour in 2005(?) was also cancelled when he was hospitaliZed in an emergency… This could be a reference to these repeated injuries. Oftentimes self-harm isn’t just cutting.”
Lyrics: “At the bottom of the ocean fish won't judge you by your faults”
Callback: Reddit user wi-nter says this particular lyric “feels like such a direct reference to both ‘At The Bottom’ and ‘Luca.’” In ‘Luca,’ it could be a reference to this lyric: “And no one can save you now/Unless you have friends among fish/There’ll still be no air to breathe.”
“137”
Lyrics: “Let’s all go play Nagasaki/What a lovely way to die/To finally show where we all go/So no one has to say goodbye”
What it means: MattThorson’s back with another interpretation — this time regarding the “play Nagasaki” lyrics: “Playing Nagasaki means to play a game of nuclear war. Jesse is romanticizing the idea of life ending so quick that you’ll never have to deal with the trouble of saying goodbye, while simultaneously finally finding out what really comes at the end.”
“Out of Mana”
Lyrics: “Don’t run out of mana/Or we’ll back down/I want you to know/If you feel ready to go/I can read the rest to myself/Hell is digital/You've smashed to smithereens”
What it means: According to Genius user JoshuaJudah this one has to be either WoW-related or about Gauntlet II: “This song is about Jesse playing a healer class in World Of Warcraft during the Firelands raid. He knows he can’t run out of mana (oom) and he is ready. Jesse does a /readycheck as he thinks about all the YouTube videos he’s watched of the encounter, aka Gym Time. He takes the knowledge he thinks is relevant to his raid group and reads the rest on wowhead. They enter the raid (hell is digital) and destroy the first boss (you’ve smashed to smithereens). Either that, or it’s about Gauntlet II on NES.”
In the Water
Lyrics: “Can’t fake it enough/I don’t want it enough/So everyone’ll wait”
What it means: Agree, Leerkat. Listening to this for the first time, you immediately think this is about the making of Science Fiction: “It was apparently scrapped many times and Jesse suffered from heavy writer’s block and reception anxiety. The idea of just churning out a record people wanted to hear must have been tempting, especially as people started to get impatient, but it wouldn’t have been sincere. Besides, the pressure and stress of releasing a new album and going through its cycle just as he was settling down must not have sounded very attractive. There’s something like self-disgust in this ‘everyone’ll wait,’ a resignation to the fact he cannot produce the material he’s expected to, and that he’s letting everyone down.”
Lyrics: “And we sing this morning that wonderful and grand ol' message/And I don't know about you but I never get tired of it/Seven years (x7)”
Callback: This is a direct callback to “Daisy” on Daisy: “And we sing this morning/That wonderful and grand old message/I don't know about you but I never get tired of it/Number 99: Just As I Am”
Desert
Lyric: “God is love”
What it means: A short lyric, but a heavy interpretation from user foxyboxing. Take it away: “This line is included for irony, since the majority of the song here shows that a love of God and religion is leaving the writer with hate in their heart and fear of their neighbor. God is love alright, as long as you’re meet the criteria to be loved.”
No Control
Lyrics: “Holding the mic to this pillar of salt”
What it means: “This is a reference to Lot’s wife in the Bible, who became a pillar of salt when she looked back at burning Sodom despite the angel’s specific order,” says Leerkat.
451
Lyrics: “Deader than a Donner daughter”
What it means: This is probably obvious to most, if not all, of you: a reference to the Donner Party. “This is a reference to the daughters of George Donner, a pioneer who was the leader of a 1846 wagon train that was stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter of 1847. The party is rumored to have engaged in cannibalism to survive,” says jamesosanchez.
Batter Up
Lyrics: “That was the one right there/That's what we were waiting for”
Callback: At the very end of the song, Reddit user dbackmaniac deciphered it as: “That was the one right there/That's what we were waiting for.” This seems to be a callback to “Untitled 8”: “What you waiting for/Searching for your brother/In an empty room across the hall/Is he coming back?/Listening at night/Waiting for a sound to come up the stairs/Listening at night/Waiting for the sound of the car park”
