Welcome To The Breakdown – English Lyrics

• By: Rise Against

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is an immersive experience, and Rise Against's "Welcome To The Breakdown" offers a powerful lesson in contemporary political and social vocabulary. The song's clear, impassioned lyrics provide a gateway to understanding complex themes of disillusionment, protest, and resilience. Its driving rhythm and anthemic chorus make it a memorable and engaging way to grasp not only the English language but also the raw emotion and energy of punk rock.

[English]

All hail, the jester has landed

Defile the country he sings

Charmed like a snake in a basket

Should be coiled up and ready to spring

We're raising our cross just to burn it

The clergy are selling their souls

Clearing a path

Ignoring the facts

Intoxicated by the throne

We'll be standing here holding our ground come what may

Like a ghost haunts from beyond the grave

Welcome to the breakdown

Welcome to the end of the road

Welcome to the breakdown

We've got nowhere else to go

Will we all go deaf in the chamber of echoes

Cheering the missile parade

Agreeing to let all the banks rob the people

Together we circle the drain

We'll be standing here holding our ground come what may

Like a ghost haunts from beyond the grave

Welcome to the breakdown

Welcome to the end of the road

Welcome to the breakdown

We've got nowhere else to go

Welcome to the breakdown

Welcome to the end of the road

This is a breakdown

We've got nowhere else to go...

...

It's a game you've been playing

It's a fragile machine

It's a pied-piper song that has lulled you to sleep

It's a lie and you fell for it, hook line and sinker

A hand that you shook that then gave you the finger

A fraud and a fake

A cowardly king that lied to your face, but you still kiss the ring

This is the breakdown

This is the breakdown

THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN!

I'm standing here holding our ground come what may

Like a ghost haunts from beyond the grave

Welcome to the breakdown

Welcome to the end of the road

This is a breakdown

And we've got nowhere else to go

Welcome to the breakdown

Welcome to the end of the road

This is a breakdown

And we've got nowhere else to go

It's not much but this is home, and there's

NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
breakdown /ˈbreɪkdaʊn/ B1	noun - a failure to function; a collapse
jester /ˈdʒɛstər/ B2	noun - a person who entertains by telling jokes and doing tricks
defile /dɪˈfaɪl/ C1	verb - to ruin the purity or appearance of something
charmed /tʃɑːrmd/ B1	adjective - delighted or pleased
coiled /kɔɪld/ B1	verb - to wind or twist into a spiral shape
clergy /ˈklɜːrʒi/ B2	noun - priests, ministers, and other religious leaders
intoxicated /ɪnˈtɒksɪkeɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - affected by alcohol or drugs; obsessed
haunts /hɔːnts/ B1	verb - to visit or appear as a ghost
deaf /dɛf/ A2	adjective - unable to hear partially or completely
echoes /ˈɛkoʊz/ A2	noun - a sound heard after the original sound has stopped
fraud /frɔːd/ B1	noun - deceit, trickery, or cheating
cowardly /ˈkaʊərdli/ B2	adjective - lacking courage or bravery
pied-piper /ˌpaɪd ˈpaɪpər/ C1	noun - someone who attracts or leads others through charm or deception
lulled /lʌld/ B2	verb - to calm or soothe into a false sense of security
throne /θroʊn/ B1	noun - the chair of a monarch
grave /ɡreɪv/ A2	noun - a place where a dead body is buried

Key Grammar Structures

• All hail, the jester has landed

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense

  ➔ The use of "has landed" indicates an action that has been completed recently and has relevance to the present.

• Should be coiled up and ready to spring

  ➔ Modal Verb "Should" + Passive Voice

  ➔ "Should be coiled up" suggests a recommendation or logical consequence using the passive voice. "Ready to spring" is an infinitive phrase expressing purpose.

• We're raising our cross just to burn it

  ➔ Present Continuous + Purpose Clause

  ➔ The present continuous "are raising" describes an action happening now, and "to burn it" expresses the purpose.

• Ignoring the facts

  ➔ Gerund

  ➔ "Ignoring" functions as a gerund, acting as a noun within the sentence. It's the subject of the implicit action.

• Intoxicated by the throne

  ➔ Passive Voice

  ➔ The use of the passive voice "Intoxicated by the throne" shows the subject is acted upon.

• We'll be standing here holding our ground come what may

  ➔ Future Continuous Tense and Subjunctive mood

  ➔ The sentence uses "We'll be standing" (future continuous) to express an action in progress in the future, and the clause "come what may" uses the subjunctive mood.

• Will we all go deaf in the chamber of echoes

  ➔ Future Tense with Auxiliary Verb 'Will'

  ➔ The sentence uses the auxiliary verb "will" to express a future action or event. The question form uses subject-auxiliary inversion.

• Agreeing to let all the banks rob the people

  ➔ Gerund and Infinitive, Object + Bare Infinitive

  ➔ "Agreeing" acts as a gerund. "let" uses the pattern object + bare infinitive "rob".

• It's a pied-piper song that has lulled you to sleep

  ➔ Relative Clause, Present Perfect Tense

  ➔ The relative clause "that has lulled you to sleep" describes the "pied-piper song" and uses the present perfect "has lulled".

• It's a lie and you fell for it, hook line and sinker

  ➔ Compound Sentence, Idiomatic Expression

  ➔ The sentence is a compound sentence joined by "and." "Hook line and sinker" is an idiom meaning completely.

• A hand that you shook that then gave you the finger

  ➔ Relative clause and sequence of tenses

  ➔ The sentence contains two relative clauses. The verbs reflect the sequence of past actions.