[SONG ANALYSIS/REVIEW] (You Think You’re) John Fucking Locke by Counterparts

Title: (You Think You’re) John Fucking Locke
Artist: Counterparts
Album: Counterpart/Exalt Split EP
Genre: Melodic Hardcore/Progressive

Lyrics

The most common insecurity is our destination after our conscious fades away
The biggest factor in how one molds their existence
Is nothing more than a distraction from what is really important;
Who we are in the present
I know in my heart the life I lead now means more to this world
Than any "reward" I may receive after death
I know this to be the truth
I refuse to sacrifice the life
That I've been given in the hopes of something greater
When all I need is right in front of me
Because I believe in man, I believe in myself, and nothing else
I can't put my faith in uncertainty
While there's still no proof of validity amongst the old familiar pages
Which to me are nothing more than fucking words
I will choose life over faith, and I will put my trust back in myself
And then I'll be free
Together we can eliminate the worry and the fear
From the minds and hearts of our fellow man
I know in my heart who I need to be
Source

Summary/Analysis

This song is merely about finding the purpose of human existence and understanding life in general at certain perspective. From the title itself, the song was written on a revolutionary attitude. John Locke was an English philosopher, he was widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the father of liberalism. The Age of Enlightenment was a catalyst for the emergence of free thinkers.

The song was written on varying points-of-view. On the first few lines of the song, the singer talks about his realization about how society perceive life in just a single and fixed perspective. Thus, people who do not question reality and existence will forever be leashed to the chains of the traditional social structure. In the classical sense, society revolves around religion and politics as these two factors are the basis of the so called social norms. In retrospect, social norms in the most basic sense, violates free-will and hinders infinite potentialities of the human capacity. Humanity seemed to have been too caught up with those things to the extent of hindering one’s own potentials and inner peace just to fit in socially.

The middle part of the song talks about conformism. The majority of society conforms to the idea that by abiding with the scriptures and the norms of modern civilization, man can accumulate his conformist deeds for a reward later in the afterlife. The line “I refuse to sacrifice the life that I've been given in the hopes of something greater when all I need is right in front of me” talks about contentment about the present. While hoping for something better which could possibly never happen at all, most people lived their entire lives embracing troubled thoughts while sacrificing happiness of the present. Ignoring what is in the present while looking too far at the uncertain future, the mind can never be at ease at all since time just keeps on slipping in an unpredictable nature.

In the latter part, Brandon (vocalist) convicts that he is choosing life over faith and that we can eliminate the worry and the fear in the hearts and minds of our fellowmen. This part is kind of revolutionary, it portrays society’s reliance on words written on paper despite the inaccuracy, impracticality, and the lack of evidence it possess.

The last part is some kind of a resolution towards humanity. Being free from what society tells is right, man can move forward by simply believing in himself/herself and nothing else. Overall, the song is kind of depressing but in an optimistic way. Counterparts’ sound revolves around hardcore punk, metalcore, and progressive rock.

Typical of the hardcore punk movement, optimism, positive mental attitude, hatred, and machismo are the most dominant features you can perceive on this band. Musicality wise, Counterparts has a very distinct sound that possesses really strong melodic chord progressions and odd time signatures while keeping the sound technically balanced with some mellow and revering interludes. Their listeners vary from metal heads and hardcore punk enthusiasts to emotional hardcore and indie rock hipsters.

This review is in response to @saiyanide's suggestion. You can check out her blog HERE. She's a friend from highschool and we share similar arts and music interests. Basically hipster stuff. hahahaha. She's got some really cool stuff coming out of her blog. Better check that out man.

Thanks a lot for dropping by this post.
Comments and suggestions are highly appreciated.