Dashboard Confessional - Ender Will Save Us All Lyrics Meaning

anonymous

click a star to vote

Oct 18th 2016!⃝

I believe the title refers to the tragic arch surrounding the nature of Ender's coming into his roles at both battle school and command school, and even as a third child, with the empathy of his sister Valentine and the cold, pragmatic violence of Peter, his Brother. As those who have read the book or seen the move may recall, Ender Wiggin was recruited specifically for his capacity to understand, love, and then ultimately destroy his enemies, silent encouraged by Col. Graff through years of isolation and agitation.

As such, I believe the song is written from Ender's perspective, while he is in battle school and command school. And when he asks, don't you see what this takes of me, he's referring to the potential loss of his humanity as he is shaped into a weapon of war, a child soldier in a war he never knew he was fighting. The general contests Ender's softer side, wears it like a label, or a medal, on his chest.

Meanwhile, Ender wonders how he can get by with so little affection, but at the same time wonders if the people around him understand that he struggles with both the weight of their expectations and whether or not he can realize the potential he fears he may or may not posses to defeat the buggers at cost to his conscience.

Just as easily, the song reads as a troubled romantic relationship, as do many of the songs on the album. But, for me, the title "Ender Will Save Us All" makes the most sense if the lyrics are read this way.

Shouts to Orson Scott Card for the book. His political views, not so much.

You Might Also Like