The bridge of “This is my road” had “no more chains.” “Break The Chain” turns the chains into a whole song.
It is the lyric with the most words on the record. The word “chain,” in its various forms, appears here forty times.
The List
The first lines: “I was chained to the system, chained to the game / Chained to the fear, chained to the shame.”
Both verses are a list, and in each of them “chained to” comes six times. The first also has the voices telling you to stay in your place, and a mask worn over a face. The second has opinions, trends, money, pretending, people who suck out the light, and a future that doesn’t feel right.
This list has no single enemy. Some of the chains were put on by others, some by the very person wearing them.
The Iron Cracks
Halfway through, the verse turns: “But I feel the iron starting to crack / The fire inside won’t take it back.”
And right after that: “Every link is rusty, every chain is weak.” What looked unbreakable was held together by nothing but habit.
The pre-chorus: “No more bowing… no more chains on me… / I’m breaking free… finally breaking free…”
A Chorus Like a Hammer
The chorus has eight lines, and every other one is a double “Break the chain! Break the chain!” The title appears in the song twenty-four times.
In between stand the lines that take a life back: “I won’t live like this ever again!” and “This is my life — I’m taking the reign!”
The second verse says it without illusions: “I cut the rope, I burn the thread / I kill the old me, leave him for dead.”
King, God, Flame
The bridge: “I was born in the fire… raised in the storm… / You tried to chain a soul… that was never yours…” On the whole record, “you” appears only a handful of times.
The last chorus ends with the line “I’m the king… I’m the god… I’m the flame!” Out of that trio the record will go on to make whole songs: the king in “King Of My Chaos,” the fire in “I Own The Fire” and “Fire In My Veins.”
The outro: “Break the chain… / break the chain… / I’m finally free…” The same “I’m finally free” that appeared on the previous record in “Just You” — there in someone’s arms, here once the chain has snapped.
You can hear the track on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
In the next post I will write about “Wake Up The Beast” — about who those chains were holding.
Thank you for being here.
Adam Smentoch Creator of the Dust Anthem project
