#2 Limousine -The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me

Ranking on Guitarasaurus's list: #3

Now, before all of you people cuss me out for this song not being number one, hear me out. This list was not based on how musically amazing these songs are. This is my own personal opinion of best Brand New songs. Though this song is fantastic, there is one song that means more to me than any other Brand New song. Let's go on with this thing, shall we?

Limousine is the fifth song off of Brand New's third album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. It is about a car accident that happened around Jesse Lacey's house hear Long Island, New York. It is the story of Katie Flynn, a seven year old girl who was killed in a car accident on the way home from a family member's wedding. She was the flower girl. Katie was in a limousine while her mother was in another one following her. A drunk driver got into a head-on collision with the limousine that Katie was riding in. She was decapitated and as they searched the car for her body, Katie's mother found her head several feet away from the car. Her mother held Katie's head torn from her body as the car was searched. The limo driver was also killed in the accident. This song pays homage to Katie's mother and family, the limo driver, and the drunk man who hit Katie's limo, who walked away with only minor injuries. Now, he has to live with himself killing two innocent people by making a stupid mistake by drinking and driving. This song teaches a lesson. Please, if anyone reading this is going to drink, do not get in a car who also has been drinking. Take a cab. If you are at a party, do not be afraid to call someone, even your parents for a ride. It's easier to get in trouble with your parents than it is do be killed and having them find out about it. Getting in trouble is more worth it than losing your life. To further learn about this accident, please watch this amazing video from youtube. It will touch your heart. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9IRHu1F1Vw

The first verse of this song is beautiful. Jesse Lacey is singing from the perspective of a narrator. This song reminds me of the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It, like the book, is told from many different perspectives who were involved with the car accident. Kate, it's your ride. Get your petals out and lay them in the aisle. This shows Katie as the flower girl of the wedding hours before her death. Pretend you're God and grow, and it's your day to wed. We have found your man. He's drinking up, he's all American. The drunk driver has been selected by God to do this horrible deed. This line takes a stab at how many drunk drivers America happens to possess. And he'll drive. He's volunteered with grace to end your life. You tidy up. It's sad to hold but leave your shell to us. This guy should have known what he was doing before he got into the car to drive home while intoxicated. You explode, you firefly. You tiny boat with all feather oars. The explosion symbolizes the car smashing into the limousine. Katie can't get anywhere in a boat with feather oars. And so, you satellite, you tidal wave. The tidal wave is the crash that no one sees coming. Soon, the perspective switched over to Katie's mother. You're a big surprise and I have one more night to be your mother.

As the first verse switches into the second, you can hear Lacey's voice getting a little higher, a little more mad. This is still the mother's voice coming in. Lacey, I think, tries to make his voice higher to sound a little more feminine to prove the mother's point. You can hear explosions softly and instruments being played out of tune to show pain and sorrow. This signal interrupts. My baby's frequency is not strong enough. Remain in my hands and smile. That last very disturbing line shows Katie's head in her mother's arms. We will miss you but in time you'll get set up. And we will rise. The family will rise into heaven while she gets set up there. Once they rise, she will be waiting for them, and they will all reunite.

Now we switch perspectives again. Here comes the drunk driver speaking, who did not die in the accident. Hey, you beauty supreme. Yeah, you were right about me. But can I get myself out from underneath this guilt that will crush me? He shows guilt for hitting her car and not being more responsible. And in the choir, I saw a sad messiah. He was bored and tired of my laments. He said "I'd die for you one time, but never again." The drunk driver has seen the limo driver as a spirit. This is what he means by the "sad messiah" he speaks of. The messiah says that he died for Katie, but he would not do it again. Lacey goes onto repeat Never again several times before the main part of the song.

The repeated lines throughout the whole song are I love you so much. Do me a favor, baby, don't reply. Cause I can dish it out, but I can't take it. I'm pretty sure that this comes back to the mother's perspective. As the song goes on, it comes to be One will love you so much... Two will love you so much... And so on. It goes all the way up to seven. The counting symbolizes how old Katie was when she was killed. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven loved her so much as she turned that age. As seven is sung, the tense changes. Seven loves you so much. This changes because now can't possibly get any older, which makes the song all the more powerful. This is sung four times before the final guitar comes in at full force and ends the song. One of the best parts of the entire song is that guitar. It says just as many feelings as Jesse Lacey could write in lyrics. It expresses emotions that words can't express. I don't think Brand New has ever been so meaningful without lyrics. Then, just as quickly as a life can be taken by a drunk driver, the song ends with only distant playing audible. At 7:54, this song ends, making it the longest Brand New song.

I can honestly say that there is nothing wrong with this song. Like I said before, another song is just more meaningful to me personally. Even though this song is expected to be number one, at least there was a great write up to support it's number 2 spot. Number one is a fantastic song as well, and hopefully I can convince you guys the same.

Before the best quote(s) is revealed, I'd just like to point out that you really have to listen for it. It is not straightforward and cannot be heard unless you are listening for it. This is the part that gives the goosebumps and the shivers down your spine. Get ready.

Best quote(s): I'll never have to buy adjacent plots of earth. We'll never have to rot together underneath dirt. I'll never have to lose my baby in the crowd. I should be laughing right now. This can be heard at the last Seven loves you so much line and can be very quiet. This is Katie talking to her mother, expressing that perhaps this death could be a blessing in disguise. She's looking on the bright side, though there seems to be none. This is the only time that Katie's "voice" can be heard in this song, and putting it as back round lyrics is genius. This way, it seems as though she is talking as a spirit and not as a person. She wants everyone to know that it's okay and she's glad this happened. She should be laughing right now that she doesn't have to go through what we all have to go through as we get old. All of us can't be laughing yet because we are still alive and have to go through things. We cannot live in eternal happiness like she can. At least not yet.