#5 You Won't Know -The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me

Ranking on Guitarasaurus's list: #1

Now, this song lives up to a lot since it was number 1 on the previous Brand New ranking list. I must say, this song is perfect. From the lyrics to the instruments, I must say that this song is a 10/10. I saw BN at Lollapalooza this year. I was right up front getting crushed by the 20,000 Rage Against the Machine fans behind me. You Won't Know was the last song of their set list. The fans started to get violent and screamed things like "Bring on RAGE!!!" or "Do a Rage cover!" I got so furious that I screamed at the whole crowd around me saying "STFU! Brand New is so much more important, watch them and shut up!" To say the least, the whole crowd booed me. But after that, Jesse Lacey and I made eye contact like 3 times for 5 minutes straight. He must have heard me, right? Right. After the song was finished and Jesse was so mad about all the Rage fans that he threw his guitar, almost killing Brian Lane, and simply walked off stage. That was the last of Brand New's Lolla set.

Anyways, the intro to this song is fabulous. It takes about 42 seconds for Jesse Lacey's voice to come in. Within those 42 seconds is one of the prettiest melodies that Brand New possesses. Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Hangman. Go get your rope. No offense to Guitarasaurus, but I refuse to believe that this song is a continuation of Limousine. I see it as more of a depressing version of Archers. In both songs he talks about a man's daughters and them messing up and/or loving Lacey. Your daughters weren't careful. I fear that I am a slippery slope. This father of these daughters must not be too fond of Lacey. Lacey must not be too fond of Lacey it seems at this moment. Now even if I lay my head down at night after a day I got perfectly right, she won't know. She won't know. My guess is Mr. Hangman has banned Jesse from seeing his precious spawn, and even if Lacey did mess up then fix his wrongs, the girl won't know.

Here is the part that makes hearts skip beats. Jesse Lacey counts in and then WHAM. Hard pounding of every instrument Brand New can possibly play. Now, there are many different lyrics that I have read for this part of the song. I don't want to act like I know the exact words because I don't. I think that whatever lyrics you believe Lacey is saying, that's what you'll hear. I've narrowed it down to So pray, little player. You gotta contend? That is pretty much what I hear, or Guitarasaurus put as what he hears as So pray, little Kay, love is God on a good day. I guess it all depends on what you think the song is about. To support my thesis, I think the next line is about the mother coming into the picture rather than just the father (Mr. Hangman). And you can't blame your mother, she's trying not to see you as her worst mistake. That hurts. The mom doesn't give a hoot about her daughters so the father has to? That's really sad. And I wish that I could tell you right now, I love you, but it looks like I won't be around. So you won't know. That's even sadder. Lacey wants to express his love for this girl but he is forced to be out of the picture. She will never know how he truly feels.

Jesse Lacey needs to let this girl know that he will never let her down, no matter what in this next verse. They can fire everything they've got and when you think I'm sunk I will float on and on. LOL I always think of pirates when I hear that line. Oh Jesse Lacey and all your nautical references. I think this means that her family will take shots at him and it won't effect how he feels. He loves this girl and he's not going anywhere. I have burned the bush that covered my light. And though I'm scared I won't burn that bright, you won't know. I really don't understand that line, but not burning bright shows means not showing your best self.

We're never gonna feel as full as we felt so let's go outside and we'll play William Tell. Take your time draw on your bead, I'll stand as still as you need. For those who were as confused as I was when I heard that William Tell line, let me explain. William Tell is a legend who was said to be an expert with a crossbow (This supports my connection to Archers, perhaps why Brand New titled that song and added this reference). William Tell was forced to shoot an apple off the top of his son's head or else they would both be killed. Supposedly he did it with ease and they both lived. There's more to the story but I feel it's irrelevant. It’s on wiki if anyone is seriously interested. The smile on your face, its on a plate, it's on a silver plate. That line is kind of cryptic. I envision a severed head atop a very fancy and expensive plate. Pretty gross.

This next part slows down. It’s the saddest part of the song to me. Lacey's voice slows down and becomes softer. So they say, they say in heaven there's no husbands and wives. On the day that I show up they'll be completely out their forgiveness supplies. And I can't use the telephone to tell you that I'm dead and gone, so you won't know. The whole repeated line that the song is named after marks a fantastic ending to a fantastic song.

So, why number five compared to number one? The intro seems long to me, maybe some people like that better. It fits the song now, but at first I always used to skip over that part. The next 4 songs just seem a tad more perfect IMO, I hope I can convince you guys the same.

Best quote(s): You're so good at talking smack, you heart attack, but you're the apple of my eye anyway. When I first heard that line I flipped. People in 8th grade use the term "talking smack" and I love how Lacey included it. He calls the girl a heart attack because she's overly sweet but deadly, yet she's the apple of his eye. It also connects with his William Tell reference about the shooting of the apples. Perfect, just perfect.