Fit For A King’s Ryan Kirby takes us behind some of the key lyrics that define the band’s latest album ‘Lonely God’, including ‘Dirt’ which features on the deluxe edition, set for release on October 30 via Solid State Records.

“So tell me your secrets, and give me a reason to offer up my life, and begin the sacrifice.” – Begin The Sacrifice

I’m sure, like a lot of people, there have been moments where I felt directionless, like I was just existing from day-to-day. These lyrics are a more eloquent way to summarise what my prayers would be like at night. Begging God to show me purpose, a reason to ‘offer up my life’.”

“I can feel the pressure, but I don’t see the diamonds forming” – The Temple

These lyrics are our artsy way of saying, ‘I am under so much stress and pressure, but nothing seems to be getting better. I don’t see the fruits of all this struggle and labour.’ And that’s really the easiest way to summarise the song. Throughout the years of touring, there have been so many “when does this get better?” moments. Luckily, as time passes, those thoughts are fewer and farther between.

“Poison the water and the sky, they’ve left us to die.” – Extinction

“A lot of what you’ll read, on the heavy tracks of this album, is a giant frustration with the state of politics/industry and this is the first track showing that. The song is about how the people in power are leaving this world worse for future generations, in order for them to extract as much as they can before they die. This line in particular points to the ongoing poisoning of the earth due to reckless practices from corporations and governments.”

“And if there’s no tomorrow, we’ll dance at the edge of the end, and forget about our sorrows” – No Tomorrow

In the middle of a bunch of sad/politically charged songs is ‘No Tomorrow’. This one is about not letting all this negativity, hatred, and constant talk of apocalypse get in the way of what really matters in life, especially caring for loved ones. These lyrics in particular are how I would ideally approach the end; embracing the ones I love, and “dancing” in the face of death, not letting it win.

“I keep waiting for another sign, looking up at the darkest skies” – Shelter

The real FFAK ball-knowers will see the ‘Dark Skies’ allusion with this lyric. But the song talks about my relationship with my adopted children. They had been hurt their whole life by people that claimed they loved them, and when my wife and I took on the task of adopting them at 13 and 8 years old, we knew we were throwing our own hearts “into a hurricane”, taking on this task, because we could constantly see, and feel all the hurt and resentment they had for the world, and we hope one day, they can accept that there are people who truly love them, and its’ not just us saying words, like people in the past. The lyrics in particular speak of a night where I was feeling especially hopeless on the journey with our kids, and I walked outside during a storm to pray.

“Slowly twist the knife, til you choose a side” – Monolith

One of the definitions of the word ‘Monolith’ is, ‘A large, powerful corporate, political, or social entity that is slow to change, uniform in character, and resistant to individual needs’, and this song is a direct call-out of the two-party system we have in America, and how we are forced to choose a side, instead of making changes to the system. The lyrics, to me, perfectly describe that. It’s more than twisting your arm until you give in, its like you’re being violently stabbed, until you “give in” to the desires of one of the two sides.

“Tear us apart with the never-ending hatred, and break us down so that we can never face them” – Lonely God

This goes back to a similar meaning to Extinction and Monolith, but Lonely God focuses on how we are controlled by people that will do anything for ultimate power, and their pursuit leads them to a lonely throne, where they are hated and despised by all. This lyric stands out because we see it every day. If they keep us fighting, we never look up at who is really to blame for all the bad in our lives.

“I just want to drift away into nothing. I just want to feel this pain miles away” – Between Us

This song was written by Bobby and Tuck, almost completely. It’s a heartbreaking song about a divorce in one of the members’ families, and then painting the picture of the emotions that they watched those two people go through. The lyrics were chosen to paint a picture of how I believe a lot of us have felt in the middle of heartbreak. You would rather just disappear and “drift away” if it meant not feeling the pain anymore.

“If we were meant to suffer, why can’t I feel anything?” – Sentient

There were times in my life that I felt like I couldn’t feel any emotion anymore, because I was so emotionally exhausted from the adoption and dealing with everything that came with it. And it really terrified me to not feel. This song is me desperately asking to feel anything, even if it’s pain, just so I know I’m alive. The first part of the lyric, stemmed from the idea from the Bible that we live in a fallen world, so suffering is part of our journey.

“There’s only fatal mistakes when you’re walking on a tightrope, fighting for survival, looking at the ground, every step you take is vital” – Blue Venom

This song is about living life recklessly, and how little room it gives you for mistakes. It was meant to be a fun, short, heavy song. This line in particular was me trying to paint the clearest picture of how things are when you constantly live life on the edge, recklessly, and how close we are to destruction with each step.

“It’s shown us things we should never have known. It’s torn us apart, and we placed it on its throne” – Technium

This song is about the internet, social media in particular, and how we continue to grow it and make it more prevalent in our lives, even though we are aware of how much damage it is increasingly doing to us. The lyrics describe how we see things we should never have seen in the past, like constant violence, drama, etc on social media, and what did we do with all this info? We amplified it; it’s now essentially our “God”

“I reached for the heavens, but only found hell” – Witness The End

This song is about how religious leaders will prey on desperate people to either gain fame, power, or notoriety. It really feels like this is becoming more and more common, and it truly does feel like it’s part of our march to the “end”. This line feels like it paints a strong image. A desperate person “reaching for the heavens”, AKA, going to church, just to be preyed on by a person using religion as a means to an end to achieve personal power/wealth.

“I dug your hole, buried you alive. Another lie to bring you comfort” – Dirt

‘Dirt’ is about some people’s refusal to take any blame for their struggles and failures. And when you don’t accept the blame, you can never grow from it. And when you don’t grow from failure, you are doomed to repeat, or make worse, all the mistakes. The lyric is meant to be sarcastic, mocking the personal blaming you for their problems, like a,’ Sure, I dug your hole, it was me’, but then stating it’s just another lie you tell yourself to bring you comfort.