Music Review: All-American Rejects "The Last Song"
All-American Rejects
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
The Last Song
Album: The All-American Rejects
Year: 2003
Tyson Ritter, lead singer of the All-American Rejects, has gotten over his ex-girlfriend and wonders if she has done the same.
Opening with the radio static and miscellenous station chatter the orchestral strings then break in. Over the strings, Ritter says he's exocrised his heartbreak by writing numerous about it. "The Last Song" is the final one. He's relieved and declares the song is for his ex-girlfriend. ("This may be the last thing that I write for long/Can you hear me smiling when I sing this song, for you and only you.")
The strings disappear as the crunchy guitars take over. They've already broken up. As he picks up his stuff from her house, he speculates as to how she will act. Will she be civil towards him and tell him goodbye? Will she cry? But no matter what she does, he's still not going to get back together with her. ("As I leave will you be someone to say good-bye/As I leave will you be someone to wipe your eye/My foot is out the door, and you can't stop me now.")
In the pre-chorus, she told him she needed someone would be right for her. He asks if he can have all his time back with her. He tells her they will run into each other eventually and she'll act like their relationship never happened. Their relationship has dried up and nothing is there anymore. He asks if her if breaking up is really what she desires. He's curious if she will ever find what she's looking for and tells her to keep in contact. ("You wanted the best, it wasn't me, will you give it back/Now I'll take the lead, when there's no more room to make it grow/I'll see you again, you'll pretend you're naive, is this what you want/Is this what you need, how you end up let me know.")
In the chorus, he tells her to think of the platitudes she's been taught: "I will survive, etc." He will have his memories. He wishes she won't be bitter and will remember their relationship fondly. He declares it's the final song he's writing about the her. ("As I go, remember all the simple things you know/My mind is just a crutch and I still hope, that you will miss me when
I'm gone/This is the last song.")
In the second bridge, he mentions that it took him a year to get over her. His life, as he imagined it without her, is starting to come together. He can't believe it actually happened. She feels like such a distant part of his life. Deep down, he knew the relationship wasn't going to last and he would move on. He likes being single. ("The hearts start breaking as the year is gone/
The dream's beginning and the time rolls on/It seems so surreal, now I sing it/Somehow I knew that it would be this way/Somehow I knew that it would slowly fade/Now I am gone, just try and stop me now.")
After the pre-chorus and the chorus, the orchestral strings return for the bridge. He adds she will go through a crisis in her life and want to talk to him about it. He admits if something terrible happened to him, she will be the first person he will think of. ("And will you need me now, you'll find a way somehow/You want it too, I want it too.")
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
In the affable "The Last Song," Ritter experiences relief of being out of a loveless relationship. But even though he acts like he won't miss her, he will. Usually break-up songs focus on what led to the ending of it. However, Ritter discusses what he feels like a year after it's over. The All-American Rejects deserve a second chance at radio, considering they write layered "punk"-rock songs other bands avoid.
Album: The All-American Rejects
Year: 2003
Tyson Ritter, lead singer of the All-American Rejects, has gotten over his ex-girlfriend and wonders if she has done the same.
Opening with the radio static and miscellenous station chatter the orchestral strings then break in. Over the strings, Ritter says he's exocrised his heartbreak by writing numerous about it. "The Last Song" is the final one. He's relieved and declares the song is for his ex-girlfriend. ("This may be the last thing that I write for long/Can you hear me smiling when I sing this song, for you and only you.")
The strings disappear as the crunchy guitars take over. They've already broken up. As he picks up his stuff from her house, he speculates as to how she will act. Will she be civil towards him and tell him goodbye? Will she cry? But no matter what she does, he's still not going to get back together with her. ("As I leave will you be someone to say good-bye/As I leave will you be someone to wipe your eye/My foot is out the door, and you can't stop me now.")
In the pre-chorus, she told him she needed someone would be right for her. He asks if he can have all his time back with her. He tells her they will run into each other eventually and she'll act like their relationship never happened. Their relationship has dried up and nothing is there anymore. He asks if her if breaking up is really what she desires. He's curious if she will ever find what she's looking for and tells her to keep in contact. ("You wanted the best, it wasn't me, will you give it back/Now I'll take the lead, when there's no more room to make it grow/I'll see you again, you'll pretend you're naive, is this what you want/Is this what you need, how you end up let me know.")
In the chorus, he tells her to think of the platitudes she's been taught: "I will survive, etc." He will have his memories. He wishes she won't be bitter and will remember their relationship fondly. He declares it's the final song he's writing about the her. ("As I go, remember all the simple things you know/My mind is just a crutch and I still hope, that you will miss me when
I'm gone/This is the last song.")
In the second bridge, he mentions that it took him a year to get over her. His life, as he imagined it without her, is starting to come together. He can't believe it actually happened. She feels like such a distant part of his life. Deep down, he knew the relationship wasn't going to last and he would move on. He likes being single. ("The hearts start breaking as the year is gone/
The dream's beginning and the time rolls on/It seems so surreal, now I sing it/Somehow I knew that it would be this way/Somehow I knew that it would slowly fade/Now I am gone, just try and stop me now.")
After the pre-chorus and the chorus, the orchestral strings return for the bridge. He adds she will go through a crisis in her life and want to talk to him about it. He admits if something terrible happened to him, she will be the first person he will think of. ("And will you need me now, you'll find a way somehow/You want it too, I want it too.")
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
In the affable "The Last Song," Ritter experiences relief of being out of a loveless relationship. But even though he acts like he won't miss her, he will. Usually break-up songs focus on what led to the ending of it. However, Ritter discusses what he feels like a year after it's over. The All-American Rejects deserve a second chance at radio, considering they write layered "punk"-rock songs other bands avoid.