“Last Words” by Thousand Foot Crutch
Shifting from apologetic to instructional tone in “Last Words”, Thousand Foot Crutch incorporates ghostly point of view, letter format, and losing hyperbole in order to warn listeners that “the world is not worth leaving”.
Thousand Foot Crutch talks from the point of view of a dead loved one who committed suicide so that listeners will be persuaded that regret comes after suicide. The speaker is “living in a world of regret” after they have committed suicide. Through a suicide note, the speaker tells the listener they “never meant to hurt [them] dearly”. The speaker in “Last Words” warns that “life is more than just the games you’re playing” by explaining how “the world is not worth leaving”. Thousand Foot Crutch wants to convey a story of a person who regrets their choice of suicide and wants to warn their suicidal “loved one” that suicide is not the answer. The speaker in wished they took “life seriously” and thanked “God in the morning for another day”. The speaker portrays these things through the next tool, format.
Thousand Foot Crutch wrote this song in a way such that it portrays the reading of a letter the speaker wrote to encompass the thought of a suicide note being that “last words” one will ever say. “Last Words” begins with “Dear loved one,” a proper introduction on a letter. The name is not mentioned due to the multitudes actually addressed in the song. The speaker, who is actually the writer of this message, says “this might be the last chance [they] get” to say they are sorry. The speaker continues by apologizing about how they “never meant to hurt” the listener and “there’s so much [the speaker has] done wrong”. Then they continue with “Listen I’ve got to tell you something/These are the last words/I’m ever gonna get to say to you”. They mark that they have chosen the path of suicide with this. However throughout the rest of the song, the speaker warns the listener to not follow in their footsteps and “take life seriously”. The speaker then asked the listener to “tell [their] mother that [they] love her”, which means this is the only copy of the letter. The speaker is filled with regret about their decision, but they do not have “what it takes to make it through” “what life pulls [them] through”. In a way, the letter is a letter to the speaker themself by telling how they should not have committed suicide. The song does not end like a letter, but Thousand Foot Crutch probably wanted the speaker to remain anonymous for the sake of the listeners.
Thousand Foot Crutch includes materialistic hyperbole so that the amount lost in committing suicide is presented. Referring to the listener’s thoughts on life, the speaker says “you can have everything, but have nothing”. The speaker is introducing the thought that what their “loved one” has amounts to nothing. The speaker tells the listener that “when everything falls away from [them]” to “know the world is not worth leaving”. This hyperbole embodies the feelings a depressed person has, feelings in which they feel they “have nothing”. The speaker is relating to the reader by remembering how it felt to feel like absolutely no one wants them anymore. The use of this device helps non-suicidal listeners feel how others feel and reminds suicidal listeners that in reality “everything [doesn’t fall] away from you”.
With the use of paranormal point of view, message format, and greedy hyperbole, Thousand Foot Crutch communicates the idea of “living in a world of regret” after suicide.
Youtube video with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HnW3UdJhZg&feature=watch_response
