You and me, why are we living in retrograde
Loving me, losing me, driving without a break
Going full speed ahead never without a fight
Running red lights
Running red lights
Oh, Oh, no turning …
[Chorus]
Trust issues got me being cautious
Not friendly – niggas rolling swishers
Do I wanna hit it – not really
Blood in the streets for any one of my niggas
I’m ridin solo – …
[Hook:]
I’m kissing styrofoam
You know what I be on
Thats what I be on
She know what I be on
Who know what I be on
Thats what I be on
Baby move along
I keep moving …
He’s still driving that 1970 hand-me-down truck
And he’s still wearing that red and black jersey
Waiting for the band to start up
He’s still showing up twenty late, finding hearts and rules …
You know I’m gonna hit it on the radio
You know I’m gonna put it on my video
I know you gon’ be turning up the volume
I know you wanna split me …
I know I took the path that you would never want for me1
I know I let you down, didn’t I?2
So many sleepless nights
Where you were waiting up on me3
Well I’m just a slave unto the night
Now remember when I told you that’s the last you’ll see of me4
Remember when I broke you down to tears5
I know I took the path that you would never want for me
I gave you hell through all the years6
So I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you7
I’ve been around the world but never in my wildest dreams
Would I come running home to you8
I’ve told a million lies
But now I tell a single truth
There’s you in everything I do9
Now remember when I told you that’s the last you’ll see of me
Remember when I broke you down to tears
I know I took the path that you would never want for me
I gave you hell through all the years
So I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
Don’t tell me that I’m wrong
I’ve walked that road before
I left you on your own
And please believe them when they say
That it’s left for yesterday
And the records that I’ve played
Please forgive me for all I’ve done10
So I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
So I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
I, I bet my life, I bet my life
I bet my life on you
The singer of Imagine Dragons references his past choices. “You” in this lyric refers to his parents.
Disappointing one’s parents can be a sad matter.
He would come home late after making mistakes, and he would find his parents still awake waiting on him.
After being monitored by his parents for so long, he decided to leave home and become his own decision-maker.
The choice he made to leave was emotionally traumatizing for his parents.
“I gave you hell through all the years” is an indication that Imagine Dragons’ singer regrets putting his parents through so many difficulties.
Now singing from the parents’ perspective, Imagine Dragons communicates how much risk there is in raising a child.
Sometimes after leaving home and becoming “an adult,” people return to their parents, despite having pledged themselves against this very idea upon leaving.
We become our parents to some extent, whether we like it or not. Imagine Dragons is referencing this fact.
This stanza invites the parents to reconcile with their son, since the son is now acknowledging his own shortcomings. It is a suitable invitation to conclude a song about realizing one’s errors and poor decisions and how they affect loved ones.
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