Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. Their current lineup consists of Tim McIlrath (vocals, guitar), Joe Principe (bass guitar), Brandon Barnes (drums), and Zach Blair (guitar).

Rise Against’s musical style throughout the band’s career has been described by most critics as hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, or punk rock. The band has cited numerous punk and hardcore bands as influences to its music. In 2004, drummer Brandon Barnes stated: “I think we have a lot of different influences from hardcore like old Cave In, to a lot of punk like Face to Face, Screeching Weasel, and Down By Law.”

In 2006, Tim McIlrath stated of the band’s style: “We’re emulating Minor Threat and Black Flag. Who knows, maybe if Ian MacKaye was wearing eyeliner then I would be.” Other bands that have influenced Rise Against include Descendents, Dead Kennedys, and Bad Religion.

Swing Life Away

http://djallyn.org/media/rise-against_swing-life-away.flv

Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let’s compare scars I’ll tell you whose is worse
Let’s unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

[Chorus]
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I’ll slave ’til the end
I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand

I’ve been here so long; think that its time to move
The winter’s so cold summer’s over too soon
so let’s pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I’ve got some friends, some that I hardly know
But we’ve had some times I wouldn’t trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

[Chorus]
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I’ll slave ’til the end
I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand, until you hold my hand

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let’s compare scars I’ll tell you whose is worse
Let’s unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I’ll slave ’til the end
I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand,
Swing life away
Swing life away
Swing life away
Swing life away

• Audio from the 2004 album, Siren Song of the Counter-Culture:

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Other songs posted for this artist

Savior – Rise Against