What does Across The Line mean?

Linkin Park: Across The Line Meaning

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Album cover for Across The Line album cover

Across The Line Lyrics

In this desert
In darkness
Lying with the gun across his chest
Pretending
He's heartless
As the fire flashes in the sky
He was fragile
And frozen
When the bullet took away his friend
And now he's somehow
More broken

He's pulling his...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 5th 2011 !⃝

    The song is about two people. The first is a boy in a gang, probably in the middle of a gang war. His friend (and probable cause of his joining the gang) was killed during a gang war, and the "fire in the skies" refers to the lights from the police cars and choppers. He's sad his friend is gone, (or he feels guilt because HE could have been his FRIEND'S reason for joining), loads a handgun, puts it to his head, and pushes back the urge to pull the trigger.

    The second girl is a drug addict. Her friend recently overdosed ("needle took away her friend"), and she wakes up craving drugs, even though she knows she needs to stay away from them (self vs. addiction-"fire flashes in her eyes"). She feels horrible about her life and her friend's death, loads a handgun, puts the muzzle to her head, and struggles with pulling the trigger.

  2. Churchur
    click a star to vote
    Jan 10th 2022 !⃝

    Ill try to be as descriptive as I can on this.
    "In this desert and darkness, lying with the gun across his chest" As in a deserted place like Afghanistan, with the gun across his chest (Pretty litteral) "Pretending he's heartless" Refering to the fact he killed innocent people (And possibly children) "As the fire flashes in the sky" Reffering to a gunshot. "He was fragile, and frozen, when the bullet took away his friend" As in he was stunned when his friend either shot himself or got shot. "And now he's somehow more broken" Reffering to the fact that he probably faced horrible stuff as a child and this just had to add up to it or he faced even worse after that." "He's pulling his weapons to his side" As if he is about to shoot himself. "Loading it full of his goodbyes" I can paint a picture of this man crying while loading his gun. "Holding an enemy across the line" That maybe is depression. "Sweating and shaking" As if she is terrified to shoot herself. "Lying with her hands across her chest" Like she is paying respect to her friend in the funeral. "She wakes with her cravings" Cravings as in drugs. "As the fire flashes in her eye" As in she is looking straight at the gun and pulling the trigger. "She was fragile, and frozen, when the needle took away her friend" She was stunned in sadness what the needle (Possibly a drug) Took away her friend. "And now she's somehow more broken" Maybe she lost more friends after that cause she forced them to do drugs. "With every battle he choosing, with every fight he's losing, his enemy's not far behind" He chose the wrong battles to fight in, and depression (His enemy) is not far behind. "With every promise she's broken
    With every lie she's spoken
    Her enemy's not far behind" She brok many promises to her friends, told many lies, so depression is not far behind. "Its your time" This line remains a mystery to me, possibly how he is talking to the depressed people listening to this, its your time, time as in its your end.

    This is just how I interprt=et, people have their own interpretations and opinions.

  3. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 25th 2015 !⃝

    I think this song is about a girl and a boy, both with problems that are the "enemies" that the song mentions.

    The boy is at war. The lyric "pretending he's heartless" probably refers to the fact that he's killed lots of people and is trying to hide that he's suffering internally because of it. The "fire in the sky" is probably gunshots. The boy's friend was either killed during the war or shot himself because he couldn't handle the guilt that he, too, had killed innocent people in the war. The "enemy" in this is probably his guilt and sadness about how he killed innocents.

    The girl is addicted to a drug, possibly heroin. She and her friend both were addicted, but her friend ended up dying, hence the lyric "Needle took away her friend." The fire in the girl's eye is probably her determination to quit the drug, even though she's going through withdrawal.

    When he sings about how the boy is losing the fight and that his enemy isn't far behind, maybe he's implying that the boy's side is losing the war, or that his guilt is catching up to him and he wants to kill himself.

    When he sings about how the girl's enemy isn't far and how she's been lying, maybe he's saying that she's been lying to everyone about her addiction, saying that she'll quit soon or that she's quit, but they're all lies, and she feels guilty. He's probably also saying that she craves the drug and is losing the fight against herself to quit the drug.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 9th 2014 !⃝

    (Just spit-balling here)

    I think the boy was in a war and he fought for the good of his country but he still killed innocent people. Hence the line "Pretending he's heartless". In this desert in darkness could signify the area he commissioned, for example Afghanistan. Fire flashes in the sky is probably the enemy shots. He was fragile and frozen is meant to be a description of the way he reacted to the warfare. Also of course there were casualties in this war so his friend was killed. Everything he's seen makes him want to forget and i'm sure he just wants it to go away. I think "holding an enemy across the line" refers to some sort of guilt he has for the things he's done. So maybe he was the cause for his friend's death? So then his solution is suicide, but he's struggling to pull the trigger.

    Sweating and shaking, she wakes with her cravings is that the girl is probably going through drug withdrawal. As the fire flashes in her eye, could be that she remembers something horrifying or traumatizing like the fact the she lost her friend to the needle. i.e. another drug, likely heroine. She was fragile and frozen is self explanatory. Again with the weapon, likely a gun that she will use to kill herself because she holds that "enemy across the line" guilt. So maybe she got her friend into drugs? So inadvertently she caused her friends death? Her enemy's not far behind is the guilt catching up to her. "It's your time" is self explanatory also.

    In the last portion of the song when he sings about how "with every battle he's choosing with every fight he's losing", could reference his line of work and/or past but signifies that though he's fighting with himself about whether or not to kill himself, but his guilt will win out in the end because "his enemy is not far behind".

    Basically the same thing with the girl. "With every promise she's broken" saying that she'll quit but she doesn't. "With every lie she's spoken" again with the broken promises but also maybe her telling her friend that the drug isn't bad that it'll be fun and that nothing will happen but good, fun things, etc. She obviously knows that it's all lies but she says them anyway which later causes her friend to become addicted and overdose. Her guilt is not far behind either, she will likely kill herself as well.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 26th 2014 !⃝

    I believe this song is about a boy and girl, who have each done something to regret. The feeling of guilt that lies inside each of them has made it's turn, both of them now thinking that they should live no longer. Each of them thinks that they are enemies of the world, and that the bad inside them will never leave. Each of them is struggling not to pull the trigger of the gun they have at themselves, it's a debate of emotions.

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 9th 2013 !⃝

    It's about two people, both trying not to shoot themselves (or other ways of dying).

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 26th 2012 !⃝

    I get multiple ideas for this song. Here's one

    It's about two people. Obviously girl and boy. The boy was in an argument with a friend, and when he strikes a soft spot, the friend leaves, the 'bullet', the killer of the long friendship that kept the boy from breaking under pressure from parents and such.
    His 'weapon' is regret and pride and his thoughts at the argument; and the enemy he's holding is his need to apoloize.

    The girl was in an argument with her friend. The friend is a drug addict, and he gave her some. Realizing how bad it was that she started to like it, she tries to tell him to stop. The 'needle' is her vain attempt to stop his addiction, the quick stab at it. Breaking a promise not to tell anyone, she does and the friend is furious, leaving her alone and broken with guilt.
    Her 'weapon' is the advantage of knowing and having a promise, and the enemy she's holding back is her loathing guilt.


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