Making "Papa Roach" look smart

The one thing I like to do more with a song than analyze it, is to change it. I'm not talking Weird Al style, though that is fun too, but I mean, I like to change one or two words here and there to "enhance" its meaning...or at least towards my taste.

There is a song called Last Resort by Papa Roach. It's the typical late 90s, early 2000s angst-rock that was popular on the mainstream stations. The lyrics therefore are the typical variety. Some middle-class, suburban white guy doesn't get enough from his mommy, so he writes and sings about how much he hates the World (seriously, metal and gangsta rap will always be popular, so long as there are enough teen-age guys who feel either emasculated and/or "lost").

But I love to make things out of nothing, and this is one of my favorite songs (MY version that is). I turned it around and changed the title to "LOST Resort" instead of "Last Resort". In doing so, I decided I was going to change the songs meaning to "an ode to John Milton".

John Milton was an English writer who lived from 12/9/1608 to 11/8/1674. He is best known for his works "Paradise Lost", as well as "Samson Agonistes". It is Paradise Lost I am referring to when I change the name from "LAST Resort" to "LOST Resort". The word resort actually means 'a place providing recreation and entertainment', so YES I must admit, it is a bit of a stretch, but I always think of some "getaway paradise" when I think of a resort.

The first verse in "Last Resort" goes as follows:

Cut my life into pieces
this is my last resort
suffocation, no breathing
don't give a fuck if I cut my arms bleeding
Would it be wrong, would it be right
if I took my life tonight, chances are that I might
Mutilation out of sight, and I'm contemplating suicide.

My version would go like this:

Cut my life into pieces
this is my Lost Resort...
Mutilation IS out of sight, and I'm contemplating suicide.

I basically only change Last to Lost, and add IS, highlighting that he can not see. John Milton went blind, so you can obviously see why I would want to highlight this (no pun intended).

The verse goes:

Cause I'm losing my sight, losing my mind
Wish someone would tell me I'm fine
Nothing is alright, nothing is fine.

I wouldn't even change this. This fits in with the life of John Milton. As I said, he went blind, and he was going mad because his wife left him. We'll get to that in a moment.

There is a line later where he says:

Downward spiral, where do I begin
It all started when I lost my mother
No love for myself, and no love for another
Searching to find a love upon a higher level
Finding nothing but questions and devils

I would change very little here also. The only problem is that John Milton never lost his mother. This obviously is something that can't be rectified in the lyrics. I have thought of numerous lines, but nothing really says "John Milton". I think the best line might be: It all started when I lost my LOVER. This actually fits perfectly, as Milton began writing the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce right after his wife left him. So perhaps this "love upon a higher level" is him talking about the D and D of Divorce. Moreover, in Milton's "Paradise Lost", Satan very much sounds like a man who has lost his wife. Milton does this on purpose. He tries to suggest Satan is "devoid" much like he was...for Satan is no longer under God's grace...or God's love. This makes even more sense, as the last line is: Finding nothing but QUESTIONS and DEVILS! Ah, well "Paradise Lost" is all about the "fall of Satan and his rebel-angels" from Satan's perspective. Milton certainly could feel for Satan, as he too felt devoid of love. The fact that the woman he loved left...and than when she returned she eventually dies during child-care can certainly hurt someone deeply I would think. He also lost one of his children (his only son I believe) when the child was exceptionally young.

Essentially, to summarize, my argument is that certain lines in the song LAST RESORT by Papa Roach when he mentions losing his sight, wanting to kill himself, losing somebody he loves, as well as the reference to questioning (and Milton CERTAINLY questioned and attacked many practices of his day) and devils can easily be sowed together.

I think "LOST Resort" has a lot more meaning that "Last Resort" don't you? Now enjoy the song, since I have given it real value. :p