"This is a bunch of things I had on my to-do list: I wanted to scream; I wanted to have a metal song; I wanted to write about driving up the coast to Northern California, which I’ve done a lot in my life. It's like a super specific feeling. This is such a stoned thought, but it feels kind of like purgatory to me, doing that drive, just because I have done it at every stage of my life, so I get thrown into this time that doesn't exist when I'm doing it, like I can't differentiate any of the times in my memory. I guess I always pictured that during the apocalypse, I would escape to an endless drive up north. It's definitely half a ballad. I kind of think about it as, ‘Well, what genre is [My Chemical Romance’s] “Welcome to the Black Parade” in?’ It's not really an anthem—I don't know. I love tricking people with a vibe and then completely shifting. I feel like I want to do that more." ― Phoebe Bridgers[1]
"I Know the End" is the eleventh and final track on Phoebe Bridgers' sophomore album, Punisher. It was released as the fourth single on July 29, 2020 through Dead Oceans.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Somewhere in Germany, but I can't place it
Man, I hate this part of Texas
Close my eyes, fantasize
Three clicks and I'm home
When I get back, I'll lay around
Then I'll get up and lay back down
Romanticize a quiet life
There's no place like my room
[Chorus]
But you had to go, I know, I know, I know
Like a wave that crashed and melted on the shore
Not even the burnouts are out here anymore
And you had to go, I know, I know, I know
[Verse 2]
Out in the park, we watch the sunset
Talkin' on a rusty swing set
After a while, you went quiet
And I got mean
I'm always pushin' you away from me
But you come back with gravity
And when I call, you come home
A bird in your teeth
[Chorus]
So, I gotta go, I know, I know, I know
When the sirens sound, you'll hide under the floor
But I'm not gonna go down with my hometown in a tornado
I'm gonna chase it, I know, I know, I know
I gotta go now, I know, I know, I know
[Verse 3]
Drivin' out into the sun
Let the ultraviolet cover me up
Went looking for a creation myth
Ended up with a pair of cracked lips
Windows down, scream along
To some America First rap-country song
A slaughterhouse, an outlet mall
Slot machines, fear of God
Windows down, heater on
Big bolt of lightning hanging low
Over the coast, everyone's convinced
It's a government drone or an alien spaceship
Either way, we're not alone
I'll find a new place to be from
A haunted house with a picket fence
To float around and ghost my friends
No, I'm not afraid to disappear
The billboard said "The End Is Near"
I turned around, there was nothing there
Yeah, I guess the end is here
[Outro]
The end is here
The end is here
The end is here
The end is
Audio[]
Live performances[]
"I Know the End" was included in the setlist for the Reunion Tour. Bridgers also performed the song, occasionally with Boygenius, as an opening act for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour.
References[]
- ↑ "Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
[]
| Punisher |
|---|
| "DVD Menu" • "Garden Song" • "Kyoto" • "Punisher" • "Halloween" • "Chinese Satellite" • "Moon Song" • "Savior Complex" • "ICU" • "Graceland Too" • "I Know the End" |