“We Love You” by Avenged Sevenfold
On 12 May 2023, “We Love You” became the second single released from Avenged Sevenfold’s album “Life Is But a Dream…”. Warner Records subsequently put out the album in full about a month later. As with most of the other songs featured on the project, writing credit for this one is given to the individual members of the band, who are:
- M. Shadows
- Johnny Christ
- Synyster Gages
- Zacky Vengeance
- Brooks Wackerman
The entire crew also co-produced the track. The track’s other co-producer is Joe Barresi.
To note the music video for this song, which was created to be a virtual-reality experience, was assembled by one Ryan McKinnon. And Avenged Sevenfold debuted “We Love You” at their 12 May 2023 concert in Las Vegas, which was the band’s comeback performance of sorts.
The Lyrics of “We Love You”
This song is dual-subjected, in a way. The “we love you” does actually represent Avenged Sevenfold’s appreciation for the listener, in a manner of speaking.
Put simply, the intro, verses and chorus read as if they were written by a positivity teacher. This teacher appears to be speaking to the winner inside all of us and notes how individually, we are “one in a million”.
So it’s as if Shadows and the gang are putting the onus on us to realize our respective value and strive accordingly. Or as indicated by the title, it’s as if they are lovingly encouraging us to realize our own potential.
“Look at the way you go
You’re one in a million and you know it shows
And we love you
Do unto the mud
Mud”
But the refrain, though related to that notion, paints a different story. Or let’s say that whereas the abovementioned segments may represent how we’ve been socialized to view ourselves, the refrain illustrates what it is we’re actually encouraged to pursue, i.e. use our talents and strengths in search of.
In other words, it’s one thing for someone to tell you that you can accomplish anything, because then comes the matter of how we actually define accomplishment. And in the modern world, success is defined by the never-ending ability to ‘build taller, higher, wider’, etc. on top of consuming “more money, sex, pills” and what have you.
Achievement is measured in how much the eye can see, i.e. how grandiose our constructs or purchases are, or in how the body can consume, not only in terms of what brings you pleasure but also having the ability to buy as much of it as you like.
So it’s as if what Avenged Sevenfold is saying, in a roundabout way, is that our ambitions are in the wrong place. Or put alternatively, modern man has been taught such that we perceive our individual value in the ability to incessantly consume and build more, even when neither is actually necessary.
But to note, this analysis represents our opinion of what appears to be going on this song, which reads as if it is going in two different directions at once, on one hand biggin’ up the addressee’s potential but on the other seemingly criticizing how he chooses to use it, in the name of personal pleasure and impressing others who are just as vain.
A Personal Opinion
In this writer’s opinion, what the vocalist seems to be arguing is more or less true. These days, you can’t avoid people pushing ideologies based on positivity thinking even if you wanted to – those who are always encouraging us to be confident and persistent in pursuing our goals.
But at the end of the day, to be universally considered a success in the modern world means perpetually accumulating wealth, i.e. that which is actually visible to other people. We are not only prompted to spend excessively for personal pleasure but also in the name of impressing other people who have been socialized likewise.
Agreed by this interpretation of the lyrics. The song itself, in my opinion, is the further interpretation of Dave Ramsey’s words. “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like”