Against the Current’s “Weapon” Lyrics Meaning
“Weapon” is another song where the singer is harping on her own self-destructive tendencies. Or as Chrissy Constanza has described the meaning, we human beings tend to be both the heroes and villains of our own stories.
This is a result of an ‘invisible wage we wage within ourselves’. And at times Constanza has felt as if she is her “own worst enemy”. That is to say that she self-sabotages relationships with people she actually cares about. So in that regard, she likens the negative side of her personality to “a weapon” which once again destroys her meaningful relationships.
Verse 1
And we see in the first verse that such mannerisms are habits she is trying, unsuccessfully, to break. In fact said passage reads a lot of if she is addressing her vices in general, complete with a reference to “this devil”.
So again this track’s theme is reminiscent of other songs, of which there are plenty, where the singer goes about detailing their inability to overcome their sins, if you will.
But in the case of this particular narrator it can be said that this reality is bothering her more than most. This isn’t a simple case of a singer dropping a song about how powerful their vices are in their lives. Rather this vocalist is able to comprehend, as noted earlier, that said tendencies are negatively affecting her social life.
Pre-Chorus
So as illustrated in the pre-chorus she suffers from “sleepless night(s)” whereas she is pondering, if nothing else, how can she relieve the mental stress associated with her wrongdoings.
Chorus
In the chorus, when she talks about the dark side of her persona being “a weapon”, she implies that what she is actually dealing with is something like uncontrollable anger.
So we can theorize that this is one of the personality traits which are proving detrimental to her interpersonal relationships. And perhaps, after getting into an altercation caused by such, she ‘seems fine’ on the outside. But internally “the highs and the lows” of these mood swings, or rather let’s postulate the results of them, are tearing her apart.
Verse 2
Another less-than-ideal personality trait is revealed in the second verse. That is the singer sometimes possessing a nasty, disrespectful attitude – for lack of a better description. Also it would appear that in this case what she is regretting the most is such manifesting against a specific individual.
It reads as if said person may have been a romantic interest. But either way through her actions or more specifically hateful words, the narrator has destroyed their relationship. So now in the aftermath she is in her feelings.
Conclusion
But the overall message of this song isn’t that the singer is a bad person. Rather she is fessing up to her anger and foul tongue, not embracing or simply acknowledging them. And what she desires more than anything is to defeat these vices.
So even though she may have experienced disappointments and setbacks in achieving this goal in the past, she is not going to “back down” or “go under”, i.e. quit. But once again indicative of her dual nature, this is a situation where sometimes she may be committed to that cause and other times not so much.
Facts about “Weapon”
Against the Current is a rock band from Poughkeepsie, a city in Upstate New York. They’ve been around since 2011, and their lineup as of the release of this track includes the following:
- Chrissy Constanza (singer)
- Dan Gow (guitarist)
- Will Ferri (drums)
All of the band members have been down since day one. The group’s most-notable success up until this point has been their debut album “In Our Bones” (2016), which charted in almost 10 countries. They released a second album in 2018, “Past Lives”, which didn’t fare as well.
Fueled by Ramen (a record label) released “Weapon” as a standalone single on 10 March 2021. Against the Current got to teasing the tune earlier in the month. They promoted the track by coming out with custom matchboxes in addition publicizing a phone number where fans could text them. And on its B-side is a track entitled “That Wont’s Save Us”, which the band came out in 2020.
The aforementioned trio wrote this song, accomplishing the feat alongside the track’s producer, Matt Squire.
“Weapon” “was the first song” Chrissy Constanza and co. wrote when the coronavirus lockdowns commenced in 2020.
According to her, the song was inspired by a period of darkness that not only was present all over the world but also in her own head. And she considers the tune to be “a triumph over that darkness”.
Chrissy referred to “Weapon” as her “favorite song” which Against the Current has ever put out. She went on to elaborate that the issues expressed in the song are a “really f–king brutal mental health battle” that she’s been engaged in since childhood.
Moreover the said issues have been “massively amplified the last couple of years”. She also acknowledges this as perhaps being the most-personal song she has ever released and experiencing nervousness in terms of making it public as a result.
