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Never Giving Back is the 7th track on the new album Broken Chains produced by Paul Robert Thomas
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Download Never Giving Back on Bandcamp HERE
Download the album Broken Chains at download stores HERE and on Bandcamp HERE
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“Never Giving Back” explores themes of exploitation, disillusionment, and personal transformation. The lyrics convey frustration with a world full of people who take without giving, always feeling as though they lack something despite what they already have. This recurring motif highlights a sense of greed and entitlement in society.
The imagery of a “broken mirror” suggests an identity crisis or personal change—one so drastic that the narrator no longer recognizes themselves. This reinforces the theme of transformation, possibly due to hardship or betrayal.
Seasons are used metaphorically, with summer representing warmth and connection while winter signals loneliness and struggle. The narrator longs for spring, a time of renewal, showing hope for better days.
The verse about babies crying and manna from the clouds hints at a loss of faith in external salvation—perhaps a critique of waiting for divine intervention instead of taking action. Likewise, the mention of empty pockets but feeling rich suggests a shift in values, implying that material wealth isn’t the only measure of abundance.
The repeated question, “What can we do about it?”, is powerful, as it shifts from complaint to a call for action, though no immediate answers are given. The final lines, “It only hurts when I laugh,” add a bittersweet touch, suggesting that even joy is tinged with pain.
“Never Giving Back” is a poignant reflection on human nature, materialism, and personal evolution. The lyrics blend frustration with resilience, ultimately questioning whether change is possible in a world where people continue to take without reciprocating.
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Never Giving Back lyrics
All these people taking
Never giving back
All these people taking
Never giving back
No matter what they got
There’s always something that they say they lack
In the broken mirror
It’s not me that I see
In the broken mirror
It’s not me that I see
I’ve become someone else
I cannot return so just let me be
You were here in summer
But winter’s coming soon
I’m waiting for the springtime
When fragrant flowers will start to bloom
I hear babies crying
The echoes ringing loud
Not gonna hold my breath
For manna dropping out of the clouds
All these people taking
Never giving back
All these people taking
Never giving back
No matter what they got
There’s always something that they say they lack
Say my memory’s fading
These ages passing by
My senses I’ve still got
I cannot recall the last time you cried
Feel my pocket’s empty
I’ve given every dime
I’m feeling now I’m rich
Thing’s slowly changing one day at a time
But all these people taking
Never giving back
All these people taking
Never giving back
No matter what they got
There’s always something that they say they lack
But all these people talking
Never giving back
All these people talking
Never giving back
No matter what they got
There’s always something that they say they lack
What can we do about it?
What can we do about it?
What can we do about it?
What can we do about it?
I been on a journey
Down the garden path
Seen many kinds of days
It only hurts when I laugh
It only hurts when I laugh
It only hurts when I laugh
Paul Robert Thomas
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