Hero of the Day Lyrics Meaning

The song is about a man dealing with the effects of war and PTSD.

“The window burns to light the way back home” – This is a play on the old practice of leaving a candle in a window so travelers could see houses at night. The window itself burning and the phrase “warms no matter where they've gone” is used to emphasize this persons desire to return home.

“They're off to find the hero of the day
But what if they should fall by someone's wicked way?” – This lyric denotes that the unknown “they” in the song is looking for a “hero of the day” or in other words a person to celebrate for a short time and then dispose of, in essence a Disposable Hero. “Should fall by someone's wicked way” refers to dying in war either at the hand of the “wicked” enemy or the “wicked” people that started the war to begin with.

“Still the window burns,
Time so slowly turns,
Someone there is sighing” – The desire to return home is an ongoing feeling. The knowledge that loved ones are sad due to his absence and are waiting for this person to come home makes time seem to slow down.

“Keepers of the flames;
Do you feel your name,
Can't you hear your babies crying?” – Keepers of the flame are the people at home awaiting his return. Do you feel your name refers to family members being connected and identifying their position in the family. He is asking if they understand what it means to be a father, mother, brother or sister and if that description now has deeper meaning. “Babies crying” is a connection between mother and child. This line is asking if she feels the separation from her son.

“Mama they tried and break me
Still they try and break me” – This denotes that he has returned from the war “they tried to break me” but is still suffering from the effects of what happened while he was there. “Still they try to break me.”

“Excuse me while I tend to how I feel
These things return to me that still seem real” – Here he is dealing with the effects of PTSD. He is asking to be forgiven for the behavior that he is partaking in to help him deal with the lingering effects of his experience. Things that still seem real refers to the “flashbacks” felt by Vets as they deal with the often vivid memories of what they saw and did.

“Now deservingly, this easy chair
But the rocking's stopped by wheels of despair” – This lyric says that the person in the song deserves rest and relaxation but the emotional baggage he carries prevents him from actually doing it.

“Don't want your hate,
But the fist I made,
For years can't hold or feel” – He rejects the hate and anger that he feels. The “fist I made for years can't hold or feel” denotes that he carries so much anger that he can’t love anybody. His emotions are now a “fist” that is not capable of holding or feeling the love of other people.

“No I'm not all me,
So please excuse me while I tell them how I feel” – He has lost a piece of himself and is screaming out against those that made him into what he has become. “Them” is a generic collection of everybody that he sees as the cause of his anger.

“But now the dreams (and waking screams) that everlast the night
So build a wall (behind it crawl) and hide until it's light
So can you hear your babies crying now?” – The nightmares don’t end when he wakes up screaming, they “ever last the night” and are part of his waking hours. The wall he builds and crawls behind is an emotional one. He will hide there until the darkness of his experience is gone and the “light” cleanses his fear and anger. “Hear your babies crying now” is asking if his mother feels the separation from her son despite his physical presence.

“Mama they try and break me” – Here he is saying that “they” knew that this was going to happen to him and that “they” did it to him on purpose. He is not saying that they tried “to” break him in addition to all of the other things that happened, he is saying that breaking him (his emotions) was the whole intent to begin with.