Killing The Thing That You Love
Written by Tommy Shaw, James Young, Glen Burtnik, Lawrence Gowan, Todd
Sucherman, Bob Burger
Lead vocals by Glen Burtnik
Brick by brick you built a mansion
Piece by piece it seems you’re tearing it down
Once you walked so tall and handsome
Now nobody even wants you around
Now you’re just some kind of leftover clown
Now you’re like Quasimodo crying as you
Look in the mirror
At what you’ve become
Killing the thing that you love
Like Lennon’s assassin
Lennon’s assassin
Reaching for Venus De Milo
But she’s never gonna hold you tight
You plant plutonium silos
Then you blister from the sun that’s too bright
Like a vampire stepping into the light
Just a victim of your own greed as you
Look in the mirror
At what you’ve become
Killing the world that you love
Like Lennon’s assassin
Lennon’s assassin
The genius of a generation
Blown away just like a leaf on the wind
And now you’re looking for salvation
But you can’t forget the places you’ve been
And you can’t erase a lifetime of sin
And you can’t escape the answers as you
Look in the mirror
At what you’ve become
Dredging the river for what you have done
Killing the thing that you love
Like Lennon’s assassin
Lennon’s assassin
Interpretation
Many have suggested that this song is about Dennis DeYoung and his split with the rest of Styx. However, this song originated as a Glen Burtnik creation entitled "Lennon's Assassin" that was written well before DeYoung and Styx parted ways. John Lennon's assassin was a fan of the former Beatle whose obsession led him to kill the thing that he loved most. The assassination of Lennon is aptly described as "the genius of a generation... blown away just like a leaf on the wind."
In deference to the conspiracy theorists, though, it is interesting to note the parallels between the song's opening lines and the reasons that the rest of Styx gave for firing DeYoung:
Brick by brick you built a mansion.
(DeYoung was the driving force behind Styx's legendary success)
Piece by piece it seems you’re tearing it down.
(DeYoung was highly critical of the Brave New World album when it was released in 1999.)
Once you walked so tall and handsome (DeYoung was a superstar with Styx.)
Now nobody even wants you around (the fans may want DeYoung around, but his bandmates found him too controlling.)
Now you’re just some kind of leftover clown (DeYoung was always the joker in the band.)
Now you’re like Quasimodo crying (The main character in DeYoung's musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame
is Quasimodo.)
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