The true interpretation of “I’m my own master now”

28.04.2022

 

The true interpretation of “I’m my own master now”

“I’m my own master now” was released by Jamie Christopherson in 2013 and has been loved by his fans and still is to this day. The reason we love the song is because of the fantastic lyrics that have such deep meaning and today I’ll be going over why that is.

 

[Intro]

“Born

 Into a pack

There's no choice

But take orders to attack”

 

These lyrics seem to allude to the societal structure of gangs, as the people who get born into gangs or join them often have no choice but to stay in the gang or else, they’ll die. By using the word pack instead of gangs, it has a metaphoric meaning in that it emphasizes how savage such groups can be as packs are often used to describe animal packs. There are around 20,000 gangs today in America, which have around 1 million members and to me, that is just disgusting and depressing.

This metaphor is one of my favorites in the entire song as it perfectly describes how I feel, like no cap. I believe that Jamie is showing how he feels about those groups and maybe even referring to a friend he had which went through the same struggle, which must have been tough for him to live with as before I also used to have a friend who was involved in gang activity. He was forced to jack cars like Audis, BMW, and even some Lamborghinis, and people’s wallets and he made so many people cry.

[Verse one]

“Locked up in chains

I get fed

But the hunger still remains”

                                                                                                                                

The protection of gangs often come at the cost of freedom and food as Jamie describes, and when you’re in the system you can’t leave which is shown through the metaphorical use of chains. The hunger that is felt is of course because of the problem with food but also hunger, metaphorically speaking can be seen as the feeling of emptiness or hungering for something, such as freedom or a normal life.

 

[Pre-Chorus]

“Not content to live this way

Being led by the blind

Got to plan my dispersal

Time to leave them all behind”

 

As the hunger finally reaches its apex the feeling strengthens and finally Jamie’s friend realizes he needs to change as he is “Not content to live this way” and refers to his bosses as the “blind”. He sees clearly that his actions aren’t right and that he needs to leave and seek a better life.

 

[Chorus]

“Breaking out of my pain

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

I'm my own master now”

 

He’s fed up with having to do someone else’s bidding and decides to take the risks of escaping the gang, putting his life on the line as the pain he has felt through all of these years comes close enough to the pain of dying and therefore he decides to become self-dependent, “I’m my own master now”.

[Verse two]

“Bear the mark of my scars
Shedding blood underneath the stars
But I will survive somehow”

He feels confident about his choice as he looks at his scars and remembers the numerous innocent lives he has taken without remorse, and just because he has decided to leave the gang doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences, which is why he is still shedding blood as his previous friends are now his enemies and they want him dead.

[Pre chorus – Chorus]

“Hear me howl
Time to leave them all behind
I'm my own master now”

Repeating his own words further emphasizes his newfound confidence in his decision and shows that he really does want to do this no matter the consequences.

 

So, what is Jamie trying to say?

Overall, as we can see, the song wants to warn about the danger of settling for something that isn’t ideal, even though I’ve used the word gang throughout my whole post, Jamie is not only signaling the danger of gangs but also just the danger of staying in an unideal situation such as unhealthy family relationships, toxic partners, dangerous gangs, etc.

By taking control of his own life and making himself his own master he takes a difficult path that only a few can take as the huge reward of freedom comes at a cost of an equally huge struggle. I’d really recommend this song if you are into rock/metal music and I’ve included the link here. If you want to learn more about Jamie you can click here.