englishAlternative Rock

If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next Lyrics

by Manic Street Preachers

17 views • Published on Sep 29, 2026

If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next Lyrics

The future teaches you to be alone The present to be afraid and cold So if I can shoot rabbits Then I can shoot fascists Bullets for your brain today But we'll forget it all again Monuments put from pen to paper Turns me into a gutless wonder And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next Will be next Will be next Gravity keeps my head down Or is it maybe shame At being so young and being so vain Holes in your head today But I'm a pacifist I've walked La Ramblas But not with real intent And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next Will be next Will be next Will be next And on the street tonight an old man plays With newspaper cuttings of his glory days And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next Will be next Will be next

Meaning of If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

“If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” is a chilling meditation on the insidious nature of complacency and the potential for authoritarianism to spread through generations. The song’s bleak imagery – shooting rabbits, fascists, and ultimately suggesting the normalization of violence – highlights a terrifying progression: individual tolerance leading to societal decay and the endangerment of future lives. The artist, Manic Street Preachers, uses stark repetition and unsettling details like newspaper cuttings of past glories to convey a sense of dread and inevitability. It’s not simply about political extremism; it's about the erosion of critical thought and empathy, suggesting that passively accepting injustice will ultimately corrupt those who come after us. The song evokes feelings of anxiety, shame, and a profound sense of helplessness as it warns against the dangerous consequences of unchecked tolerance.

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