The song "War On Everything" by Joshua Burnside explores themes of loneliness, longing, and the desire for deeper connection. The lyrics convey the feeling of being alone even when in the presence of others, as the person feels that their partner is not truly present with them but instead focused on other people. The song starts with the narrator expressing how they feel lonely when they are with their partner because the partner's attention is divided amongst everyone else. This lack of deep connection is so painful that the narrator would go to great lengths, even waging a war on everything, just to have their partner solely for themselves again. The lyrics then shift to a memory of when the narrator and their partner first met. It was a beautiful and cinematic moment, but the partner seemed unaffected by the world around them, lost in their own world. The scene takes place in Paris, with the city waking up and the song "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison playing softly in the background. This moment represents a time of excitement and possibility in their relationship. The lyrics continue to describe their journey to the cold coast, a place where old ghosts are often heard the most. Here, the partner questions the narrator's intelligence and the narrator expresses their willingness to trade everything to know their partner on a deeper level. The margin of the ocean becomes an important scene where the crashing waves and the song "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan intensify the emotions between them. They both loved and were attracted to the versions of each other they knew back then. The chorus repeats the line "Become a stranger to myself" which reflects the loneliness and disconnect felt within the relationship. The partner reveals that they feel lonely when they are with the narrator and even with anyone else, similar to the old ghosts the narrator sings about. The partner describes feeling like a vampire's reflection in a distant mirror and longs for the narrator to see them anew, to rediscover their connection. The lyrics end with the narrator saying they would wage a war on everything to reclaim that connection. Overall, "War On Everything" explores the complex emotions of loneliness, longing, and the search for deeper connection within a relationship. It portrays the pain of feeling alone even when physically present with someone, and the desire to recapture the excitement and intimacy of the past.
