Songfacts®:

• Musically this song was inspired by a track from Smashing Pumpkins' classic 1995 album, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. TFK frontman/songwriter Trevor McNevan explained to New Release Tuesday: "I'm a big '90s fan, and I remember somewhere in the middle of writing this record wanting to create something that moved like that old classic song 'Zero' by Smashing Pumpkins; something that just had 'eat you alive' guitars in it, and was heavy, but danceable. The verses in this song and the main riff make you want to move - they have that funky element to them."
• The End Is Where We Begin has a militant theme running through it, which McNevan told NewReleaseTuesday, "was part of the inspiration in conveying what I was feeling mentally and spiritually." He added: "This song is a forerunner for that, setting the pace and laying out the foundation for the heart of this record. I think the lyrics of the chorus say it all: 'We are the change, we are the chains that hold us,' conveying that it's up to us to be the change. We can't wait for someone else to do it - we are our own prison."