I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
We are Rome, Aztec Mexico
Easter Island paradigm
We are followers of Jimmy Jones
Cutting in the cool-Aid line
We are Animal Farm pigs
We are a Terry Gilliam film
We are fear oligarchy
We are wolves in wolves' clothing
We are this planet's kidney stones
In the process of getting passed
Metamorphosis from first to last
A system breaking down beyond repairs
A product of 3 million millionaires
One hundred million easy marks
We are Marie Antoinette
We are Joseph McCarthy
We've finally become The Divided States
A nation built on freedom, fear, and hate
The denotation of irony
We all want a Hollywood end
But we're getting the foreign one
The script has already been penned
The title: the epitaph of
A drowning nation
Easter Island paradigm
We are followers of Jimmy Jones
Cutting in the cool-Aid line
We are Animal Farm pigs
We are a Terry Gilliam film
We are fear oligarchy
We are wolves in wolves' clothing
We are this planet's kidney stones
In the process of getting passed
Metamorphosis from first to last
A system breaking down beyond repairs
A product of 3 million millionaires
One hundred million easy marks
We are Marie Antoinette
We are Joseph McCarthy
We've finally become The Divided States
A nation built on freedom, fear, and hate
The denotation of irony
We all want a Hollywood end
But we're getting the foreign one
The script has already been penned
The title: the epitaph of
A drowning nation
Lyrics submitted by punkpirate
Wolves in Wolves' Clothing Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
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Dreamwalker
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
i'm pretty sure they are referring to America as a whole throughout the song, as opposed to themselves as a band
Jim Jones was the leader of Jonestown, a religious settlement in Guyana during the 1970's. Most of the settlement died in a mass suicide via consumption of cyanide poisoned grape Flavor Aid mixed with Valium. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
All 3 are empires/nations that crumbled rather than being destroyed (though Aztecs mostly succumbed to diseases brought by European colons)
Someone above mentioned the wikipedia page about Jim Jones. He drove his 900 followers into a mass suicide by cyanide ingestion. This reference is meant to highlight the self-destructive path America is following.
The Animal Farm pigs are both the initiators of an utopian society with equality for all, and the ones who brought the downfall of this society through more authoritarian power turned corrupt.
This could equally be "12 monkeys" or "Brazil" or the desperation and hopelessness common to both.
This line is less clear. Somehow, I think it is can be related to Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine, which depicts USA's government and media as colluded powers that cultivate fear because it has a paralyzing effect on masses. The same sort of effect is also described in Noam Chomsky's books that analyze mechanisms through which people in power can manipulate masses.
These 2 lines belong together as they both relate to American Imperialism and how USA fuck up the whole world out of pure greed and thirst for power. Note: People interested in this subject can refer to John Pilger's documentaries, like those about Indonesia or latin America.
This big chunk points at the political system as the cause of USA's fall. One hundred million easy marks refers to voters. The product of 3 million millionaires is most probably one expenditure of roughly 3 Trillion dollars though I am not sure which one.
Marie Antoinette dilapidated money for superficial amusements which owed her the nickname of "Mrs. Deficit" and her Austrian origin coupled with Austrian sympathies at the expense of her own country (France) fueled hatred towards foreign countries. McCarthy, inversely, cultivated suspicion and hate internally in USA.
Changing things seems impossible, so the downfall of USA seems inexorable.
Ah, Fat Mike and Songs about America...
Well this is the title track of the record...And the phrase "wolves in wolves' clothing" has been taken out of "1984" by George Orwell i believe...
The pigs in the book Animal Farm also by George Orwell are Communists(the farm is really russia), I don't know why they would call them selfs Communists as they are anarchists and not Communists, but i guess anarchists just arn't talked-about/showen in pop culture and Communism is close enough to anarchism.
BTW George Orwell was a Anarcho-syndicalist even if he didn't like Communism he still was anti-capitalist.
well i'm guessing some of it is sarcasm because they are very sarcastic people. Communism is Anti-Fascism.
ricardsju - i thought he was communist but anti-stalinist
He was a Democratic Socialist.
@ricardsju: He probably doesn't literally mean everything he says... so he doesn't mean he's a communist. I think the overall feeling of the movie just fit his lyrics in this song.
I like the line with the Terry Gilliam film.
ricardsju.....nofx are not anarchists.