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Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by Lorz

The End of the Innocence song meanings
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    General Comment

    THERE IS SIMPLE PROOF THAT THIS IS ABOUT REAGAN: Bruce Hornsby changed the lyrics when he sang the song after Janauary 20, 1989 to "to the tired old man that is no longer king".

    That said, I've never seen the video so it being about Iran Contra is different than my interpretation. I've always seen it and figured it out to be about the plight of the farmer under the policies of Reaganomics.

    Remember when the days were long And rolled beneath a deep blue sky ---farmers working their long days out in the fields

    Didn't have a care in the world With mommy and daddy standin' by ---family farms

    But "happily ever after" fails And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales ---failure of the American dream

    The lawyers dwell on small details ---eviction, etc.

    Since daddy had to fly ---leave the farm for work

    But I know a place where we can go That's still untouched by men We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by And the tall grass wave in the wind ---wanting to go back to the way things were before Reagan

    You can lay your head back on the ground And let your hair fall all around me ---this is really not sexual; it is just lying down on the farm thinking about how things used to be

    Offer up your best defense ---talking to Reagan about what happened on the farms

    But this is the end This is the end of the innocence ---loss of American innocence, especially on the farms

    O' beautiful, for spacious skies ---Well, this one is hard. Just kidding. The U.S.

    But now those skies are threatening ---Threatening the American dream.

    They're beating plowshares into swords ---No funding to farms but high defense spending

    For this tired old man that we elected king ---Um, Reagan

    Armchair warriors often fail ---Reagan and Reaganomics

    And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales ---The American Dream

    The lawyers clean up all details ---Coverups like Iran-Contra (FYI, I’m taking this from an email I sent, so I guess I lied when I said that I never thought about Iran-Contra in this song)

    Since daddy had to lie ---Um, Reagan

    But I know a place where we can go And wash away this sin ---Reagan's policy We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by And the tall grass wave in the wind ---Back to how it was

    Just lay your head back on the ground And let your hair spill all around me ---Remembering about what had happened; I think spill has to do with Exxon-Valdez, but I don't remember whether this was released before or after the accident (both were in 1989).

    Offer up your best defense ---Talking to Reagan

    But this is the end This is the end of the innocence ---Farmer's innocence

    Who knows how long this will last ---depression/recession for farmers, etc.

    Now we've come so far, so fast ---moving away and starting life elsewhere

    But, somewhere back there in the dust That same small town in each of us ---where they had their farm

    I need to remember this So baby give me just one kiss ---he is not talking about his wife; he is talking about his past; nothing is as memorable as a kiss (except a funeral, maybe).

    And let me take a long last look Before we say goodbye ---wanting to be back farming, wanting to look back and see his life again

    Just lay your head back on the ground And let your hair fall all around me Offer up your best defense But this is the end This is the end of the innocence ---need I explain this again

    ebowtheletteron March 05, 2006   Link

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