I saw this song as about conforming to group mentality and how there is no light at the end of the tunnel upon winning, after all, everyone else was just another rat.  The bright, high pitched instrument is most alluring in this song.  And overall it is quite frantic and on pace the entire song, like an endless march heading towards disaster.  Or maybe, the monotony of the beat is signicant to how robotic society functions.    You know how people say, "I quit because I stopped having fun"? This seems to be the moment before one would say that.   I wonder what the title, "The Clockwise Witness", means.  For me, it refers to conformity again since clockwise is the direction society tells you to run on.  But, it goes without saying in the song, that, the traditional views of society are off-kilter and leave most unsatisfied. 

It's about acquaintances, facsimile relationships...

"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices."

~Henry David Thoreau
Walden, or Life in the Woods

The subway is symbolic of distance: an inconvenient formality to others, but not him. The credit card represents the recklessness and unauthentic feelings inside a farce relationship. The entire relationship is a lie. Trust me, I'm listening to this song right after I told her i miss her. The Biggest Lie. I don't miss her at all-- 

"I'm tired of dancing on a pot of gold flake paint"

It reminds me of Maggie Gyllenhall (from the movie Happy Endings) where she sings: "how lucky am i im young and i don't even care how lucky am i im young with a few bucks to spare" except more unleashed and impassioned!

You think you're gonna take her away With your money and your cocaine Keep thinkin' that her mind is gonna change But I know everything is okay She's gonna listen to her heart It's gonna tell her what to do She might need a lot of lovin' But she don't need you The most ironic entry was posted about this song: Somebody mentions how this song reminds him of his girlfriend. While many guys hit on her, he knows she can trust her. A year later, he posts a comment again saying he broke up with her. This song is about trust. But, can trust exist in face of the Coolidge Effect? video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHCq983d2Ik Coolidge Effect: In biology and psychology, the term Coolidge effect describes a phenomenon – seen in nearly every species in which it has been tested – whereby males show continuously high sexual performance given the introduction of new receptive females. Answer: Simply, all one must do is listen to their heart.