| Gotye – Eyes Wide Open Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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While my interpretation is certainly quite similar to yours, I actually ended up redefining how I understood the chorus, "We walk the plank with our eyes wide open." While I initial thought walking the plank essentially meant "walking to your death" as you put it, I then remembered a great story I read once about human society. It told an analogy where human civilization was represented by a flying machine -- and how some flying machines may seem to fly for a while, though they are always doomed to crash if they're not built according to the laws of aerodynamics. Similarly, the book concludes, human societies will inevitably collapse if they are not built according to the laws of sustainability and natural balance. So -- as I now see it -- the line 'walking the plank' in this song is more about saving yourself than falling to your death. If you're on an airship that is accelerating itself toward the ground, then you may as well 'walk the plank' and figure out how to use your wings. (PS that book I referred to is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn -- I highly recommend it!) |
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