| The Shins – No Way Down Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Because James Mercer is such a brilliant lyricist, it would be too easy to call this song a generic anti 1% rant. This song is a critique of the occupy movement itself. The lyrics are from the point of view of a young 1%er who identifies with the 99%, but can't figure out a way to fix the situation. "I was born with blood on my hands And have all the signs of a bleeding heart" is an obvious reference to so called "liberal guilt." The "out beyond the western squalls" line is a reference to the fact that even the poorest people in America are often times much better off than the average person in other parts of the world. The protagonist is pointing this out as a way of trying to lessen his guilt. The protagonist in the story changes his mind several times during the song because he can't quite get his head around the fact that while he sees the problem and wants to help, he is also afraid of what will happen to him as referenced in the line: "Is there no way down From this peak to solid ground Without having our gold teeth Pulled from our mouths?" He is expressing his fear of those who seek to balance the disparity by taking from those that have and giving to those that don't. He's asking if there is a way to help the situation, a "way down from this peak" without having everything taken from him. "What will they charge? Letting go of a claim so large Oh, all of our working days are done But a tiny few are having all of the fun. Apologies to the sick and the young Get used to the dust in your lungs" "what will they charge?" meaning how much will they take from us, in the end, the narrator decides that it just isn't worth the risk to his way of life and wants to maintain the status quo. While he still feels guilty about what this means for people at the bottom ("apologies to the sick and the young"), he won't risk having everything taken from him to assuage that guilt. I think what Mercer is trying to say here, in putting himself in the shoes of a 1%er, is that not all of them are greedy or evil, a lot of them are just scared. "Wouldn't you be?" Mercer seems to be asking, if there were thousands in the streets screaming that you have too much and they have too little? It seems like Mercer is pleading with people to calm down and talk instead of screaming because nothing will get fixed without cooperation by both sides. |
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