| Battles – Atlas Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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@[bittersweetme:45698] I reckon you're close, but not quite there. I think the song is about industrialisation and workers' rights: There's a repeated tune in the song that would accompany a union chant in the march for workers' rights "the workers, united, will never be defeated". If you listen for it' it's definitely there right at the beginning before these lyrics start is't like a whisper. Singer is also the name of a sewing machine manufacturer, and the introduction of Singer sewing machines had a massive effect on industrialisation and mass production of clothing - a massive human rights and workers rights issue globally today. Glowing in the dark at the edge of town - I think that's a reference to the Radium girls, who were instructed to lick the tips of their paintbrushes in the watch factories to help them create a fine line with the radium paint for glow in the dark numbers - the Radium girls were one of the most significant class-action lawsuits pushing workplace health and safety. It was massive for women to be able to earn a paycheck, and the ones who had been working in the factories for long enough would go out on the town and would literally glow at night. Some would even paint their teeth because they'd been told by their employer that it was safe. Their slow deaths of radium poisoning were horrible. What makes this song so effective is how it has a continuous beat - for me it's a walking song, not a dancing song. It's good for getting riled up and marching to. It's meant to incite action - and it mixes strong beats like the ones that keep workers in manual factories going at an efficient pace with union marches for workers rights. |
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