This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.
Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.
As I
Was taught to lead
I was fed well
On what had come before
Everyone
Who had ever lived
Left a lesson
Regarding what's in store
They
Were just like you and me
Guessing their asses off
Oh yes, they tried to guess well
It's our turn now
I hope we're forgiven
Chalk it up to knowledge and change
And life itself
And as I
Shall learn to follow
I'll feed the leaders
With everything I can
They'll
Bring revolutions
That try as I may
I just won't understand
They
Will be just like you and me
Pretending they're not guessing
As if we couldn't tell
It'll be their turn then
I hope we can forgive them
Chalk it up to knowledge and change
And life itself
It seems a cycle that we all seem to share
The passing from hand to hand of our pride and despair
Both parent and child cry apathy but everybody cares
And then we vanish in thin air
And only time is there
Time and a legacy...
History holds questions for everyone
A story that's only just begun
Blind past the goddamn horizon
Sees more than father less than son
Life and death merely pretending
We're part of the infinite ending
We
Are gonna teach and learn
We're gonna get fed well
And then we shall feed
We
We are ancient
We are brand spanking new
We shall follow and lead
Cause we
Are simply you and me
In proving our traditions
On the brink of heaven and hell
We each get a turn
And then we're forgiven
And we call it knowledge and change
And life itself
And we call it knowledge and change
And life itself
And we call it knowledge and change
And life...
Was taught to lead
I was fed well
On what had come before
Everyone
Who had ever lived
Left a lesson
Regarding what's in store
They
Were just like you and me
Guessing their asses off
Oh yes, they tried to guess well
It's our turn now
I hope we're forgiven
Chalk it up to knowledge and change
And life itself
And as I
Shall learn to follow
I'll feed the leaders
With everything I can
They'll
Bring revolutions
That try as I may
I just won't understand
They
Will be just like you and me
Pretending they're not guessing
As if we couldn't tell
It'll be their turn then
I hope we can forgive them
Chalk it up to knowledge and change
And life itself
It seems a cycle that we all seem to share
The passing from hand to hand of our pride and despair
Both parent and child cry apathy but everybody cares
And then we vanish in thin air
And only time is there
Time and a legacy...
History holds questions for everyone
A story that's only just begun
Blind past the goddamn horizon
Sees more than father less than son
Life and death merely pretending
We're part of the infinite ending
We
Are gonna teach and learn
We're gonna get fed well
And then we shall feed
We
We are ancient
We are brand spanking new
We shall follow and lead
Cause we
Are simply you and me
In proving our traditions
On the brink of heaven and hell
We each get a turn
And then we're forgiven
And we call it knowledge and change
And life itself
And we call it knowledge and change
And life itself
And we call it knowledge and change
And life...
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And then we vanish in thin air" and "merely pretending
We're part of the infinite ending"
And then we vanish in thin air" and "merely pretending
We're part of the infinite ending"