This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of Kingdom and pope
Like good Christians some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands, to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And till the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
The Blue and Grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war was over
They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has its share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But its protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey
The spirit was freedom and justice
And its keepers seemed generous and kind
Its leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
Now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
The cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner we can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America...America...America...America...
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of Kingdom and pope
Like good Christians some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands, to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And till the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
The Blue and Grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war was over
They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has its share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But its protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey
The spirit was freedom and justice
And its keepers seemed generous and kind
Its leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
Now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
The cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner we can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America...America...America...America...
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Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
With politically-engaged or protest art, including rock music, your impulses can generally go in one of two directions. One direction is nihilism and infantile self-righteousness, a point of view in which one issues blanket condemnations against whatever it is you're attacking or criticizing. In this view, America (or "Amerika" to make it look like some heir to the Nazi Third Reich) is irredeemably evil and corrupt, racist/violent/murderous/greedy/hypocritical, and one issues the verdict from a (self-appointed) position of moral superiority.
The other direction or point of view, the one John Kay and Steppenwolf embraced in their politically-oriented songs (and this was their best and most ambitious of the genre), one comes from a position not of simplistic, blindly condemnatory self-righteousness and infantile sneering, but from a position of saddened and dismayed disillusionment. Kay and Co. recognize the ideals of the first white settlers of the nation, but also their mixed motives and the injustices done to native peoples here. They recognize that America is and has been capable of great things for humanity, but is engaged in violent and destructive projects (the Vietnam war was at its height at the time). They are begging America to return to its ideals, but they haven't given up on the original project.
I think Kay and Co. would disagree strongly with Gimpy Jim. America doesn't "suck"; it has been corrupted, and needs fixing. They would probably side with OWS, or at least with the demonstrators who want reform, not the ones who want to sneer and destroy with nothing positive to put in its place.
Gimpy Jim, if America sucks what place would you prefer? Iran? Zimbabwe? N. Korea? Perhaps Europe, where the EU is working so harmoniously for the prosperity of all?
I came here to post a comment, and realize that mbrachman pretty much expresses my sentiments on this song. Listening to it right now as I type, and it's still a fine, fine expression of "big picture" political self-examination.<br /> <br /> Yes, Kay & Co. express hope in this song. The litany of power abuse (slavery, genocide of the indigenous, etc.) is sad, but carries the promise of betterment. The switch to the "present" (in the '60s) day, powerfully expressed in the theme change, expresses a tragic despair that, somehow, we failed to get the train firmly on the tracks.<br /> <br /> That failure has changed a little bit in character, but the fact is that the situation now (2012) is pretty much the same as where Kay leaves off in this song: The American people are fat and lazy, and the "leaders" have merely honed the tools of psychological exploitation of the collective will-to-fail to a fine edge.<br /> <br /> There's a powerful reigning image in Monster, and it's the Americans' failure to comprehend the fundamental cowardice that is entailed in a reliance on superior military power as an expression of national identity. On that image, alone, we can safely say that things haven't substantially changed in America from the post-War mil-ind-complex expansion described in the song. And, in that sense, Kay's song achieves two goals which are normally mutually exclusive in pop songs: It is both intensely political, yet also timeless. It was then, is now, and probably for a long, long time will be, a fine challenge to the American mindset and a spur to an urgently needed self-examination.