These Days

According the yanked-up hat I would agree that he refocusses on something again that he once lay down.

However, you can bet that this song is meant politically. It has a very strong and emotional music and there are some passages that even show anger : "I wish to eat each one of you ..." and "take away the scattered bones of my meal" Let's say something to the album and the time when this song was produced. The album is called "Lifes rich pageant" which (as far as I know) followed the album "Fables of the Reconstruction" where Michael hid very strong critics about society behind "Fables" from the history of the end of the 19th /beginning of the 20th century. I don't think that Michael suddenly felt like having a pageant since the bloody Reagan era was far from being ended up. Therefore I think that the whole album is a sarcastic one. The title "These days" must allude to something in the past or in the future that he is expecting. If you look at the persons mentioned in the song you will find four parties : "you" (happy throngs), "we" (some kind of people causing hope despite the times), "I" (someone determined to do anything if necessary -> 'march into the ocean...') and "all the people" (majority ? carrying their burden for themselves ? getting more and more isolated ? Being exploited more and more ? -> Reagan Era wasn't quite a great fun as the current Bush Era ain't !). Okay, let's go into the details. Let's find out the relation to the "happy throngs" In my opinion he hates the "happy throngs". In the first strophe he only says the he want's to rearrange their scales which might mean that he will surprise them how determined and angry he is. In the second strophe he asks about the things they have in common with him. He only wants to know 3 similarities but there is not even one (no answer is given) because they are quite the opposite. In the 3rd strophe he openly shows his hatred : "I wish to eat each one of you ...". Some optimistics might say "he loves the happy throngs - that's why he wants to eat them". Yet this wouldn't fit the enormous anger of the music which is even incresed at the end (especially by nasty noises after the 3rd strophe). Another evidence : "Take away the scattered bones of my meal"(at the end). In my opinion this song is used to let the hatred out about the Reagan gouvernment and the false joy and optimism they planted into society. Making people believe that by cutting the incomes and social funds and by weakening unions all problems are solved forever. Mr Reagan was a true "Mr Capitalism". That's what Michael hated about him - just as he hated this system in the song "Driver 8" (very likely goes about a huge strike of railway workers in 1898) and in the song "It's the end of the world as we know it" In my opinion he thinks that there will be a revolution somewhen (these days) and that those happy throngs (spreading optimism about capitalism) can take their joy to wherever they will disappear. Let's deal with "all the people". All he says about them is that they carry each his burden. It could allude to the spreading egoism that the Reagan Era caused. - Growing isolation, growing competition, growing social problems (burdens) that people had to face. Yet somehow I have the impression that puts "all the people" and "you"(happy throngs) together when he sings "... wherever, wherever you ... carry each his burden" in the last chorus. He links those phrases together ! Is this just an accident ? I think that "all the people" and "you" (happy throngs) is the same. It is people pretending that everything is alright, who don't care about others, who like to celebrate ("Lifes rich pageants") although they are completely destroyed inside - drowning in their own tears but they want push the problems away, they put parfum on a stinking society, they make the music louder not to hear the beggars and they like to party to forget that they have worked all day long and will do so until they die. There are two questions remaining : Who is "we" ? (I assume that he is one of hopeful "we" group himself"). And why are they "hope" ? According to the first question I would say that he is one of a special generation of students or people that are very radical and determined to end capitalism somewhen. I don't know to what extend Michael was influenced by the Sixties but I think he was to young at that time. He must have been in a kind of Maoist or other revolutionary left-winged movement that emerged from 1968/1969 or he was influenced by those ideas. I think that this also answered the second question. They are hope because they know how to think about capitalism and they know how to read the newspaper articles and how to listen to propagandistic TV and radio spots. They will keep the spirit of revolution alive until the time is right to rise up.

I hope that I'm now too far away from the actual message Michael wanted to broadcast and hope that you write your comments on my considerations.

the chorus here is terrific

I really wish someone would comment on this great song.

I think it talks about struggling for an identity and to be an individual: "Now I'm not feeding off you I will rearrange your scales If I can and I can"

He seems confident and ready to step into the world and make his mark. The lyrics show all the confidence of a young person setting out with a purpose and ready to achieve.

Let's see some response!

I this song is directed at young people and how they can make the difference to this society. The lyric "I had a hat and it sunk Reached down, yanked it up, slapped it on my head" I feel is about having dreams and sometimes the dreams sink but you can achieve them if you put them back into your head and work at them. There is a positive message in this song and I think a political one too in that "governments don't rule theyre people people rule theyre governments." People seem to just walk around thinking they can't make a difference but everyone can!

Wow. Nice interpretations, DerUnbequeme.

This may seem absurd, but I believe that there is some sort of bizarre metaphore about fishing in these lyrics.

Rearrange your scales ... Marching to the ocean, marching to the sea .... I hada hat, and it sunk...
I'd like to eat each one of you ...

I don't exactly understand how that ties into the rest of it maybe a camparison between schools of fish and crowds or throngs of people being like fish.

I don't know just my observations.