NM 156

Queensrÿche

Uniform printout reads end of line
Protect code intact leaves little time
Erratic surveys, free thinking not allowed
My hands shake, my push buttons silence
The outside crowd

One world government has outlawed war among nations
Now social control requires population termination

Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory

Microchip logic
have we no more thoughts
"Is this wrong" I enter
Answers sought
Punch! Punch! Punch! Transfer this data into code.
Wide eyes watch my
Number 156 is shown
Created from past life to perform
Illicit function, I fail this conscious
Madness I man/machine imperfection

Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory
End of line


Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by digitalmanMKII

NM 156 song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • +2
    General Commentthe song is about population control by government where people are assigned a number and picked by lottery and when ur # comes up you die. The guy singing is the programmer and his # came up, 156, so he is going to die. duh.
    ~rach
    electricboogaloo7on January 19, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General CommentThe song stresses an important element as it tells the tale of man and machine merging into a so-called super being bent on exterminating the imperfect, inefficient human being: emotion is partly what makes us human. The super-logic of machinery able to wipe out civilization is merely a synonym for savagery. There is nothing "superior" in this logic - all humans possess the attributes of emotion and logic.
    Machines capable of such logic must never be classified "superhuman", for they are but a tiny fraction of what it truly means to be a human being - their cold logic is the worst part of us that forgets, loses or disguises the better angles of a special nature. It can be fairly argued that dictators are machine-like creatures suppressing their own humanity while employing twisted logic to spew inhuman mathematical formulas we now call genocide.

    nucleusprog.com.ar/ingles/…
    PigeonWingon August 31, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General CommentEveryone here is right to some degree. Like many good songs, there is the specifics, and then the theme, which is the chorus. I'm more interested in the general theme - that of losing our humanity because of machines - whether imposed by the government or not.
    adam101541on May 07, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIt's about a machine wanting to become a human
    Empire1987on March 19, 2005   Link
  • 0
    Song MeaningI thought this song was about computers and different electronic stuff.I guess its more than that.It's probaly about TVs!!!
    Oobifan12on October 24, 2009   Link

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