Don't Tell And We Won't Ask

I think most of the songs in this album relate to those behind the scenes (illuminati) or whatever you want to call it.

I've been revisiting Thrice's music lately and wanted to read what people thought of this song's lyrics and share my thoughts.

I definitely don't think this song is about abortion. I think this song is about exploiting and killing people through economic means and for economic purposes. I think the time it was written definitely relates to oil and the Iraq war, especially in the first two lines of the song. The rest of the song focuses more on economic exploitation.

First some concepts to understand:

Painting a target:military ; using a laser to guide missiles. focusing lasers on a target is called painting a target.

Flooding a market is a reference to fixing prices by introducing too much of a particular product or service to a market.

Blue Blood: from wiki: Blue blood is an expression from the Spanish phrase "sangre azul", indicating nobility or noble descent. a reference to the wealthy and powerful.

The first verse is linking war and economics. it is comparing the Iraqi war, perceived as a war for oil to flooding the market and conquering people through financial means.

the wear your gloves part means don't get caught and the stay the hell away from love means desensitize yourself. If you have love for fellow humans you wouldn't be able to exploit them.

The chorus seems like it is again equating war to economic domination. If financial gain comes to murder it's something the perpetrators will have to deal with, but will try not to think about. They've exploited and ultimately killed people so they can enjoy a better life. I also think the don't ask, don't tell is another military reference that ties together economic and military warfare.

The second verse definitely reinforces the economic exploitation ideas. It talks of Dollars and cents(making money) and thinking about one's blue blood (economic elite) status. These luxuries and opulent lifestyles are ways to justify one's self and shut out the feelings that come with exploiting others. This second verse also talks of how drinking form the cup (of this lifestyle) and ignoring one's conscience can allow become comfortable with this lifestyle, mindset, and ultimately; exploiting others for financial gain.

In the end though everyone has to realize that they are all human. Being rich (blue blood) won't stop one from dying or bleeding red blood. It's condemning those who think their wealth and power allow them to exploit others.

I think it's more just about war in general, or, at least, pointless war.

It sounds like something a drill instructor would say to a group of grunts early on. Well, it's a bit more poetic, but you get the idea.

This song is about how we're living in luxury while someone else, somewhere in this world is paying for it and maybe even dying for it, and how we in the western world are totally desensitized to the pain we cause to those in the third world.

my first thought was abortion..... :-.... the part where it says,"never work without your gloves..." i thought of a doctor perfoming an abortion... and the "ghosts of lesser humans" as unborn babies becuause many people don't consider them to be truly humans until they are born. "your actions all are justified"... they justify there actions by saying that you're not human until you are born. and the part where it says, "don't we all bleed the same red blood?..." i think he's trying to say that unborn babies are still human and it's still murder... i might be way off but that's what i got out of it. could be war too....

i believe it talks of peope in the mob and gangs who will do anything to get rich or hold socila staus and "never work without your gloves" is a reference that you could get cuaght by evidence but the part where it says "we dont need no evidence"is to show that you arent punished i dont think it was about pres. bush beacuase if we didnt go to war the same thing that happens in the song happens in the countries were fighting

This song is following the trend of the CD, its about Corporate America.

I didn't notice, but the theme of America's problems can be applied in many of the songs on this album.

I have always tooken this song to have two meanings, like most of these songs do to me, a straight out obvious meaning, and the more hidden mediphorcial meaning.

Obvious meaning i call it "murder for cash": A hitman, or a mob/mafia killer, or something similar. You see, they're highered to kill someone for money, and supposedly they do it for justice, but they don't need any evidence that the person they kill should die "paint the target, we dont need no evidence". And "never work without your gloves" is obviously to hide your fingerprints. And "think of all the dollars and the cents, and your blue blood say it makes perfect sense"
sounds alot like the fact they they would kill people at the expense of others, and make money for doing so, "blue blood" refers to the sense of supperiarity. "your actions all were justified" must be sarcasm, or could be what the killer tells himself to make himself feel better about his crimes. This song sounds like its coming from the mouth of someone who is in such a buisness, nows its wrong but continues it anyway, and is talking to someone new to the buisness, a rookie. It reminds me almost of the way the "buisness" in the godfather was run.You know, the way they'd murder for someone in return for something, and heartlessly say "its only buisness".

2nd meaning, the mediphorical one: This is pretty broad. it could apply to many things, including drug dealers, shady buisness men, factories that create exessive polution, or the tobacco/alchohol industries. All of these things seem easily symbolized by the "murder for cash" example.

taken* sorry type... normally i dont worry about small typos, but that one made me look to stupid.

it talks about the social ladder. obviously the "kid" he talks about is pretty high up on it. maybe he cheated to get there, maybe murdered some one. and the government tells him that they dont care since hes so rich and important. they even justify his actions by maybe saying that it was necessary, because the people he hurt were "less" than humans, below him on the social ladder. it is a metaphor for all the rich people who cheated to get to where they are.