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My Dying Machine Lyrics
Why give orders?
Why give speeches?
No more questions
No more answers
All that’s left is the fear
I can feel they’re here
I can feel the cold
I can’t fight for long
This machine runs down
If I had a picture
I could say it’s all for you.
Why give orders?
And why make speeches?
Give me a reason to stay
This dying machine
I can hear me scream
I’ve nowhere to run
I’ve nowhere to hide
I can only wonder
I can only wonder why
Why give orders?
And why make speeches?
Give me a reason to die
This shape comes apart
Everything breaks down
And me, I’m trapped inside
And here inside it ends.
There’s nothing I can do
There’s nothing I can do now
If I had a picture
I could say it’s all for you
I can only wonder
I can only wonder why
Why give speeches?
No more answers
All that’s left is the fear
I can feel the cold
I can’t fight for long
This machine runs down
I could say it’s all for you.
And why make speeches?
Give me a reason to stay
I can hear me scream
I’ve nowhere to run
I’ve nowhere to hide
I can only wonder why
And why make speeches?
Give me a reason to die
Everything breaks down
And me, I’m trapped inside
And here inside it ends.
There’s nothing I can do now
If I had a picture
I could say it’s all for you
I can only wonder
I can only wonder why
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Maybe this song is about the power that politicians have all over us and the conformism of citizens and the lack of necessity of speeches and orders that we all are going to follow.
This song is fan-FREAKIN'-tastic. The sense of the utter futility in life is so pervasive in this song. You can see the change in Numans' approach from his earlier works in which technology seemed the dominate force in his alienation and more towards human emotion, and eventually his abandonment of religion.
I love his use of images (film, pictures, etc) throughout his songs., and how he makes constant referrence to them breaking down, or fading.
I think it refers to having a plan or an idea how to protect yourself and keep everything in order, and losing that. Like a machine breaking down.. and it feels really confused.