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We Live As We Dream, Alone Lyrics

Everybody is in too many pieces
No-man's land surrounds our desires
To crack the shell we mix with others
Some lie in the arms of lovers

The city is the place to be
With no money you go crazy
I need an occupation!
You have to pay for satisfaction

We live as we dream, alone
To crack the shell we mix with the others
Some flirt with fascism
Some lie in the arms of lovers

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone

Everybody is in too many pieces
No-man's-land surrounds me!
With no money we'll all go crazy
(we apologize)

Man and woman need to work
It helps us define ourselves
We were not born in isolation
But sometimes it seems that way

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone

We live as we dream, alone
The space between our work and its product
Some fall into fatalism
As if it started this way

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone

We live as we dream, alone
(We live as we dream, alone)
We live as we dream, alone
(We were not born in isolation)
We live as we dream, alone
(But sometimes it seems that way)

(The space between our work and its product)

We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
(As if it always must be this way)
We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
We live as we dream, alone
(With no money we'll all go crazy)
2 Meanings

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Cover art for We Live As We Dream, Alone lyrics by Gang of Four

"We live as we dream -- alone." is a line from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

Marlow is attempting to relate his experience in Africa to his shipmates, but remarks that he might as well be recalling a dream, because they'll never be quite able to understand how he felt at that particular time. His own experiences were as uncommunicable as what a dream means to the individual who had it. Hence, "We live as we dream, alone."

Who would have thought it'd sound so great sung by Gang of Four?

Cover art for We Live As We Dream, Alone lyrics by Gang of Four

The key line is:

"The space between our work and its product"

This song is about Marx's alienation theory.

"The city is the place to be/with no money we'll all go crazy"..."We were not born in isolation/but sometimes it seems that way" etc

Agreed, there are several references to Marxist economics in this and other Gang of Four songs.

Who says rock and roll can't be educational? It was from this song I learned about "the space between our work and its product". This concept helps me understand my place in the working world. Much later, I heard a lecture from Noam Chomsky where he mentioned the concept as well.

 
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