Counting Down The Hours

This is just one of many protest songs Ted Leo has written. Below is my interpretation of it.

"Innocence, it don't come easy, in a sense it never will. Accidents means no ones guilty, ignorance means someone's killed"

This represents the Bush administration's refusal to take blame for entering into a war we shouldn't have begun in the first place. This lays the premise for the rest of the verse.

"So I asked our Mr. Mellor how one gets to where one's going And he points to his survival, and he points me down the road"

This is, in fact, a reference to Joe Strummer. Ted Leo identifies with Joe Strummer as both a musician and activist. Ted, finding it difficult to rise above his feelings of despair resulting from the war, finds inspiration in Joe Strummer overcoming the same personal obstacles.

"On a dark wet night in April, on a street in Jersey where I went looking for some writing that I knew would not be there"

April 2003 saw the climax of the War in Iraq with the fall of Baghdad and Saddam's regime. I believe the writing that Ted is talking about is a report on finding Weapons of Mass Destruction, which many people didn't believe existed, however if they did they were expected to be found around this time. This also gives relevance to the next lines...

"And a punter from the Pelhams and the police, in the rain, Were concerned more with a car than with the fact the light had"

The car represents the war in Iraq and the light represents the reasons for going to war. With the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the light had changed from green to red. A punter is a gambler who bets against the house(used metaphorically in this sense to represent his opposition to who he's arguing) and the police is also metaphorical, representing an individual or organization that supports the government. The Pelhams is a middle class suburban area just outside of New York City. Both are arguing about the war but neglecting the fact that the very reasons used to go to war are now invalid.

"But after listening all morning, as I drove down 95 To a story of detainees who were barely kept alive I could deal with trying to process pigeons acting like they're doves But not with interference from the power lines above"

The first 2 lines are pretty self explanatory. I believe the pigeons acting like they're doves is trying to illustrate hypocrisy, perhaps on several levels. The hypocrisy of those who were outraged at the torture scandal but aren't outraged at the war in general and perhaps the hypocrisy of the people have become involved in the anti war movement because it's a popular movement yet ignore other social justice issues throughout the world. I believe that the interference is partisan political commentary that clouds core issues with personal opinions and the power lines are the media.

"And oh, precautions, yes precaution But if you're playing with a gun, you could kill someone And in the dark it's hard to know a friend"

I believe the above poster, liondanslepres, is spot on with his interpretation of these lines.

"But I'm not angry, I won't be forever angry As I'm walking toward tomorrow with a rifle in my hand"

I believe here Ted Leo has resolves the feelings he had earlier in the song (see my interpretation of Mr Mellor). Walking toward the future with his rifle (his music, or more specifically how he uses his music to confront social and political issues).

"And I'm thinking about New England, and I'm missing old Japan"

He's thinking about the effects of imperialism on the world (the name New England is itself a remnant of the British Empire's imperialist aspirations) and he's longing for a time or place where imperialist ideals didn't exist or were intensely opposed.

"And a mountain in California where a spring runs hot and cold"

I'm not sure exactly if he means a specific place here or if he's just missing a place where he could be at peace in general.

This is what I believe the song to mean.