Assembly Lines

I think this song is about a husband who's trying as hard as he could to follow his fathers footsteps, to be successful, but isn't doing to well. This business life he's created is eating away at his personal life, so neither are going well. He tries to be professional to follow his fathers words, to be exactly what a business man should, and to make money, but regardless he's just not the most successful, so he constantly is trying to better himself and his work life. I picture a tired frusterated man who can only smile at customers, a man distrought at home, growing from his family in his personal life that he's attempting to work so hard for.

I could be way off though.. Anyone?

I agree. He's caught up in the machine-like bullshit of working too much. At times I'm either discouraged or inspired by the "I'll try harder.." lines. As if sometimes it's him trying to be strong, and other times just it's him mumbling and realizing the futility of it all, hence all the repetition.

Of course, there really -is- no bright side to this one. Still, it's good stuff.

I feel the same about this song. It doesn't really matter what the story is exactly, but it's definitely a void of meaning in one's life. The "I'll try harder" lines just have so much tired effort, like he's exhausted of just sticking it out year after year and getting no satisfaction in his life. Particularly touching for me is the part "I act exactly like I should Just like you taught me Like I'm part of something bigger More fulfilling More worthwhile Than anything left in my life," like there's nothing left living for in his personal life so he just becomes an indistinct cog in the machine of society... touching and so sad...