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Short For Show Lyrics
I'm not here to discount
The opiate of masses
But I've learned so much more
Attend lectures and classes
Through verbal dissection
Ideas are in suspension
We clash like criminals
In bed with loss prevention
We move when they say
And beg for shit that we
Will never ever need
So keep the receipt
We've become the children
Of paralyzed ambition
A fraction less human
Dining in modern kitchens
Prepackaged warmth with a
Touch of your personal flair
Arrested emotion
Wax poets with a cold stare
Don't you
Try to tell me
That your life
Feels empty
The opiate of masses
But I've learned so much more
Attend lectures and classes
Through verbal dissection
Ideas are in suspension
We clash like criminals
In bed with loss prevention
And beg for shit that we
Will never ever need
So keep the receipt
Of paralyzed ambition
A fraction less human
Dining in modern kitchens
Prepackaged warmth with a
Touch of your personal flair
Arrested emotion
Wax poets with a cold stare
Try to tell me
That your life
Feels empty
Song Info
Submitted by
sparkle_motion On Sep 04, 2005
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Reflections
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This one seems pretty self-explanatory to me. It's about social control and the systems that keep us from fully experiencing life. "the opiate of the masses" is Karl Marx's description of religion. It means that it keeps people passive. The same is true of blind consumerism and retail therapy. We feel a lack of authentic experience in our lives because we live within these systems of pacification. He's basically saying that we're all guilty of it. We willingly buy into religion, consumer culture, believing what we're told to believe. So is it any wonder that our lives lack any true meaning? This song is a wakeup call and it's probably my favorite on the album.
Also, the pair of song titles "Short for show, long to go" is slang for the mullet haircut. You know...business in the front, party in the back. Short for show, being the front part of the haircut, is the part of hairstyle that seeks to conform to the norm and not to offend. It's the obedient side.